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Old 09-21-2015, 06:52 PM
 
21 posts, read 52,393 times
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Hi!

My husband and I are looking to move to NJ next spring with our 1.5 year old son. We are looking at a few towns, including Summit and Westfield. Thoughts on either town? We are coming from Philadelphia and are drawn to these towns as they have nice downtowns. We would like a 4 bedroom house with a decent yard (doesn't have to be massive but somewhat serviceable). It seems like we can get a lot more house in Westfield for the money but we preferred Summit because of the direct NYC train and larger downtown. Our budget of $1mln seems quite low for Summit sadly. Would appreciate inside info from anyone that lives in either town.

Thanks!
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Old 09-21-2015, 07:03 PM
 
380 posts, read 603,781 times
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Exactly what are you looking for in a house? Summit is more expensive than Westfield, but even in Summit, $1M should give one a lot of options. Summit is affluent but it's not Alpine/Saddle River/Rumson level.
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Old 09-21-2015, 07:27 PM
 
21 posts, read 52,393 times
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We are looking for a 4 bedroom on a decent street. We don't need a huge yard but want some sort of backyard. Since we are moving out of a city, we do not want to be on top of our neighbors. We are open to updating a house but not a total gut job.
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Old 09-22-2015, 07:15 AM
 
264 posts, read 603,522 times
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Did you search this forum? There are several posts on both towns, ask specific questions after reading them..
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Old 09-22-2015, 08:01 AM
 
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My own personal tastes- I tend to prefer Westfield more- but if you can expand on your requirements/wish list it would help pinpoint for you. There's a sticky at the top of the NJ page that would help on that. Also check out Chatham- I honestly like that town the best of the three.
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Old 09-22-2015, 09:10 AM
 
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Thanks! We weren't crazy about Chatham. We are also looking at Rumson/FH but I have a separate thread for that. Anyway here are my answers -


Where are you coming from? Philadelphia

Why are you moving?
Husband relocation

Where will you be working ? If NYC, what part of NYC?
I stay at home but my husband commutes to Midtown NYC

Will you buy or rent?
Buy

What is your budget ?
1mln or slightly over

What kind of place are you looking for?
4 bedroom with serviceable yard on a decent street. Open to doing work but not open to a complete gut. Do not want a ranch or split.

Will anyone (spouse, children, pets) be moving with you ?
Husband and 1 year old

Do you need/want good public schools?
Yes

Briefly describe the kind of neighborhood you'd like to live in
- looking for a family oriented, close knit neighborhood. I envision my son playing outside with other kids from the neighborhood. Am not interested in a transitional neighborhood/street as that's where we live now

List three things that are important to you in order of importance
- family oriented/community feel
- commute to NYC
- restaurants/shopping


Read more: //www.city-data.com/forum/new-j...#ixzz3mTp7Y7fE
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Old 09-22-2015, 09:17 AM
 
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It feels like you can make Summit work with that budget, the direct train is going to save time every day starting right now. Westfield is going to get one someday during rush hour but it'll take a few more years. But Summit is totally possible on 1 million.
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Old 09-22-2015, 09:35 AM
 
Location: WFNJ
1,037 posts, read 3,145,206 times
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Both are good towns, housing stock might be low as we head to winter but if you can wait until Spring, there will be plenty of houses in your price range in both towns. Just be patient, and don't rush to buy a house that doesn't cover most of your checklist.
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Old 09-22-2015, 11:17 AM
 
21 posts, read 52,393 times
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Another question - are there a good amount of mommy and me classes for young kids? Also, are sports programs comparable?

Praxis - when in spring does most of the inventory come to market? It makes me feel better to think the inventory might be low. The stuff in our range in summit was not appealing so good to know.
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Old 09-22-2015, 11:26 AM
 
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They're only fifteen minutes away from each other, so any young kid classes are going to be pretty similar. We live in Cranford and often take the kids to Westfield for one thing or another, so I can see it working the same way from Summit (or Summit from Westfield). Which sports programs specifically are you thinking of for which ages?

Springtime and after high school graduation are when a lot of places come on the market. But because the inventory can be limited it can be easy to get into a bidding war and lose it all in the space of a day. But exactly like Praxis says, don't jump into a bidding war just to "win" it and realize you need to compromise on something in the house.
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