This! I grew up in North Brunswick, the town was basically separated by two intersecting highways in Rt 1 and Rt 130. You really couldn't go anywhere except your immediate neighborhood without a car or a ride. I'm in Cranford now, you can get anywhere walking or by bike. Huge difference, especially being able to go downtown and catch a movie, pizza, ice cream/starbucks all within a 5 minute walk of one another.
OT: Any NJ Town (w/ NYC commute) Recommendations
- Thread starter SKOHR
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This isn't even remotely true. You haven't spent a single moment with the high school placement scattergrams.
No downside to that bro. Philly has come a long way and is a great city to live and work in.
To each his own though!
The Cornelia Bradford elementary school in Exchange Place in Jersey City is well regarded. If you would stick around for the 10 years and can afford Exchange Place (2 bedrooms likely at least 600k) it would be worth it.
The issue I think is the down payment. I know many of my fellow millenials have not socked away the 200k down payment for that 1M house in Millburn, even when making good dough.
Except for Philly sports fans, who everyone knows are the worst in the world. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:
Yes, Westchester is not much of a better commute. Great Neck on LI I believe a 35 minute ride into Penn on the LIRR, that may be worth a look by OP
Edgewater may also be worth a look. Leonia HS is pretty well ranked, would be condo vs a house but would be one of the better commutes outside of Hudson County.
I had a friend who lived in Riverdale in the Bronx. It was really really nice. 20 minute metro north ride to midtown. I have no idea about the schools though.
Haha glad you're able to take a joke. I have a buddy who's live everywhere in NJ, from central to north to the shore, and even spent some time in Oregon, and came back to settle in... Philly. I always get him with the worst part of living in Philly is having to live in Philly. But like you say, to each his own.
Glen Ridge has beautiful housing and a very good midtown direct train commute into NYC, and good schools too.
But I dare you to take a look at the property taxes in that town. Seriously, take a gander on zillow or elsewhere.. you'll $hit your pants.
But I dare you to take a look at the property taxes in that town. Seriously, take a gander on zillow or elsewhere.. you'll $hit your pants.
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Without knowing the OPs budget this is just silly
Unless you have tons of money, you are looking for something that doesnt exist. 45 mins is not realistic. Also, the school thing is overrated. As long as you're not in a Paterson or a Newark etc your kids will be fine.
I prefer NYC to Philly, but I look at this thread and I realize how hard it would be to actually commute to NYC while raising a family (or even without raising a family!) . Philly and South Jersey are good places, but they certainly are not as dynamic as NYC and the nearby suburbs.
Montville (not Montvale) is a great town. Frequently ranked a top 50 town by Money Mag. We moved here because wife worked in Sparta and I on Park Ave. However commute was 45 minutes door to door in the morning but 90+ minutes coming home.
Let's just say any one of these options is a disaster. I've done something like them all and continue to do it and I would absolutely not go near any of these commutes. Cherry Hill to 30th St to Penn Station, surely you mean for a weekend visit and not for a daily back and forth commute. And Hamilton NJ ? The train ride itself is 60 minutes I believe let alone parking, driving there, and connections.
In fact, it's generally about 70 minutes from Hamilton to Penn Station. FWIW, the parking situation has improved with the construction of a multilevel garage. I have heard of people doing this, but I agree that it and the alternatives are impossible. I just thought that, along with dismissing the nonexistent Camden Amtrak service, I should describe what the situation really is in South Jersey, especially since the OP said he was from South Jersey.
A former vice dean of the Camden law school -- I'm not sure what vice he specialized in -- once told me that I should be willing to commute twice a week from Cherry Hill to Rutgers' Newark campus because "the train trip is only 55 minutes." I pointed out that getting to the train takes 40 minutes -- and of course one has to take the subway in Newark. And of course, getting to NYC is even harder, whether by PATH or NJ Transit.
Rutherford is good. Most towns on the Bergen line. Although I like Ridgewood and Glen Rock, Fairlawn checks the boxes for a young family. Good schools, decent downtown and affordable. 2 train stations like Glen Rock.
Why do people always point this out as a negative? This is a huge positive. I grew up in Union County and moved to Bergen 25 years ago. Best decision I made. I love it up here and no traffic on Sunday's. All the supermarkets are open and some towns have stores open. No matter where you live in Bergen county you can get to a mall in less than 20 minutes if you really need to shop on a Sunday.
What do you mean? Millennials do not want to work at all and they mooch off their parents and people that work hard . Those that may want to work can't find any jobs because the Dems and libs want it that way and keep doing the same thing ( voting for idiots like Obama and Hillary) and expecting things to get better. Isn't that called insanity?
Montville Township
Source: NorthJersey.com
Population: 21,580
Unemployment Rate: 4.7%
Median Income: $116,250
And rounding out the top 10 best places to live in New Jersey is Montville Township.
Montville followed a similar path to the top 10 with its low unemployment, however it also stood out for its crime rates, which place in the top 10% of the state.
Another universally recognized great place to live, Montville has consistently appeared as one of Money Magazine’s best places to live in the country.
Source: NorthJersey.com
Population: 21,580
Unemployment Rate: 4.7%
Median Income: $116,250
And rounding out the top 10 best places to live in New Jersey is Montville Township.
