Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Starting the search for a house in NJ and very overwhelmed. We are moving from Queens with a 2 year old and a baby on the way. We are moving to be closer to friends who have moved to Jersey, have more space, for public schools, and just ease of life.
I work on the UES of Manhattan and would likely be driving, but want the option for decent bus/train options. My husband works from home but that change in a few years so needs the option for a decent commute. (Max, 70 min each way).
Looking to buy, but would consider renting if it helps us really learn Jersey better and make a smarter move in 1-2 years.
Budget is 400K-500K, ideally like to pay 450K or under. We are looking for a 4 bedroom or a 3 bedroom that has an office and finished basement so we could have somewhere for guests to stay. (ideal)
Good public schools are very important.
Neighborhood wise looking for families with young children, safe, easy going, friendly vibe. Ideally near parks and outdoor activities and restaurants. Nightlife is not that important (we won't have a life ) and reasonable commute.
We have friends who have just moved to Glen Rock, Nutley, Little Falls and West Orange and all seem happy. (But kids not in school yet). We are interested in those areas and also heard good things about (which is big range) - Ceder Grove, Verona, Westfield (likely too expensive?), Cranford, Scotch Plains (too far?), and Bloomfield.
HELP - anyone do this recently and have good recommendations on how to navigate and start the search besides just going to look at houses?
We moved to Glen Rock recently from Brooklyn. Have friends in Ridgewood, Fair Lawn, and Westfield. My advice is to do a lot of research and make as many trips possible looking at each town - not just going to open houses, but go out to eat at the restaurants, go to the parks, etc... to get a better feel for each town as each one has its own vibe. Not sure what you mean by reasonable commute - but you should do a trial run or two from the location you want to buy in (stay in airbnb or hotel if you have to).
For that price, I doubt you will find a 4 bedroom in Westfield or Glen Rock. Fair Lawn should have a few things in that price range. Not sure about the other towns. You can get a better deal if you are willing to renovate or live without a renovation for a few years. Many buyers are looking for turn-key properties and this usually results in bidding wars. Not sure how the market will be this year (due to tax reform), but last Spring & Summer was very hot with many properties going over asking price within a few days.
Since we were not familiar with NJ, we considered renting as well but felt comfortable enough buying after visiting the towns for many weekends, as well as speaking to friends who live in the area. Also City-Data helped, as I happened to run into someone looking in GR at the same time as us. Happy to help if you have more specific questions.
Honestly, and I think you may feel this is comig from somewhere "laeft field",,, there seems to be places we send or suggest to people from NYC and Brooklyn,,, other places everyone sends Indian heritage home seekers to, yet other places we all live,,, so yed get some ideas and hang around suggested towns to get the real feel.
Don't know about other towns, but in Westfield, Scotch Plains and Cranford you'll have trouble finding a 4 bedroom for your budget. Even a 50-100 YO "charming" dump with plenty of character for that money would be a challenge. How about Union, Roselle Park, or Linden?
Key is where you want to be geographically once you narrow that down then you can find a town. If you want to be further south then the scotch plains, fan wood, Cranford area makes sense. If you want to be a little more towards the north than West Orange, Verona make sense. If you want to be In Bergen county than the glen rock area make sense. Once you nail down the geographic preference than you can search.
Starting the search for a house in NJ and very overwhelmed. We are moving from Queens with a 2 year old and a baby on the way. We are moving to be closer to friends who have moved to Jersey, have more space, for public schools, and just ease of life.
I work on the UES of Manhattan and would likely be driving, but want the option for decent bus/train options. My husband works from home but that change in a few years so needs the option for a decent commute. (Max, 70 min each way).
Looking to buy, but would consider renting if it helps us really learn Jersey better and make a smarter move in 1-2 years.
Budget is 400K-500K, ideally like to pay 450K or under. We are looking for a 4 bedroom or a 3 bedroom that has an office and finished basement so we could have somewhere for guests to stay. (ideal)
Good public schools are very important.
Neighborhood wise looking for families with young children, safe, easy going, friendly vibe. Ideally near parks and outdoor activities and restaurants. Nightlife is not that important (we won't have a life ) and reasonable commute.
We have friends who have just moved to Glen Rock, Nutley, Little Falls and West Orange and all seem happy. (But kids not in school yet). We are interested in those areas and also heard good things about (which is big range) - Ceder Grove, Verona, Westfield (likely too expensive?), Cranford, Scotch Plains (too far?), and Bloomfield.
HELP - anyone do this recently and have good recommendations on how to navigate and start the search besides just going to look at houses?
Since you will be driving to UES , then you want to live close to route 4....thats the highway that takes you straight to the bridge and NO TOLLS except for the bridge of course. Your budget is hard to work with...you might be better off looking in Fair Lawn. Fair Lawn also does have a train station and bus
Don't know about other towns, but in Westfield, Scotch Plains and Cranford you'll have trouble finding a 4 bedroom for your budget. Even a 50-100 YO "charming" dump with plenty of character for that money would be a challenge. How about Union, Roselle Park, or Linden?
I was thinking the same thing with the 4BR requirement. Cranford got really expensive the past year.
I'd rent for a year though, and figure out where you might want to settle. Which friends you want to be near, which transit works best for you, how your family settles in. I know it's going to seem like you're throwing away another year's worth of rent and the moving expenses and so on and so on, but it's so much easier to have the weekends to pick a town and just check it out with no rush. Someone will always tell you that you should buy now before you're priced out and so on, but they've been selling Grok on that story since he first looked at that cave next to Thog's.
We rented in Belleville for about three years and got a much greater understanding of what we needed from a house and where it needed to be when the time came and were able to literally make a decision in two days where to buy a house because we understood a lot of the areas and stuff we could easily dismiss.
But frankly, UES means you should be looking in Queens. A 70 minute commute is going to be difficult when 15 minutes of it every day is just getting crosstown (5 minutes from your bus to the S, 5 minutes of waiting and riding, 5 minutes to get to your other train). Start closer to that side of Manhattan and keep your sanity. Maybe even Connecticut or Westchester, but don't put all your eggs in a NJ basket.
I would usually get bugged out living in Queens or any similar island,,, that's me. I need to be on the old SOIL as Count Drac would say.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
) and reasonable commute. 
