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My office is right by Deutsche and I work with a few people from Cranford, Westfield and Fanwood. All like the areas they're in and don't complain about the commute. The problem with Westchester/CT is you have to take MetroNorth into Grand Central and then take the train downtown. From Jersey you can come right here.
How important is the Poconos? Your drive from those areas in Jersey will be smooth. I live further south than that and we go out that way many weekends and it's a great drive.
It is pretty important, because we like to do Mountain Sports (Hike, Bike, Snowboard) on the weekends.
That was one thing about living Manhattan I didn't like, was that I had to rent a car for 150/day and drive out to the Poconos with all our gear. If living in NJ gives us the best of the city, 3br, schools and access to the mountains, that sounds like a fine option.
Plus people don't always want to lock into the more permanent living arrangement that comes with a mortgage. It's much easier to break or get out of a lease if need be.
Exactly, we move around with our careers and get bored easily, so right now renting is better for us. Also we prefer to rent nice places...call us loco!
Based on what I've read so far, I think your best bet might be either in Jersey City or Eastern Queens (Bayside, Little Neck, or Douglaston).
Jersey City is good because it is only about 10 minutes into the city by NJ Path trains, and you can get a nice place for your budget. I know most of the buildings are pet friendly, but not sure about 2 pets - I would double-check. However, I can't comment on the schools in JC neither.
If you don't mind a little more commute, Eastern Queens would be a good choice because with your budget, you can probably rent out a 3-bedroom house and you can have as many pets and/or cars you want. You will generally get at least 1 parking spot in the garage/driveway and you can park your 2nd car on the street. The reason I mentioned those 3 areas is because they are in the top school district in Queens and all convenient to the LIRR, which is around 30mins to midtown, and you can transfer directly to the subway, which is another 10-15mins to Wall St.
Thank you very much for the comments, Eastern Queens does sound promising as well. 30 min LIRR to midtown is doable, hop on an express train and be down to Wall St pretty quick.
We have good friends in Astoria, Brooklyn and L.I. (Moriches) so being close to them would be nice..not a requirement though, we can easily meet in the city for dinner if we decide on NJ.
If living in NJ gives us the best of the city, 3br, schools and access to the mountains, that sounds like a fine option.
That's exactly what we got when we moved here this summer. The bonus is that there is hiking and biking all close to home as well. It's nice to not have to drive to New Palz to do a little hiking. There's a beautiful, long bike trail a couple of blocks from our house. Check out the parks near each of the places you're looking at and it might help you narrow it down. I'm shocked at how much there is to do in Monmouth County.
btw - Big Boulder and Camelback opened the weekend before Thanksgiving!
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