We want more space! (Passaic, Wayne: middle-class, renting, houses)

[Relocator20]

Hello everyone!


Thanks in advance for helping us!


Where are you coming from? Wood-Ridge, NJ
Why are you moving? Currently renting and we want to buy a house in a more exurban/rural area. Most of Bergen County is expensive and congested. Tired of living "on top of each other".

Where will you be working ? If NYC, what part of NYC? DH works in Fort Lee. Can work from home on snow days. I will be graduating nursing school this month and plan to find a job at a local hospital closest to home.

Will you buy or rent? Buy

What is your budget? 500-550K, MAX

What kind of place are you looking for? a more exurban/rural area where we can have a spacious property and get more for our money. Less local traffic and noise at night (i.e. sirens blaring). Wild life on our yard. Preferably no side walks. At the same time, I want the area to have good schools and a middle-class population and not too far from DH's job. We understand his commute will be significantly longer compared to now, but it's a sacrifice we're willing to make.

Will anyone (spouse, children, pets) be moving with you? DH and 3 year old son.
Do you need/want good public schools? Yes. Don't have to be crème de la crème", but good.

Briefly describe the kind of neighborhood you'd like to live in
(examples: families with young children, young, mature, artsy, diverse, safe, close-knit, block parties, etc) Houses close together with small yards and walkable downtowns=BEEN THERE, DONE THAT! We want space, peace and quiet! We have lots of friends and family that we already have a sense of community with and have a very active social life. So meeting new people is not a priority.

List three things that are important to you in order of importance.(examples: nightlife, outdoor activities, rural/urban, safety, downtown area, charming, new construction, proximity to XYZ, family oriented, easy parking, short commute, etc) Rural/semi-rural setting with lots of trees and wildlife, good schools, area with bigger plots of land with more bang for your buck compared to where I live now.


Towns we've narrowed it down to:


Morris County:
Kinnelon
Boonton Township
Montville
Rockaway Township
Denville
Pequannock
Randolph


Passaic County:
Wayne (probably the most "urban" town on the list, but we're ok with the more rural parts in the northern part of the town)


Bergen County:
Oakland
Mahwah


Any towns you would remove or add? Thanks!!!

[Swamp_Yankee]

Originally Posted by Relocator20

Tired of living "on top of each other"...a more exurban/rural area where we can have a spacious property and get more for our money. Less local traffic and noise at night (i.e. sirens blaring)...Wildlife on our yard. Preferably no side walks...We want space, peace and quiet...Rural/semi-rural setting with lots of trees and wildlife, good schools, area with bigger plots of land with more bang for your buck compared to where I live now.

Welcome. I can't really advise you on any of those areas as we are pretty far west of them (Northwest Hunterdon County), but I can completely agree with your reasons. We love living "out here" and wouldn't trade it for anything:

https://www.city-data.com/forum/new-...ey-thread.html

[ansky]

I would eliminate Rockaway, Denville, and Randolph. Those towns are too far west. The traffic along I-80 during morning and evening rush hours is horrific. Fort Lee is a tough place to commute to with all that GWB traffic in the area. From a commuting standpoint I would look in northern Bergen county in towns like Montvale or Park Ridge. I'm not as familiar with that area so I'm not sure if your budget is feasible.

[foodyum]

I’d expand the search in to Rockland county. Pearl river or tappan. Not a bad commute to fort lee on the palisades or 9w. Should be able to get a nice sized property in your budget.

[DannyHobkins]

Originally Posted by ansky

I would eliminate Rockaway, Denville, and Randolph. Those towns are too far west. The traffic along I-80 during morning and evening rush hours is horrific. Fort Lee is a tough place to commute to with all that GWB traffic in the area. From a commuting standpoint I would look in northern Bergen county in towns like Montvale or Park Ridge. I'm not as familiar with that area so I'm not sure if your budget is feasible.

??? All your advice in backwards.

[DannyHobkins]

Originally Posted by Relocator20

Hello everyone!


