Plainsboro residents can't get parking spots at PJ, last I heard. Multi-year waiting list for a parking pass.
OT: Thoughts on a Few NJ Towns
- Thread starter jmc11201
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Maybe get a job and you can afford rent in a place other than a basement in Sussex.
And if I recall, you go to Montclair for the nightlife.
Agreed. I live in Cranford now. Lived in Montclair for a decade before moving here after my son was born. Can’t go wrong with either. I had a preference for new construction since I travel a lot and there isn’t much of that in Montclair. When I no longer need a house, I’ll be headed back to Montclair (son is 3 so got a while).
Both towns are incredibly friendly. And board luminary @zappaa is a prominent Montclairon.
I love this post. So sweet and innocent. It's like the equivalent of saying,
"Doing some research on neighborhoods in California -- I've landed on Malibu, Bel Air, and Calabasas. What do you think?"
or
"1993 eras Cindy Crawford, Gabrielle Anwar and Julia Roberts all want to marry me. Which one should I go for?"
Dude... you literally CANNOT go wrong. It's impossible.
"Doing some research on neighborhoods in California -- I've landed on Malibu, Bel Air, and Calabasas. What do you think?"
or
"1993 eras Cindy Crawford, Gabrielle Anwar and Julia Roberts all want to marry me. Which one should I go for?"
Dude... you literally CANNOT go wrong. It's impossible.
Yes, excellent schools academically. So does Basking Ridge. All 3 are largely on par as some of the best in the state (and nationally too)
Lots of good stuff in here...thank you.
We currently live in Back Bay Boston and love it. We have one car, which we rarely use. Moving to NJ, I know we'd be in the car more, but I am targeting nice towns with commuter options so that we can maintain only one car and my wife won't need to drive everywhere. I am from Monmouth County NJ, so know parts of the state well. My concerns with Hudson County (not that I've ruled it out) is that I worry that it would be overwhelming for my wife. She is from the midwest and the tangle of roads there is a bit much. I figure Madison/Ridgewood could be a nice compromise. Sounds like Cranford and Basking Ridge and a few others might be worth checking out as well.
We currently live in Back Bay Boston and love it. We have one car, which we rarely use. Moving to NJ, I know we'd be in the car more, but I am targeting nice towns with commuter options so that we can maintain only one car and my wife won't need to drive everywhere. I am from Monmouth County NJ, so know parts of the state well. My concerns with Hudson County (not that I've ruled it out) is that I worry that it would be overwhelming for my wife. She is from the midwest and the tangle of roads there is a bit much. I figure Madison/Ridgewood could be a nice compromise. Sounds like Cranford and Basking Ridge and a few others might be worth checking out as well.
Back Bay is amazing. Love that place. If you want something even approaching a similar lifestyle, Madison may be too small. Montclair might be closest before getting into the idea of Jersey City/Hoboken.
Ridgewood is crazy busy. Routes 17 and route 4 and the parkway all converge in and around that area there in Bergen County and it's tough to get around without using one of those highways. The benefit is you've got awesome schools (locally Ridgewood high, but also the Bergen County Academy).
If she's a midwesterner and wants a bit of a slower pace with a Rockwell America type motif then she'll want Upper Montclair. Take her to Watchung Plaza in Montclair; then take her to Presby Iris Park and Mountainside. Finish off in Upper Montclair at Mattarello for a cappucino. She'll find her "place" there, I trust. The downside is the schools are mediocre at best.
We're definitely going to look at Jersey City and Hoboken. I suspect we will err on the side of more low-key than busy and hectic...but from what I've heard (haven't spent much time there the last ten years), Jersey City is family friendly and might be a nice fit.
There's no way Jersey City or Hoboken will work, based on what you've described. Those places are urban suburban mazes. Takes 20 minutes just to drive out of Hoboken (on a good day)
What is the issue with Montclair schools?
I would bet the students taking college prep classes get a fine education
I would bet the students taking college prep classes get a fine education
So much weight towards commuting since there is very little love for Monmouth and Ocean counties which have some fantastic towns to live in. If NJ Transit ever restarted the MOM line which would serve Northern Ocean and Western Monmouth counties, as well as parts of Middlesex you'd see a lot of those towns make the list a lot higher.
