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We are a Chinese American family relocating to New York area from CA bay area. Have 2 kids (5 and 2). School is our first priority. Easy commute is also a concern. Hubbie will work at 58st/Lexington. Our budget for buying a house is around 800K-900K. Has been looking into Short Hills, NJ and Scarsdale, NY. I heard scarsdale has really high property tax. But from the numbers on line, it is only 1.4%? but Shorthills is 1.75%. Very very confused.
Hope someone could help me make the decision easier. =)
xiaodog, regarding home prices and property taxes in Westchester vs comparable counties in NJ, my impression is this. In NJ you will get more home for your money, but property tax to home price ratio will be higher. I know there are several realestate sites for Westchester (which I cannot post here so I will PM you) that will show you the property tax. So you can see how much home you can get for your budget and what the tax will be. Although Scarsdale homes are expensive, taxes are relatively low dollar for dollar. For a $900K home, estimate about $18 to $20K on property tax. Find a similarly priced home in Short Hills and my guess is that the tax will be higher. I tried looking a real estate site for NJ that will show you the tax but couldn't find any.
Aside from the numbers, you can search the site to see what people say about the residents of these towns, but you should really decide on your own after visiting.
No contest...Short Hills! Short Hills is a part of Millburn Township. The high school was just named #1 in the state (again!). I grew up here, my kids went to high school here. Last year's graduating class had 29 students going to Ivy League schools.
Big deal. If my high school had the same student body as Short Hills, we would be #1 in the state and have 29 students going to Ivy League Schools.
Believe me, the teachers in Short Hills or no better than the teachers in a ton of NJ school districts.
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