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OT: Any NJ Town (w/ NYC commute) Recommendations

RU-AGK said:
Cranford.

It checks all the boxes.
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+1, but what do I know?

One drawback for people moving in is that it's very expensive. The housing crisis has never hit us, and homes often sell for above asking. Many homes have doubled in value or more over the past 20 years.

The other issue is that there is so much development going on. They just announced another apartment building on the South side of town, which along with the other 3 new developments in town have made it much more congested than when I first moved here.
 
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rutgersdave said:
Ridgewood is very expensive with majority of the homes close to the $1 million mark. My nephew just purchased in Ridgewood for over $800k , no garage. GLen Rock is about $200k less than Ridgewood and Fairlawn even lower.

They just had a kid a couple of months ago and moved away from the city. You are going to need a lot of family support to take care of the baby. My nephews has several relatives involved including myself.
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You can get a "starter home" in Ridgewood for around $415-435k. Enough for a couple with 1 child. As you say, Glen Rock would be cheaper, but not $200k cheaper until you get homes in the Million + range.
 
Vibrant downtown should be thought about. When we bought last year we dropped this from our priorities as we realised most homes were a drive to downtown anyway so living in town wasn't a priority.

Do we people living in Westfield, Montclair, Ridhgewood get a real benefit over nearby towns like Cranford, Glen Rock ridge, Glen Rock respectively.
 
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OP sounds similar to me. I lived in Hoboken for 11 years, early 30's with a 1 year old. The only difference is I work downtown NYC not midtown and my wife is an elementary school teacher, although not going back to work since we had our daughter.

We narrowed down our search to Monmouth County and New Providence. I really liked New Providence, knew the area well as both my wife and I grew up right around there, and my wife taught there (before retiring). Because I worked downtown, the train to Hoboken, and switch to the path/ferry was just too much of a pain to deal with and the commute would have been about 90 mins each way. We settled on Fair Haven in Monmouth County and just moved in two weeks ago (after a month stay at my inlaws in Union County cementing my idea to not live there because the commute stunk).

The ferry for me is a great option, I drive 10 mins to the Atlantic Highlands ferry and I'm in my office with coffee in hand an hour and five mins after I leave my house.

I don't know where your office is in midtown, but unless it's on top of penn station I don't see any commutes being 45 mins door to door. When I lived in Hoboken my commute was 40 mins.

Good luck and feel free to ask any questions since it sounds like we're in similar spots. I just researched a ton of towns, schools, etc and I'm happy to help.
 
Not NJ but our house on Staten Island ,according to NYC Dept of Finance, has a Market Value of $651,000 (it would sell for more) and
our taxes are $5,700 per year.
I'm told commuting to Manhattan sucks from here but I always worked in NJ so I went in the opposite direction.
As far as I'm concerned, the public schools also suck but it really depends on the student profile. Lots of good private schools.
I guess I'd classify New Dorp section as having a downtown. Everywhere else it's malls or strip malls with inadequate parking.
 
OntheBanks said:
Not NJ but our house on Staten Island ,according to NYC Dept of Finance, has a Market Value of $651,000 (it would sell for more) and
our taxes are $5,700 per year.
I'm told commuting to Manhattan sucks from here but I always worked in NJ so I went in the opposite direction.
As far as I'm concerned, the public schools also suck but it really depends on the student profile. Lots of good private schools.
I guess I'd classify New Dorp section as having a downtown. Everywhere else it's malls or strip malls with inadequate parking.
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Real estate taxes of $5700. but you pay NYC Resident Income Tax. You don't pay that if you live in NJ.
 
eceres said:
Vibrant downtown should be thought about. When we bought last year we dropped this from our priorities as we realised most homes were a drive to downtown anyway so living in town wasn't a priority.

Do we people living in Westfield, Montclair, Ridhgewood get a real benefit over nearby towns like Cranford, Glen Rock ridge, Glen Rock respectively.
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If you're waking distance it's a huge quality of life benefit, imho.

