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We lived in Tenafly, which is next to Englewood before we moved to MA ( Boxford). I would recommend Englewood or Tenafly to you. It is a quick commute into NY and have very walkable downtowns. There are some great townhouse communities in Tenafly on the bus route.
I would advise against retiring to NJ. Don't get me wrong, I live here and love it but the taxes are insane. Since the majority of those taxes go to sustaining our massively bloated education system you would not be seeing any benefit for all that money. A 500-650k house/condo is going to have annual taxes/maintenance of anywhere from 12K-20K a year. Stamford, CT might actually be a better fit. Still an hour commute and half the annual taxes. Plus you want have the culture shock coming to NJ from Boston.
All that said the towns people put on here are all sufficient for your needs. My favorite would be Montclair. Hoboken skews so young that I find it hard to recommend to anyone over 40. Just my 2 cents...
I would advise against retiring to NJ. Don't get me wrong, I live here and love it but the taxes are insane. Since the majority of those taxes go to sustaining our massively bloated education system you would not be seeing any benefit for all that money. A 500-650k house/condo is going to have annual taxes/maintenance of anywhere from 12K-20K a year. Stamford, CT might actually be a better fit. Still an hour commute and half the annual taxes. Plus you want have the culture shock coming to NJ from Boston.
All that said the towns people put on here are all sufficient for your needs. My favorite would be Montclair. Hoboken skews so young that I find it hard to recommend to anyone over 40. Just my 2 cents...
How would the culture shock be any different, moving to CT than it would be moving to NJ? CT is the same thing as NJ....same metro area, same landscape, same culture.
How would the culture shock be any different, moving to CT than it would be moving to NJ? CT is the same thing as NJ....same metro area, same landscape, same culture.
Having lived in all 3(MA, CT, and NJ) areas in this post I can say without question that there is a BIG difference between life in Stamford CT and life in North NJ.
It's hard to name specifics without using easily misinterpreted generalizations, the kind which usually spark heated debates on this board and get completely off topic. So rather than add to that I will simply state that it is mostly the tax reason for why I would advise against moving to NJ. It would be very hard for anyone to argue that point. If the OP is interested in hearing my opinions on the former they can direct message me.
Having lived in all 3(MA, CT, and NJ) areas in this post I can say without question that there is a BIG difference between life in Stamford CT and life in North NJ.
It's hard to name specifics without using easily misinterpreted generalizations, the kind which usually spark heated debates on this board and get completely off topic. So rather than add to that I will simply state that it is mostly the tax reason for why I would advise against moving to NJ. It would be very hard for anyone to argue that point. If the OP is interested in hearing my opinions on the former they can direct message me.
Define Northern NJ? You're comparing one town (Stamford) to thousands of square miles. Northern NJ can be Paterson (urban/ghetto), Ridgewood (suburban/wealthy), or Branchville (rural) --- and everything in between. I can name a dozen towns in Northern NJ that would offer an almost identical lifestyle to that of Stamford, CT.
I get your point about taxes, but I'm under the impression that CT taxes are equally as high as NJ taxes.
Define Northern NJ? You're comparing one town (Stamford) to thousands of square miles. Northern NJ can be Paterson (urban/ghetto), Ridgewood (suburban/wealthy), or Branchville (rural) --- and everything in between. I can name a dozen towns in Northern NJ that would offer an almost identical lifestyle to that of Stamford, CT.
I get your point about taxes, but I'm under the impression that CT taxes are equally as high as NJ taxes.
Your impression is incorrect property taxes are up to half that of NJ. It seems like you are taking my post out of context. I was answering the OPs question. They are looking for a place within 1 hour commute to Manhattan with an urban feel. Branchville does not fit that. It seems kind of silly to recommend that someone pick Paterson as a retirement spot, I'm kind of laughing just thinking about that. I know you were just trying to make a point but still. On comparing Stamford to North NJ, riddle me this...try and name 12 towns anywhere in northern NJ that are boating/fishing communities, on the ocean, with public beaches and an urban downtown area(urban means big buildings/"city feel")...in fact, name one.
Sorry if I come off sounding like a pr*ck but there are obvious differences that anyone who has lived in these places would know and your response sounded very antagonistic.
Last edited by Goldendoodle1969; 05-06-2010 at 04:05 PM..
I would suggest Red Bank, a small city in Monmouth Co. It is an hour by train to the city, no transfers necessary. It had options of both condos and Victorian homes within walking distance to a cute/hip downtown area including Count Basie theater, great restaurants, art galleries, etc. Half an hour to the beach by car. Brookdale community college is 5 miles away and is always doing bus trips to NYC for Broadway, to the Botanical Gardens, museums, etc.
If you ever go look stop by Ashes, its a cigar bar with a steakhouse upstairs. Love that place.
Your impression is incorrect property taxes are up to half that of NJ. It seems like you are taking my post out of context. I was answering the OPs question. They are looking for a place within 1 hour commute to Manhattan with an urban feel. Branchville does not fit that. It seems kind of silly to recommend that someone pick Paterson as a retirement spot, I'm kind of laughing just thinking about that. I know you were just trying to make a point but still. On comparing Stamford to North NJ, riddle me this...try and name 12 towns anywhere in northern NJ that are boating/fishing communities, on the ocean, with public beaches and an urban downtown area(urban means big buildings/"city feel")...in fact, name one.
Sorry if I come off sounding like a pr*ck but there are obvious differences that anyone who has lived in these places would know and your response sounded very antagonistic.
Didn't think (or even know) about Stamford's boating and fishing community. But then again, that wasn't a requirement of the OP.
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Uganda be kidding me...