Montville followed a similar path to the top 10 with its low unemployment, however it also stood out for its crime rates, which place in the top 10% of the state.
Another universally recognized great place to live, Montville has consistently appeared as one of Money Magazine’s best places to live in the country.
Dido. Rail commute and a very nice downtown district which isn't available everywhere. Don't know if the DMV Inspection Station is still operational. Also, close to highways and shopping centers and a town pool for the family. Valley Hospital if that is important to you
Philly is great. Burbs are affordable, solid job market, schools are good if you do the research , I can get to RU football in 90 minutres, I got a lot of house for the money ( 8 year old house 3600 sq foot for 405k on a 1/2 acre lot)one major downfall- the PSU clowns that I'm surrounded by, totally sucks. At least there not all as bad as Reppin jerk and DNA
If you are making money hand over fist......some of these options are good. Some of these towns have property taxes of like 15k+ per year and it will be almost impossible to find a house for less than 500k.
Not singling you out but sometimes I wonder if "great schools" is code language for little or no blacks and Hispanics. Most of the towns mentioned as having "great schools" also happen to be Lily white. Woodbridge has a decent amount of minorities so I suspect the schools can only be "fine" as opposed to "great"
Does the train stop in Secaucus and continue on to grand central? an advantage is that you don't need to change trains?
No, it has nothing to do with race. I am familiar with Woodbridge and have known the mayor for 20+ years. In general JFK is a decent school. Colonia is ok. Woodbridge HS is ok. If you go by test scores, school rankings, kids going to college after school those 3 aren't as good as the others mentioned. Most schools mentioned in this thread are in very expensive areas, and the schools are very good or great. That was the OP request, train line, good schools, good down town. Now, if the OP can't afford Summit, Westfield, etc, he could move to Woodbridge, Or south Edison which are more affordable.
First off there is some great advice on here, and here is my 2 cents. First off try to get a job/location where you can spend as much time as possible with your kid - I know we all have to be caught up in the $ game to a certain extent, but that time you spend with your little one(s) is invaluable to both of you. I get you wanting to get in the best school district possible (I'm caught up with it too now), but I would say be careful what you wish for.
From what I've seen a lot of the Asian population send their kids to Kumon and other after school education programs from a very young age - it seems crazy to me to start sending a 4 year old to these programs but it just seems like part of their culture. The point being you will be sending your kid into an ultra-competitive landscape, and you need to prepared for that.
Finally I would say a good enough school district vs top of the line district may be ok - maybe a Woodbridge fits into that category, and actually Woodbridge is a perfect example for one of my points. We actually live in a town now where there is great disparity between elementary schools (we happen to be in a really good one), but as you start to filter into middle school and high school things start to get worse so that's why we are moving. I know Woodbridge has 3 schools in their district and I'm guessing that their is disparity between the 3 HS. Same in Edison - I know that JP Stevens is much more preferred HS vs Edison HS. So my point is maybe living in a town like Woodbridge or Edison (which is probably a notch or two below what has been mentioned here), but living in the right area so your kid could filter into the right school would be something to consider. This would free up some $ and maybe allow you to get to spend more time with your kid which is the real gold! Btw my whole theory may be shot to hell with the Edison example as there is a HUGE Asian population there. Anyway good luck!
From what I've seen a lot of the Asian population send their kids to Kumon and other after school education programs from a very young age - it seems crazy to me to start sending a 4 year old to these programs but it just seems like part of their culture. The point being you will be sending your kid into an ultra-competitive landscape, and you need to prepared for that.
Finally I would say a good enough school district vs top of the line district may be ok - maybe a Woodbridge fits into that category, and actually Woodbridge is a perfect example for one of my points. We actually live in a town now where there is great disparity between elementary schools (we happen to be in a really good one), but as you start to filter into middle school and high school things start to get worse so that's why we are moving. I know Woodbridge has 3 schools in their district and I'm guessing that their is disparity between the 3 HS. Same in Edison - I know that JP Stevens is much more preferred HS vs Edison HS. So my point is maybe living in a town like Woodbridge or Edison (which is probably a notch or two below what has been mentioned here), but living in the right area so your kid could filter into the right school would be something to consider. This would free up some $ and maybe allow you to get to spend more time with your kid which is the real gold! Btw my whole theory may be shot to hell with the Edison example as there is a HUGE Asian population there. Anyway good luck!
The outcome for any individual child has much more to do with family and socioeconomic background than school. As long as the school is safe and decent I don't think it's worth getting too worked up over. The idea that anyone would be concerned about sending their child to a wonderful historic high school like Columbia is silly. You couldnt pay me to pick a horrible boring town like Franklin Lakes over Maplewood or Montclair just becauer of some school ranking. Your kid will be grateful too every time he bikes or walks to town to meet his friends for basketball, pizza, or a movie.
People who live in Glenn Ridge put up 2 signs when their youngest kid graduates high school: "Congratulations Graduate " and "For Sale"
Fair Haven is a great area so congrats to you - but no way you can say the commute from New Providence stinks. My wife commutes via train to Hoboken and Ferry to her office at the World Financial Center. Very easy - no more tha a 5 minute ride to the train from anywhere in town and plenty of train options in the morning.
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