Working in NY on East side --- where to live in NJ ? (Orange: real estate, renting)

[genevamommy]

Hi. We are relocating from Switzerland to the NJ area. I will be working in NYC on the East Side at 44th. We are looking for a nice place to live with young kids with a max 45 minute commute.
Working on the East side the train will not work for me.
Look forward to your suggestions
Linda

[Obrero]

Why NJ. Have you considered Long Island?

[Viralmd]

Long Island is not helpful, as the LI railroad also goes to Penn Station, on the WEST side and, like NJ,is NOT convenient for the East Side. You should consider Westchester, from which the trains go to Grand Central Station

Also: what's your budget? How long a commute are you willing to tolerate? Do you need decent schools for kids?

[genevamommy]

I have looked at westchester. I just thought that NJ might be a bit cheaper.
budget around 800,000 to buy
prefer commute less than 30-40 minutes to port authority, as I have a 15 minute walk across town.
yes we need decent schools for the kids.
Thanks, linda

[Viralmd]

NJ and Westchester are really about the same...

[genevamommy]

but aren't property taxes cheaper in NJ than in Westchester cty??

[BrianG]

Originally Posted by genevamommy

Hi. We are relocating from Switzerland to the NJ area. I will be working in NYC on the East Side at 44th. We are looking for a nice place to live with young kids with a max 45 minute commute.
Working on the East side the train will not work for me.
Look forward to your suggestions
Linda

Westfield,Cranford,Clark,Rahway(yes rahway),Colonia are a few of the area's in central nj that have buses into city with about 45-50 minute commute
You could also check out northern nj but
The closer to the city you get ,the higher the prices go
but on the other hand , the commute time is less

[Viralmd]

No, the real estate taxes are actually about the same in NJ and Westchester: outrageous.

[AJGIANTS]

Originally Posted by genevamommy

I have looked at westchester. I just thought that NJ might be a bit cheaper.
budget around 800,000 to buy
prefer commute less than 30-40 minutes to port authority, as I have a 15 minute walk across town.
yes we need decent schools for the kids.
Thanks, linda

there is also the S train from times square across to Grand Central.

[Lusitan]

You're looking at a minimum 1 hour door-to-door commute from NJ to the east side of Manhattan if you want a suburban environment with good schools etc.

As you said, you'll be a 15 minute walk from Port Authority and probably about a 15-20 minute walk from NY Penn Station as well.

You can start to find some nice towns in NJ that are about 30 to 40 minutes on the train/bus from New York, but of course, then you need to factor in the time it will take getting to the train/bus in your hometown.

Then you need to factor in a little cushion for things running late ... you're realistically looking at a 1 hour to 1.25 hour door-to-door commute by public transportation. Just wanted to prepare you.

Maplewood, South Orange, Westfield, Rahway, Cranford, Fanwood, Garwood, Short Hills, Millburn all come to mind, but there are many nice places in NJ you can consider.

Start with the NJ Transit website and check out the map here:

http://www.njtransit.com/pdf/rail/Rail_System_Map.pdf

Then check out the train schedules and make a list of the towns on each line within 30 to 45 minutes away from New York by train. Then you can check real estate websites like GSMLS to get a feel for the houses in each town.

If you're totally not familiar with the area, I'd recommend renting for 6 months to a year before buying anything - that way, you can take your time looking at the different towns. But if you're set on buying right away, still factor in at least one day to check out every town you're interested in.

Good luck!