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My husband works in Union, NJ and does not want to drive to work at all. I work at home, so my commute is non-existent.
Our budget is around $450K. We've been searching for the right town for well over one year (on and off). We currently rent in Highland Park (my husband has a NJ Transit commute of ~2 hours). We want to buy in a SAFE town and start thinking about raising a family.
Towns we have been looking at:
1. East Brunswick- We LOVE the town and the value for the money. The ONLY problem is my husband's commute becomes difficult (walk to a bus, take a bus, take a train, and take a bus: total time ~2.5 hrs).
2. Union- Clearly, husband's commute will be great. We found the townhomes on Green Lane (not sure about the neighborhood being kid-friendly) and we also found some decent homes in Battle Hill neighborhood. But it is still Union, and we are not convinced that it is a great place to set roots and raise a family.
3. Metuchen- Husband's commute reasonable ~1.5 hrs. We found some condos by the train station but they are small, outdated, and pricey. But we know it is a good town with a great reputation.
4. Berkeley Heights- Short enough of a drive that he might be willing to drive it. All we can afford here is a condo that needs some updating.
All you New Jersey Experts, please feel free to suggest other towns that might be a good fit for us. Remember, a very short drive might work, but we prefer an easy NJ Transit commute.
My husband works in Union, NJ and does not want to drive to work at all. I work at home, so my commute is non-existent.
Our budget is around $450K. We've been searching for the right town for well over one year (on and off). We currently rent in Highland Park (my husband has a NJ Transit commute of ~2 hours). We want to buy in a SAFE town and start thinking about raising a family.
Towns we have been looking at:
1. East Brunswick- We LOVE the town and the value for the money. The ONLY problem is my husband's commute becomes difficult (walk to a bus, take a bus, take a train, and take a bus: total time ~2.5 hrs).
2. Union- Clearly, husband's commute will be great. We found the townhomes on Green Lane (not sure about the neighborhood being kid-friendly) and we also found some decent homes in Battle Hill neighborhood. But it is still Union, and we are not convinced that it is a great place to set roots and raise a family.
3. Metuchen- Husband's commute reasonable ~1.5 hrs. We found some condos by the train station but they are small, outdated, and pricey. But we know it is a good town with a great reputation.
4. Berkeley Heights- Short enough of a drive that he might be willing to drive it. All we can afford here is a condo that needs some updating.
All you New Jersey Experts, please feel free to suggest other towns that might be a good fit for us. Remember, a very short drive might work, but we prefer an easy NJ Transit commute.
How do these towns compare to each other?
Thanks!
You should have plenty of options on that budget, especially if you're considering townhouses.
Take a look at places along the train line you use (Cranford and Westfield are obvious picks), as well as nearby towns that would be an easy drive (e.g. Summit and Maplewood)
Some of the list prices for the high end homes in more desirable towns are intimidating, but your budget is good enough to buy something decent in the towns I mentioned.
Your husband should be able to do much better than a 2hr commute.
You should have plenty of options on that budget, especially if you're considering townhouses.
Take a look at places along the train line you use (Cranford and Westfield are obvious picks), as well as nearby towns that would be an easy drive (e.g. Summit and Maplewood)
Some of the list prices for the high end homes in more desirable towns are intimidating, but your budget is good enough to buy something decent in the towns I mentioned.
Your husband should be able to do much better than a 2hr commute.
I've heard that Maplewood, being near Irvington, is questionable in terms of safety, family-orientedness, etc. What do you think?
Why doesn't your husband want to drive to work? 2.5 hours from East Brunswick to Union is ridiculous. And that's assuming the buses and trains are all on time. I couldn't even fathom a commute like that. He could drive that distance in about 30 minutes.
I've heard that Maplewood, being near Irvington, is questionable in terms of safety, family-orientedness, etc. What do you think?
What, Maplewood is near Irvington, therefore Maplewood is Irvington ? What a silly argument. If I agreed with this, then I wouldn't have recommended it.
Take a closer look -- crime rate is low, schools are strong, the town is beautiful.
What, Maplewood is near Irvington, therefore Maplewood is Irvington ? What a silly argument. If I agreed with this, then I wouldn't have recommended it.
Take a closer look -- crime rate is low, schools are strong, the town is beautiful.
My concerns about the safety of Maplewood stem from hearing stories about certain neighborhoods within Maplewood.
Clearly, with Irvington (perhaps one of the most crime-ridden and dangerous parts of New Jersey) being just a stone's throw away from certain parts of Maplewood, my concern is legitimate. If you read my post, I never made the argument that "Maplewood is Irvington."
My concerns about the safety of Maplewood stem from hearing stories about certain neighborhoods within Maplewood.
Clearly, with Irvington (perhaps one of the most crime-ridden and dangerous parts of New Jersey) being just a stone's throw away from certain parts of Maplewood, my concern is legitimate. If you read my post, I never made the argument that "Maplewood is Irvington."
Well, you asked me what I thought of the idea that Maplewood is "questionable" due to proximity to Irvington, and that's my answer.
I agree that it's a legitimate concern -- in the sense that it really does call for getting the facts (and not just "hearing stories")
One of the basic facts about crime is that it doesn't follow a "gradient" pattern -- there tend to be very clearly defined boundaries. If you look at the Essex County homicide map, you'll see that Irvington, Newark, Orange and East Orange are covered in dots, whereas the neighboring towns of Montclair, West Orange, South Orange and Maplewood have few to no dots. And Glen Ridge has absolutely no dots to speak of. This is so pronounced that you can trace out the borders (of the "bad" towns) by joining these dots (nj.com has this homicide map)
There are at least two reasons for this -- towns have their own police, and to some extent there are geographic (both natural and man-made) boundaries that separate towns (e.g. a large part of the Newark/South Orange border is fenced off)
Some time ago, the neighborhood scout website had detailed crime stats on Maplewood, and it was quite a long way down the list in terms of crime. It wasn't at the bottom (if you really must have a "no-crime" or almost no crime town, you're better off with Westfield or Cranford), but I doubt it's worse than Union for example.
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Thanks