Hoboken and JC are a traffic nightmare these days. Maybe Hoboken not as bad but JC, forget about it, especially like Grove Street
They are good, but not great. Check out the zillow scores.
Except it you have a rental in downtown Ridgewood you don't need to get involved with those roads, which are mainly located in Paramus. Shopping of all kinds, banking and great restaurants are all short walks.
the responses slamming Montclair are 100% based upon overt political opinions and shouldn't be considered. not saying its better than the other towns you listed, but don't take the criticisms here seriously because they're not.
Yea but Woodbridge and Edison seem better than the others . Isn’t jp stevens one of the top high schools in the state ?
Rather than listening to people who don't live there, this website may be helfpul.
Also, perhaps @zappaa can offer some insight?
The differing priorities for Montclair Board of Education candidates - Montclair Local
But they agree on the importance of two topics — infrastructure and special education.
www.montclairlocal.news
Metuchen is a nice little town and will always have a special place in my heart because of some childhood history I have there, but that stretch of Route 1 is one of the worst stretches of highway I've ever encountered.
Ridgewood ranked higher. And for K-6, which is more important to him currently, there's no comparison.
We've loved it here, as has our son. Also, not sure when you were last here, but Route 1 was upgraded signficantly several years ago - I commuted 9 miles to and from Rahway on 1 for 30 years and outside of the occasional bad day, never gave it much thought (especially as there are diversions around any backup if you know them). Also, if going anywhere more than a few miles N/S, I take the TPK, which is <5 minutes from our house, so we only use 1 for very local drives.
Why would you be watching Montclair BOE meetings?
I'm only writing about what I know personally:
Madison:
I currently rent in Madison with my wife, toddler and dog. We're a 10 minute walk from the train, which runs direct into Penn Station. The train takes a little under an hour. The door to door commute is a little long, but I can stomach it a few times a week (working remotely the remainder). Madison has a nice enough little town to be interesting, with a few bars, several BYOB restaurants, pharmacy and grocery store all within walking distance (or a very short drive). There's also a public playground right near town that my wife takes my son to all the time. It's a great little suburban town for families. Finding a home to buy here is another story...
Jersey City:
We lived in Jersey City prior to moving out to Madison. (We moved to Madison to get more space for more value, as we had a new dog and baby.) We lived in one of the doorman buildings in Paulus Hook, and we loved the neighborhood. It is quieter and more residential than the downtown Grove Street area, but that area is also very accessible (5-12 minute walk, depending on which part of Paulus Hook you're in). Paulus Hook has cute neighborhood restaurants, convenience stores, some takeout options, a small food market and pharmacies. It has a couple PATH stations within a 10 minute walk, or you can take the ferry (for which there are two terminals, on separate ends of Paulus Hook). The views across the Hudson are gorgeous. The neighborhood is generally (i) young professional commuters, (ii) downsizing retirees or (iii) young families (who then leave once the kids are school-aged). We loved living there, but left during the pandemic because the best aspects (proximity to work and restaurants/entertainment) were no longer applicable, and it's more expensive, particularly with regards to parking.
When we were looking to leave Jersey City, we looked at Summit, Westfield, Chatham and Cranford too. All seemed nice and have good reputations. We ended up in Madison as a result of timing and circumstance and have no regrets. Happy to answer any questions. Good luck.
Route 1 is not a factor (and it’s also not that bad).
I use Route 1 to get to the car dealer for servicing and the Stop and Shop is 100 yards down Route 1 from Main Street.
The traffic is really a non-issue. There is a lot that is local. Also, if you need to get to the city or the shore or wherever it’s very central.
Edit: I was just following on (not rebutting) #’s comments.