Thanks in advance for helping us!


Where are you coming from? Wood-Ridge, NJ
Why are you moving? Currently renting and we want to buy a house in a more exurban/rural area. Most of Bergen County is expensive and congested. Tired of living "on top of each other".

Where will you be working ? If NYC, what part of NYC? DH works in Fort Lee. Can work from home on snow days. I will be graduating nursing school this month and plan to find a job at a local hospital closest to home.

Will you buy or rent? Buy

What is your budget? 500-550K, MAX

What kind of place are you looking for? a more exurban/rural area where we can have a spacious property and get more for our money. Less local traffic and noise at night (i.e. sirens blaring). Wild life on our yard. Preferably no side walks. At the same time, I want the area to have good schools and a middle-class population and not too far from DH's job. We understand his commute will be significantly longer compared to now, but it's a sacrifice we're willing to make.

Will anyone (spouse, children, pets) be moving with you? DH and 3 year old son.
Do you need/want good public schools? Yes. Don't have to be crème de la crème", but good.

Briefly describe the kind of neighborhood you'd like to live in
(examples: families with young children, young, mature, artsy, diverse, safe, close-knit, block parties, etc) Houses close together with small yards and walkable downtowns=BEEN THERE, DONE THAT! We want space, peace and quiet! We have lots of friends and family that we already have a sense of community with and have a very active social life. So meeting new people is not a priority.

List three things that are important to you in order of importance.(examples: nightlife, outdoor activities, rural/urban, safety, downtown area, charming, new construction, proximity to XYZ, family oriented, easy parking, short commute, etc) Rural/semi-rural setting with lots of trees and wildlife, good schools, area with bigger plots of land with more bang for your buck compared to where I live now.


Towns we've narrowed it down to:


Morris County:
Kinnelon
Boonton Township
Montville
Rockaway Township
Denville
Pequannock
Randolph


Passaic County:
Wayne (probably the most "urban" town on the list, but we're ok with the more rural parts in the northern part of the town)


Bergen County:
Oakland
Mahwah


Any towns you would remove or add? Thanks!!!

Out of preference I prefer Morris County over every county in the state (probably Denville as my favorite town on your list). If you really want the country experience look into Hunterdon or Sussex County.

[ansky]

Originally Posted by DannyHobkins

??? All your advice in backwards.

What's backwards about it? If you want to sit in traffic for 90 minutes driving from Denville to Fort Lee then go for it. Definitely not my style which is why I provided that advice.

[Relocator20]

Originally Posted by DannyHobkins

Out of preference I prefer Morris County over every county in the state (probably Denville as my favorite town on your list). If you really want the country experience look into Hunterdon or Sussex County.

Would love to buy out in that direction. Sparta is really nice! However the commute to Fort Lee from these areas would just be too much.

[Relocator20]

Originally Posted by ansky

What's backwards about it? If you want to sit in traffic for 90 minutes driving from Denville to Fort Lee then go for it. Definitely not my style which is why I provided that advice.

Wow, 90 minutes between Denville and Fort Lee would be the norm??

[Relocator20]

Originally Posted by ansky

I would eliminate Rockaway, Denville, and Randolph. Those towns are too far west. The traffic along I-80 during morning and evening rush hours is horrific. Fort Lee is a tough place to commute to with all that GWB traffic in the area. From a commuting standpoint I would look in northern Bergen county in towns like Montvale or Park Ridge. I'm not as familiar with that area so I'm not sure if your budget is feasible.

That’s a bummer, Rockaway is one of our top choices because of the high number of homes available in our price range! Montvale and Park Ridge are becoming overbuilt. Wouldn’t want to buy there.

Originally Posted by foodyum

I’d expand the search in to Rockland county. Pearl river or tappan. Not a bad commute to fort lee on the palisades or 9w. Should be able to get a nice sized property in your budget.

We didn’t consider Rockland due to the high property taxes and the quality of public schools you get in return. However, I will do more research there and see. Thanks!