We don't live in one of those trendy towna but we are walking distance to all schools, downtown (restos, library, bars, ice cream, shops, etc.) And the park. It might not seem like too big of a deal to an adult, but to a kid being liberated from the need to a car is the best.
 
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Local Shill said:
The only commutes of less than <45 minutes from NJ to NYC is if you live across the street from the PATH in Hoboken or Jersey City and your office is across the street from the PATH in the city.
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was about to say that... plus there is no commute from NJ 45 min or less door to door in an area with great public schools and low crime. Just not happening.

Even Fort Lee/Edgewater/Cliffside Park door to door is about an hour.

Now, if you give up on the "great schools" thing and only focus on commute time, you've got JC, Hoboken, Weehawken, Newark and Harrison being the quickest ways into midtown.

I'm in the same situation, I grew up in Westfield, spent the last 10+ years in NYC and now want to raise a family... finding areas that hit all the marks and is affordable is tough.
 
I just don't know how a young family (28-35) lives in some of these affluent towns mentioned ITT. You either have to make loads of money (250k combined IMO at least) or you buy an ok house, pay ridiculous taxes and are house poor your whole life...or you inherited it. How can a millennial afford to live in Ridgewood? Westfield? Milburn? Without help. It's crazy IMO.
 
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Camden has direct Amtrack line to NYC without all the crazy traffic in areas surrounding the city that has been mentioned previously.
 
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Montclair you can find multiple sections of town with walkable commute to train. We're under 10 minute walk, my wife's train has her 55 minutes to Penn Station from walking out the door.

Also, multiple areas with shops/restaurants/etc that are around the train stations, plus you have two downtown areas about a mile apart from each other.
 
RUskoolie said:
I just don't know how a young family (28-35) lives in some of these affluent towns mentioned ITT. You either have to make loads of money (250k combined IMO at least) or you buy an ok house, pay ridiculous taxes and are house poor your whole life...or you inherited it. How can a millennial afford to live in Ridgewood? Westfield? Milburn? Without help. It's crazy IMO.
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Plenty of Wall Street people of that age easily making that dough.
 
Ole Cabbagehead said:
Sounds like you want to live in Westchester... you just don't know it yet.
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Thought the same, access into Grand Central instead of Penn/Port Authority makes a huge difference for a lot of people. Problem is the $$$$ of course.
 
RU205 said:
Summit , Westfield, Cranford, Metuchen. Also check Fanwood.
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Would not recommend towns along the RVL. Too much of PITA switching train's in NWK. I would recommend Woodbridge. Plenty of express train's to NYPS. Schools are good. Downtown is good.
 
BigLou said:
The town voted to allow liquor licenses a couple of years ago. The town council say $ signs and set the price too high so there were no takers. they re-bid this year and issued 2. One was a relatively new restaurant (Bistro Seven Three) which is on Springfield Ave (old McGraths location). The renovated to add a bar and are re-opening but under a different name -Providence Bar and Kitchen. Funny thing was that the place was very popular as a bring your own and lots of people were surprised they would add the license. I believe the 2nd license was bought by the owner of the Prestige Diner, not for that location but he recently bough the building that formerly housed Friendly's. Not sure what his plans are to renovate. A lot of towns people were pissed that the Murray Hill Inn did not get a license. The management of the hotel is very town friendly but I guess they low balled their bid.
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Lou, thanks for the info!
 
SKOHR said:
I was hoping that I could canvass everyone here to get your thoughts on what towns are great places to live these days for a young family looking to move out of the city to NJ for some more space. I've checked out NJ Monthly's lists and all the others I could find online but I want to know what are NJ's Best Places to Live according to Rutgers fans?

Some background:
My wife and I are in our early 30's, have been married for 2 years, have a 1 year old, and have lived in NYC for the past 11 years. I grew up in South Jersey, which as most of you know makes North Jersey largely unfamiliar territory to me.

