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My husband will be working in Parsippany and we (including 2 young boys) are looking to move to a town within a 35 minute commute. We are natives of CT who have never really explored NJ and are a bit overwhelmed. Based only on internet research, we have narrowed down our choices to Rockaway, Denville, and Boonton. Looking for information on these towns (including best parts of the town) or other towns with the following criteria:
*A smaller home in the $350K-$400K range; prefer Cape Cod and Cottage style homes (charm over size)
*Good school system (good education, but doesn’t have to be “The Best”)
*Has a “walkable” downtown area with a good amount of shops including a yoga studio, coffee shop, and a handful of small family owned restaurants
*Looking for friendly, community oriented, down to earth neighbors versus affluent, snobby types
*Good air quality with no major environmental issues
*Safe town, with lower crime
Grateful for any information that is provided! Thanks
Last edited by StefferLang; 01-01-2010 at 08:22 AM..
Denville is probably your best bet. Much better downtown than Boonton. Plus Boonton schools are terrible. Tell your realtor you would like to add Boonton Township to the list. It's in between Denville and Boonton but has excellent schools and the kids go to Mountain Lakes High School. (You might not like this if you are trying to avoid the snob factor). You should be able to get something in your price range in the Cooks Pond area. (Part is in Denville, part is in Boonton Twp). If you are looking in Rockaway I would stick to the Township not the Borough for better schools and a better reputation. Rockaway doesn't really have a downtown area though....there are a few small stores on East Main st but nothing really worth mentioning. Most everything is on Rt. 46 or at the mall.
Denville is perfect for you and fits your criteria even down to the Prana Yoga Center on Broadway! A nice amount of inventory for you to review too...several very charming homes. Be careful of any flood zones...the agent should be well aware where these are. Rockaway Twp. is also a nice town with a large selection of homes in your price range. Good luck and welcome to the area!
Thanks AntoinetteNJ. Good point about the flood zones! My husband is making an appointment with a realtor today, we decided Denville would be the ideal place to raise our family.
Thanks AntoinetteNJ. Good point about the flood zones! My husband is making an appointment with a realtor today, we decided Denville would be the ideal place to raise our family.
Just curious if you ended up in Denville and if so how you like it?
My husband and I bought a house in the Indian Lake area of Denville in March of this year. I love Denville for the affordability, low crime rate, friendly people, sports related activities, great restaurants, and community spirit. The vibe here is very relaxed.
That said, there are many things about the town that I do not care for. The town was not designed to handle the amount of traffic that flows through it every day. I’m not from New Jersey so this could be the norm.
I would not call the town “walkable” since the few sidewalks in town are so narrow and close to the road that it makes them hazardous to walk on especially with a preschooler. Even in the center of town, certain areas are just too dangerous to cross even with the crosswalk signs.
I have lovely neighbors but I would have chosen a different part of town to live in. Houses are too close together, living on a hill makes parking impossible, almost hit on a daily basis by cars cutting through side streets off of ours, and having a difficult time getting out of our street and on to Franklin Ave.
The school that my eldest son is attending is good, not the best. He’s young enough that I just really wanted him to gain a love of learning and feel secure in a learning environment which the school does well. I just wished that a foreign language class was offered before the fourth grade.
After driving around other towns I found that Denville is not as attractive as many others in the area but I guess that is what makes it affordable. Being from Connecticut I miss the quaint New England towns I’ve grown accustom to.
Now if only Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s were a bit closer I would be much happier.
Denville is nice and Rockaway is great too. Rockytown as I call it goes all the way from suburban to rural as you go North towards Rt 23. Mostly residentail around White Meadow Lake. If you can find something up in GreenPond, that's like living in heaven, or pretty darn close.
Hi Steffer: As you see, you can't always have everything... I live in Randolph which has much of the space and "charm" that you like, yet lacks the walkable town. Morristown is a good choice for walkability, but doesn't offer some of the other things you like. Towns like Chester or Montclair is nice, but prices are far higher.... Madison is nice, but houses are smaller and you don't get as much for your money.
Personally, I like where I am. I can drive to the town when I want it, yet have the quiet when I don't. Denville seems like a good compromise for what you want....
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