Here's my view, in no particular order by county and no particular order by town
Union County
1. Scotch Plains (nice downtown, train in Fanwood)
2. Westfield (great downtown, train)
3. Cranford (solid downtown, train)
4. New Providence (good downtown, train)
5. Berkeley Heights (Up the hill from NP)
6. Clark - closer to GSP, not sure about downtown or train
7. Summit - Similar vibe to Westfield (Rex Ryan and Eli Manning lived there)
North Jersey - Parkway
1. Glen Rock - love the vibe, not sure about downtown or train
2. Glen Ridge - borders Montclair, also East Orange
3. Montclair - great downtown, train
4. Montvale - super nice, not sure about downtown or train
North Jersey - 287
1. Mendham - great town
2. Chatham - great town
3. Madison - nice town, train, good downtown
4. Morristown - great downtown, train
Central Jersey - 287
1. Metuchen - nice town, good downtown, train
2. Bridgewater - great town, no downtown (but close to Raritan which has train/downtown)
3. Basking Ridge / Bernardsville - BR has nice downtown and train
4. Warren - Virtually no downtown, close to BR
5. Somerville - great downtown, train
Union County
1. Scotch Plains (nice downtown, train in Fanwood)
2. Westfield (great downtown, train)
3. Cranford (solid downtown, train)
4. New Providence (good downtown, train)
5. Berkeley Heights (Up the hill from NP)
6. Clark - closer to GSP, not sure about downtown or train
7. Summit - Similar vibe to Westfield (Rex Ryan and Eli Manning lived there)
North Jersey - Parkway
1. Glen Rock - love the vibe, not sure about downtown or train
2. Glen Ridge - borders Montclair, also East Orange
3. Montclair - great downtown, train
4. Montvale - super nice, not sure about downtown or train
North Jersey - 287
1. Mendham - great town
2. Chatham - great town
3. Madison - nice town, train, good downtown
4. Morristown - great downtown, train
Central Jersey - 287
1. Metuchen - nice town, good downtown, train
2. Bridgewater - great town, no downtown (but close to Raritan which has train/downtown)
3. Basking Ridge / Bernardsville - BR has nice downtown and train
4. Warren - Virtually no downtown, close to BR
5. Somerville - great downtown, train
Chatham,Summit,Madison are solid bets.Avoid over priced Monclair at all costs.
Check out Denville, easy commute to NYC, not crazy taxes, lots of lakes and great downtown area with tons of places to eat as well as good schools
the train ride is over an hour from denville...it's easy, but def on the long-ish side
This is true. Route 1 totally sucks from South of Princeton all the way up into Rahway and beyond. I generally avoid it like the plague.
I don't know how long it's been since you've been in NJ, but Route 287 can also totally suck, especially headed south between Staten Island and Piscataway from about 3:30 - 6:30 or 7:00. I also avoid that like the plague.
There are plenty of other roads all over eastern NJ that are equally bad nowadays. Which goes to my point about how I'd seek a town to the western side of NJ, where the overcrowding hasn't made driving an exercise in frustration.
Agree with this. Be great for a young family with lots to do either in Lambertville or New Hope or other towns along the Delaware. People all along there are plenty friendly and the level of traffic would be far more livable (for me) than pretty much anywhere on the eastern side of the state.
Being in a downtown that is commutable, walkable, and has stuff to do with alleviate a lot of the pressure from busy roads. We are fine getting in the car and doing stuff, but I don't want busy roads to be a daily part of our routine if we can help it.
That's true, too.
And if that's the case for you guys, then, as #s and 1984 said above, the traffic on Route 1 and 287 is pretty easily avoidable. In pretty much any of the towns people are talking about, even when the towns are pretty large in general, if you're renting, you're likely to find rentals near downtown, making walking pretty doable.
Are you planning to rent a house? Or just rent an apartment, perhaps with a garage for the one car?
I was thinking about this thread when driving a couple hours earlier. And I kept thinking that, no matter what anybody here says, I'd make a point to visit w/the wife and scout some candidate towns out over a long weekend. See what it's like on a Friday and weekend day.
Because what works for some folks doesn't work for others.
We are open to renting a house, but my preference would be a no hassle apartment that is well located.
We would definitely take a long weekend trip down. We know Monmouth County well, but neither of us know the rest of the state that well...so seeing places with our own eyes is critical. The good thing with renting as well, is that if something just isn't the right fit, we can find something that works better.
I need help over here in Doylestown. Too many PSU grads…but I’m fighting back…
For schools, lifestyle and how people treat each other, this is hard to beat. But obviously not a place to commute to NYC from.
Moved from Jersey City to Lambertville (not right in town, but very close...it quickly turns into large multi-acre private lots a mile outside of town) back in 2014. It’s changed so much of my life for the better. Stress free commute, more work/life balance, calmer way of life, tons of outdoor activities, and 2 great walkable towns at my fingertips.
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