What's important for us:
  • Great public schools
  • Short commute - we will both continue to work in midtown NYC and want to keep daily travel time down as much as possible. Shooting for under 45 minutes each way.
  • Vibrant downtown and community
Any thoughts on where we should be looking would be greatly appreciated!!
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Don't know what part of South Jersey you grew up in, but here is my take, as a Monmouth County native. I would not want to live in any town North of Middlesex County. I met someone for lunch in Montclair yesterday, and the area gave me the hives with the traffic and crowding.

Others have said that the length of your commute will be much longer than just the train ride. I commuted from New Brunswick to Park Ave and 55th for less than 1 year. Train ride was 45 minutes, but ride to train and commute across town made it 1:20 on good days and more like 1:30. That was before kids, and I hated it and quit that job in less than a year. In my opinion, life is too short to spend your life commuting all that time. Second, I came to hate both NJ Transit and the buses, being packed shoulder to shoulder with others on a bus or train.

But if you are going to do it, I would do Metuchen. Puts you as close (time wise) as the North Jersey towns, and you are closer to South Jersey and Rutgers.

And if your jobs are on the East side, the ferries out of Highlands and Atlantic Highlands drop you off at 35th Street and Henry Hudson Parkway. Expensive, but a great way to travel, and much nicer seating than the trains and buses.
 
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This is awesome! You all rock. This is exactly the feedback I was hoping for. We likely wouldn't move for at least a year or two but want to start getting a sense for what's out there. I realize what I'm looking for is potentially impossible to find, but that's why I'm doing my research now so I can understand the options and figure out how they stack up, so I really appreciate all the honest responses!

The 45 minute mark is more of a goal for the main train/bus/(boat?) time. Travel time on either end of that is always going to be a moving target based on the specific homes we like and our current/future potential office locations so I can't really control for those now.

The towns I've heard the most about from this group and others are listed below with some stats to boot:

Town - main commute time - NJ Monthly avg School Rank ('12-'14) - comments
  • Maplewood - 38m - 71 - (what's up with the schools going downhill, dropped from 47th to 96th?)
  • Montclair - 50m - 110 - pricey?
  • Cranford - 55m (bus) - 50 - people always sound positive about it but I know nothing of it
  • Ridgewood - 52m - 28 - maybe the best town in NNJ!?
  • Glen Ridge - 41m - 20 - could be less pricey and closer to NYC than Ridgewood & Montclair
  • Glen Rock - 41m - 6 - Who is the better Glen?
  • Millburn - 40m - 6 - pricey but very nice
  • Westfield - 53m - 35 - great downtown but risky commute on the Raritan line
  • Madison - 54m - 19 - great town, farther than Summit
  • Chatham - 49m -10 - great town, snuggled between Madison and Summit
  • Summit - 41m - 26 - great town, closer than Madison
  • Rumson - 90m - 10 - it's near the beach and you take a boat to work! but the commute is expensive and arduous
  • Red Bank - 90m - 64 - see Rumson
*fun fact - my own Alma Mater, Mainland Regional in Linwood, NJ, is actually ranked one spot above Maplewood's Columbia HS in the latest NJ monthly rankings in 2014. Here's hoping both schools find their groove again in the 2016 rankings. I could see them both becoming four star schools if they really "show out" to some top Colleges over Spring Signing Season.
 
LevaosLectures said:
I wonder if you've considered an outer borough. I don't mean to pry but assuming regular 9 to 5 work hours when exactly do you plan to spend time with your child? Don't take that as criticism....I do think people underestimate a NJ to NYC commute based on realtor fantasies.
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Outer borough isn't really going to help him. My niece used to live in Park Slope Brooklyn and it took her almost an hour to get to her job in midtown.
 
Reading through this thread makes me so glad I don't live/work anywhere in North Jersey/NYC.

