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Since you plan to stay in the house a long time- it is a good time to buy- prices are relatively reasonable (and so are interest rates). Take your time to get what you want. Once you purchase a place- it is hard to move (because the realtor will take a nice chunk of your equity).
If schools are important, I would compare test scores (not their rating) on greatschools.net. Pick some of the top scorers in your area of interest. Visit the towns, spend the day and evening there. There are not many areas with real "downtowns", so if that is a priority it will certainly narrow your list down.
You have listed some areas that are generally "not great": rahway, kearny, etc.
Other areas that (to me) don't seem to have a sense of community: Livingston, Springfield.
Summit and Madison are very nice- but to me seem to have a beautiful area, and a small not so great area (which is where you might find something in your budget), so I would skip them.
I am from Westfield (and a big fan), and would tell you it is wonderful- but probably out of your price range. But I would look... I think Cranford is a great choice. It is a little more reasonable. The schools (I think) are rated very well, it seems to be community oriented, and has a great downtown and a great park! Also has a train station. (just don't buy in the flood zone- it does flood).
I would take your time and be picky. Try to find a small, cute house on a decent street in a good section of the town (that will be important for resale). You can make many cosmetic changes to update to your liking....
Good luck, it is a lot of work and fun to own a home!!
Strike while the irons hot! Now is a great time to get a house in a good area at that price but act fast investors are moving in on them fast. Check out Bloomfield and Montclair the train can have your wife in NYC within 30min or less Both are family oriented communities with good schools Montclairs school stats are a bit better than bloomfield but they are both good places
I would strongly consider Rutherford. The pricing will be your biggest issue - but you can find something in the low $400K range, if this is not too much of a stretch. The downtown area is great, blue ribbon schools, parks and bus/train in town. Good luck!
Tomorrow I am going to look at a few homes in Bergen County.
The homes are all 3br around 400k. The towns I will visit are Teaneck, New Milford, Bogota and New Milford.
Other than price and size, the two criterea I am focusing on are schools and nyc commute times. In terms of the commute, I think these 4 are pretty comparable. When I look at schools, I look at the rate of HS kids going onto college, which is in the NJ school report. Also I consider the pct of kids in AP classes. I think these somewhat reflect the overall health of a district. None of the high schools in these towns are outstanding, but they are above average, based on a quick look at the numbers.
Can anyone give some insight on these 4 towns? Parts of town to note or avoid, interesting facts, etc...
I think The IVY HILL Sction of Newark would be a great choice for your family you could find a beatiful house for about 250,000. The Mount Vernon Elementry School is pretty good. Arts High, University High and Science High are great. Take a visit or ask Mayor Corey Booker
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looking in Bergen Co
