Alternatives to Montclair - Westfield, summit, Crawford, Ridgewood, Madison? (Newark: fit in, cliquey)
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We’re 30 something year olds who lived in Brooklyn and are looking to move to NJ (maybe Westchester). We’re currently working from home but will likely commute into the city at some point. We love montclair and know we’d enjoy living there/find our community there but taxes, the crazy housing market are a deterrent.
We’re potentially looking at northern jersey, specifically Ridgewood, Westfield, Madison, but open to other options. Would love feedback based on what we want! Also, we know enough about South Orange and Maplewood, so other towns
Good schools - doesn’t have to be insanely competitive, but good solid schools
Walkability and a charming downtown with local stores/restaurants/coffee shops
Train line - must-have
Not super snooty - we understand many nice towns have certain snobby people but we at least want to find some people we can mesh with (young professionals, people who are interested in books, music,
Podcasts, museums in the city). We just don’t want super flashy - or no 16 yr olds with Benz’s and Chanel bags.
Liberal but not super left-leaning
Secular Jewish community - or people who celebrate the high holidays and a town that has some visible Hanukkah menorahs. Doesn’t have to be the majority but enough to make Jewish friends to celebrate holidays with.
Healthy population of working moms
Not rural - I want to see my neighbors and don’t need a McMansion
I’m very focused on the town because ideally we’s like to build a community, make friends!
All of the towns that would work are going to have a crazy super competitive housing market. Ridgewood and Westfield would be the two most expensive ones where you might also find to be the snobbiest as well. Summit not far behind.
Taxes will be high everywhere as well, but Montclair, South Orange, and Maplewood would indeed be the worst on that front.
With those things in mind, what kind of budget are you looking at? Also, how far out are you willing to commute from?
Cranford might be best all around for your requests (just watch out for flood zones). Madison second best from what you listed.
If budget is not a concern and you are considering Ridgewood, Westfield, and Summit, could you even do Millburn?
If willing to extend your search a little further out, Morristown and Metuchen would check all of the boxes and be just as good as Cranford.
Tenafly would be a good option but it doesn't have a train line. You can take the 166 Bus to Port Authority or drive to the Ridgewood or Oradell Train Stations.
Thank you so much! Yes, completely agree that they all have high taxes. We're trying to eliminate the towns with the 3%+ tax rate, so on a relative basis Ridgewood is better. And based on schools, train access, walkability, some of these other towns seem to provide you with good services for the money (hence why I'm eliminating Maplewood/South Orange as the schools aren't all that great, but they do have several trendy spots that remind me of Brooklyn so we would probably fit in there).
I don't want to do Millburn or Short Hills - I went to college with people from there and it was a lot of people with really fancy cars, handbags, etc. I know some lovely people from there too, but I just don't think I want to be surrounded by that. Montclair has money too, just lacks in flashiness which is important to me. I'd say we're both trendy and like nice quality things, but we don't care about cars (happy with a Subaru or Honda) and don't wear overtly expensive things with labels.
We just looked in Ridgewood briefly and actually bid on a house there and it still seems more sane to me than Montclair! Montclair homes always trade at 20%+ (during the pandemic even more), and the several homes we looked at in Ridgewood went for 10% over. I just worry about the community is like? I don't want to be somewhere where it's cliquey or where everyone talks about golf (nothing wrong with golf - we just don't golf!)
Budget is probably $1MM, maybe a little more depending on taxes (that was assuming $25K in taxes). Ideally would love a 4 BD/2 full BA, with nice living spaces (i.e. no tiny kitchens/living room). Don't want an insane fixer-upper. Yard doesn't have to be large, but want some semblance of a yard.
Commute -ideally under 1 hr on the train.
We'll check out Metuchen. I used to go to Morristown for work quite a bit a few years ago, and the downtown wasn't all that great...can't recall one decent coffee shop, but it could have changed since then! Definitely need to check it out.
Would you say Ridgewood is snobbier than Summit? I've heard other people say the reverse. I don't know Summit well. Home prices seem higher than Ridgewood. I'm afraid I won't find anything great in my price range.
Tenafly doesn't really have much of a downtown from what I remember. My parents took the bus to NYC and their commute was just really unpredictable, and we'd like to walk to the train in case we can't get parking. Understand NJ Transit trains are not as great as Metronorth, but still somewhat more reliable.
Morristown has absolutely changed significantly in recent years. The downtown is changing constantly and is very vibrant. The growth has been tremendous, which has exacerbated the traffic issues. I live in Madison and absolutely love it. It's nice having access to Morristown when I want to without having to deal with the traffic. My husband and I are early 30s and have lived here since 2014. There are a number of Jewish temples nearby in surrounding towns (Temple B'nai Or in Morristown, Congregation Beth Torah in Florham Park, etc). We do have a Chabad in town but I'm not sure where that falls in terms of a secular Jewish community.
A commute into the city will not be under an hour door to door, however. Many people do (or did) commute daily though. Morristown would be 2 stops farther away from the city.
Seems like you're in the right ballpark for the towns that you've identified based on what you're looking for. That said, and this will probably come off as a bit harsh and I totally don't mean it to, but you say you're not looking for snobby or materialistic (which I totally get), but then list out a handful of the most expensive towns in North Jersey (Summit, Ridgewood, Westfield, Madison in particular). Just setting some expectations here as some of that will absolutely exist in those towns. These are prime commuter towns full of high earners. There are, of course, plenty of other down-to-earth people in those towns that will definitely not be like that.
If you're really keen to filter that out, I'd probably focus on Cranford or Rutherford (which I think was a great suggestion). Morristown is a good one too (had recently been through the downtown - it's great!) but that commute would be a no-go for me, personally. At least with Rutherford and Morristown, the schools should be "good enough", per your criteria, but not blue ribbon.
From a commute perspective, Westfield & Cranford would need to transfer in Newark, and Ridgewood would need to transfer at Secaucus or Hoboken. Both give you the option to transfer to PATH to go downtown, or directly to Penn. Summit is direct (and has more express trains) hence it being the most expensive town on your list.
Personally, from your list I like Ridgewood the best, but can't really go wrong with any of them.
Thank you everyone - will look into Morristown and Madison, and maybe test out the commute! That's promising to hear about the Morristown downtown improving. Do a lot of people in Madison and Morristown come from NYC/commute to the city?
And yes, I totally get that I might be sounding like I am contradicting myself, but I feel like certain towns are affluent but not predominantly flashy...Boston has a lot of that (Brookline, Newton, Cambridge, Lexington) as do parts of Westchester. (i.e. Larchmont vs Scarsdale), so I'm hoping to find the eqivalent in NJ. I'm fine if there are some flashy people, as long as you don't need to be riding around in a Mercedes/Tesla or wear a Moncler coat to fit in.
...but you say you're not looking for snobby or materialistic (which I totally get), but then list out a handful of the most expensive towns in North Jersey (Summit, Ridgewood, Westfield, Madison in particular). Just setting some expectations here as some of that will absolutely exist in those towns. These are prime commuter towns full of high earners. There are, of course, plenty of other down-to-earth people in those towns that will definitely not be like that.
Just like Brooklyn where the OP is moving from.
I always LOL at these threads where the OP is like ... "HAHA... we're looking at bergen county with a $1MM or more budget but want really down to earth people."
What?? No you don't or you'd stay in brooklyn.
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