It's both a joy and a breeze living and working in Philly and much much cheaper.

Good luck OP!
 
SKOHR said:
This is awesome! You all rock. This is exactly the feedback I was hoping for. We likely wouldn't move for at least a year or two but want to start getting a sense for what's out there. I realize what I'm looking for is potentially impossible to find, but that's why I'm doing my research now so I can understand the options and figure out how they stack up, so I really appreciate all the honest responses!

The 45 minute mark is more of a goal for the main train/bus/(boat?) time. Travel time on either end of that is always going to be a moving target based on the specific homes we like and our current/future potential office locations so I can't really control for those now.

The towns I've heard the most about from this group and others are listed below with some stats to boot:

Town - main commute time - NJ Monthly avg School Rank ('12-'14) - comments
  • Maplewood - 38m - 71 - (what's up with the schools going downhill, dropped from 47th to 96th?)
  • Montclair - 50m - 110 - pricey?
  • Cranford - 55m (bus) - 50 - people always sound positive about it but I know nothing of it
  • Ridgewood - 52m - 28 - maybe the best town in NNJ!?
  • Glen Ridge - 41m - 20 - could be less pricey and closer to NYC than Ridgewood & Montclair
  • Glen Rock - 41m - 6 - Who is the better Glen?
  • Millburn - 40m - 6 - pricey but very nice
  • Westfield - 53m - 35 - great downtown but risky commute on the Raritan line
  • Madison - 54m - 19 - great town, farther than Summit
  • Chatham - 49m -10 - great town, snuggled between Madison and Summit
  • Summit - 41m - 26 - great town, closer than Madison
  • Rumson - 90m - 10 - it's near the beach and you take a boat to work! but the commute is expensive and arduous
  • Red Bank - 90m - 64 - see Rumson
*fun fact - my own Alma Mater, Mainland Regional in Linwood, NJ, is actually ranked one spot above Maplewood's Columbia HS in the latest NJ monthly rankings in 2014. Here's hoping both schools find their groove again in the 2016 rankings. I could see them both becoming four star schools if they really "show out" to some top Colleges over Spring Signing Season.
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Ridgewood and Millburn are both crawling with insufferable d-bags. Just fair warning. They are nice towns but Maplewood and Glen Rock are better options. Also, school rankings are meaningless.
 
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mdk01 said:
Hawthorne - Same commute, cheaper prices, schools not in the same class as Ridgewood and Glen Rock, and not as good as Fair Lawn.
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Well, nobody would argue that it's in Ridgewood Glen Rock "class," but it's an interesting option for non millionaires. If you're a regular joe looking to buy a north jersey home ya gotta sacrifice on something. School rankings are silly anyway.
 
oldman87 said:
Camden has direct Amtrack line to NYC without all the crazy traffic in areas surrounding the city that has been mentioned previously.
Click to expand...

There is no Amtrak service to Camden. To get to NYC from Camden by rapid transit, you'd have to take the River Line to Trenton and then switch to NJ Transit going to Penn Station. The River Line, I think, takes a half hour alone. And there is simply no way anyone should live in Camden. What you could do is to live in some place like Cherry Hill and then drive up I-295 to Hamilton (about thirty miles away from Cherry Hill), then take the NJ transit train. But that takes two hours at least; I know: I've done it. You could also take the Greyhound bus from Mount Laurel, and sit in traffic for a long time.

Another option from Cherry Hill would be to go to 30th Street station in Philly, and take Amtrak to Penn Station. That is costly. You could do it by mass transit by living near a PATCO station, taking PATCO to 8th and Market, and then switching to the Market-Frankford Septa line and go to 30th street station. We're talking a lot of time by that route, too.
 
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SKOHR said:
This is awesome! You all rock. This is exactly the feedback I was hoping for. We likely wouldn't move for at least a year or two but want to start getting a sense for what's out there. I realize what I'm looking for is potentially impossible to find, but that's why I'm doing my research now so I can understand the options and figure out how they stack up, so I really appreciate all the honest responses!

The 45 minute mark is more of a goal for the main train/bus/(boat?) time. Travel time on either end of that is always going to be a moving target based on the specific homes we like and our current/future potential office locations so I can't really control for those now.

The towns I've heard the most about from this group and others are listed below with some stats to boot:

Town - main commute time - NJ Monthly avg School Rank ('12-'14) - comments
  • Maplewood - 38m - 71 - (what's up with the schools going downhill, dropped from 47th to 96th?)
  • Montclair - 50m - 110 - pricey?
  • Cranford - 55m (bus) - 50 - people always sound positive about it but I know nothing of it
  • Ridgewood - 52m - 28 - maybe the best town in NNJ!?
  • Glen Ridge - 41m - 20 - could be less pricey and closer to NYC than Ridgewood & Montclair
  • Glen Rock - 41m - 6 - Who is the better Glen?
  • Millburn - 40m - 6 - pricey but very nice
  • Westfield - 53m - 35 - great downtown but risky commute on the Raritan line
  • Madison - 54m - 19 - great town, farther than Summit
  • Chatham - 49m -10 - great town, snuggled between Madison and Summit
  • Summit - 41m - 26 - great town, closer than Madison
  • Rumson - 90m - 10 - it's near the beach and you take a boat to work! but the commute is expensive and arduous
  • Red Bank - 90m - 64 - see Rumson
*fun fact - my own Alma Mater, Mainland Regional in Linwood, NJ, is actually ranked one spot above Maplewood's Columbia HS in the latest NJ monthly rankings in 2014. Here's hoping both schools find their groove again in the 2016 rankings. I could see them both becoming four star schools if they really "show out" to some top Colleges over Spring Signing Season.
Click to expand...

You'd be satisfied with either Glen.
 
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mdk01 said:
You'd be satisfied with either Glen.
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Ridge has no downtown that I recall. It's a great town otherwise and right next to Montclair though. Glen Rock has a decent downtown in its own right. Agree they are both good options.

One thing to consider though: in Essex County you can shop on Sunday.
 
LevaosLectures said:
Well, nobody would argue that it's in Ridgewood Glen Rock "class," but it's an interesting option for non millionaires. If you're a regular joe looking to buy a north jersey home ya gotta sacrifice on something. School rankings are silly anyway.
Click to expand...


The class I was talking about was class of schools. I didn't think I'd have to explain that. And the debt service on an extra 50k of mortgage debt on a starter home to go Ridgewood (or 40k for Glen Rock) as opposed to Hawthorne is much less than tuition for a parochial or private school.

BTW. I lived in Hawthorne for a few years during my 20's
 
DontTedonMe said:
Would not recommend towns along the RVL. Too much of PITA switching train's in NWK. I would recommend Woodbridge. Plenty of express train's to NYPS. Schools are good. Downtown is good.
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Woodbridge is fine. I don't think the school are as good as the other places but from a cost standpoint Woodbridge is much more affordable.
 
I would recommend Tenafly and Teaneck. You can get from Teaneck to midtown in 45 minutes, easy, via the xpress bus, as long as the xpress bus lane is moving and there are no accidents, etc. Bus is also much cheaper than the train.
 
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There's no way you're getting into Manhattan in 45 minutes from anywhere except places like Hobo-kin and Jersey City, as has been said. Bayonne would work as well, but... Ick.

For what it's worth, the cops let you go 100 mph on the Turnpike south of Exit 11 in the morning.
 
Mr_Twister said:
Almost every suggested town on this thread does not have great schools.
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Which towns are you questioning? There are plenty of schools that give you a great education that aren't the expensive towns mentioned. It's the parents that need to provide the right guidance. If your kid is in the top 10 in his high school, they probably get into a Ivy League school. Everyone thinks you need to go to private school or only the best HS in NJ.
 
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