OT: Town Recommendations
- Thread starter jmc11201
- Start date
It's a decent hike to the City (is Mo-town to the east the nearest train stn?) but a nice area, borough & township, of Morris County. Does former AD Bob Mulcahy still live there?
Small, quaint, very solid schools all the way through, safe, quite pricy, and utterly devoid of any diversity (which may not bother some on here, but which others might want. Over 95% white.). Will be a longer commute than the Montclairs, Maplewoods and South Oranges, and FAR longer than Edgewater. It's in Morris county, so think fairly similar distance to Morristown, Madison, etc. And as someone correctly pointed out, their trains run slower than the Northeast Corridor Line (which goes north-south down to Trenton and parts inbetween like Metuchen).
Nutley is still a good town. Good schools great parks not crazy taxes and everyone’s fav: nutley shop rite. And stones throw from Delawanna train station.
Belleville is a little rougher lol
Is this probably the last job you'll ever have, at 50th and Broadway? If no then I'd pick the town that fits you best... some are better for midtown, some for downtown and some for both. Some have better bus transit options, some better for the train.
Also, do some homework into town politics and culture... for example Montclair is a very liberal town and the population reflects that. Other commuter towns more conservative. Some are a bit elitist and snobby, some more down-to-earth.
Without going too far into the weeds, if I were you I'd think seriously about lengthy commutes and quality of life. Start devising a long-term plan to NOT have to commute into the city unless you have to. The best commute from the burbs will be awful in time and there will come a day when you regret having to do it every day.
Also, do some homework into town politics and culture... for example Montclair is a very liberal town and the population reflects that. Other commuter towns more conservative. Some are a bit elitist and snobby, some more down-to-earth.
Without going too far into the weeds, if I were you I'd think seriously about lengthy commutes and quality of life. Start devising a long-term plan to NOT have to commute into the city unless you have to. The best commute from the burbs will be awful in time and there will come a day when you regret having to do it every day.
If we had bought straight when we moved back probably.
For the first year we lived an hour away and what I found was going for dinner on Friday or Saturday would wind up with "its late, maybe we should sleep in the guest room." after this happened twice I said "how close so we never discuss sleeping over?"
bought 15mins away - worked out great. I also appreciate free babysitters especially for game day over nights - 8pm drop off pick up after dinner Saturday is great.
After reading more details ... I would live in NYC or on the NJ waterfront with path accessibility. You have 4 years before school matters. Enjoy a nice urban living for 4 more years then aim for a settle down house before school.
I swear half my town (Glen Rock) parents lived in Hoboken, Manhattan, or Jersey City until kid hit school age.
I swear half my town (Glen Rock) parents lived in Hoboken, Manhattan, or Jersey City until kid hit school age.
No surprise, it's been the formula for many couples over the years and has continued through the millennials. GenZ up next, especially after COVID-19 settles down (vaccine etc) and young folks flock to urbanized areas.
Depends on where in Mendham...it's a funny shaped town. You could be closer to Morristown or Basking Ridge. Morristown is the better commuter train in that respect. Not all trains from BR are single seat rides into Midtown. Depending on which train you take, may need to switch at Summit or Newark Broad St. The western side of Mendham is almost as far out as Flanders...not an easy commute.
Mendham is nice, but as others have stated - it can be a haul just to get to the highway or train station.
With regard to Mulcahy - years ago he moved here (Basking Ridge), but I'm not sure he is still here. Hobbs is here (or at least I think he is, LOL).
This is correct. No trains instead bus to Port Authority. My nephew lived right across from the ferry in the high rise and walk there To the ferry. Buses will take 1-1.5 hours from a lot of towns.
Indeed, sometimes what helps make a place appealing from one perspective can be a negative from another aspect. In the case of Mendham, there are no major roads through town as its nestled between 206 and 202 & I-287. So less traffic on your doorstep but from the northern part of Mendham it's a bit of a drive just to get to these highways.
I work in in midtown by columbus circle so pretty close to where your office is. I moved to Westfield a couple years ago. My usual pre-covid commute was bus to port authority and then either took the subway up or walked. Not a terrible commute, about 1.5 hrs door to door usually. Taxes are pretty high here but so far I like the area and the schools are supposed to be very good if that's important to you. Cranford is a town over and is another good option.
If you are ok with spending some $$$, summit, millburn, maplewood are kinda where it's at if you don't want to be in bergen county and still have a reasonable commute.
You should negotiate yourself some WFH days or with my nephew and his wife, they are allowed to leave early 2-3 days so they can pick up their kid at daycare in NJ BEFORE 6 pm.
Back to Metropark. Don't know how early you would go to work. But several express trains go from Metropark to Penn Station NYC in 36 or 37 minutes:
06:25 AM
Depart METROPARK
07:01 AM
Arrive NEW YORK PENN STATION
Northeast Corridor #3704
08:00 AM
Depart METROPARK
08:36 AM
Arrive NEW YORK PENN STATION
Northeast Corridor #3712
Here's an example of a house in North Edison:
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2-Fox-Hill-Rd-Edison-NJ-08820/39073628_zpid/
6 Minutes to Metropark:
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/2+F...5acec8b1652!2m2!1d-74.3296338!2d40.568101!3e0
Factor in 15 minutes, leaving time for traffic and getting to platform.
To get from Penn Station to your office at 50th and Broadway, take the 1 train--6 minutes. Factor 15 minutes for waiting time and walking.
That's 1 hour and 6 minutes. Some have said NJ transit times are not correct. Have not commuted frequently, but every time I have taken the express to NY Penn Station, it is under 40 minutes.
Don't know if you would consider North Edison. Years ago, we gave it a hard look, but at the time, we were early in our career, and we could not afford a house.
You could consider Metuchen, but housing prices are fairly higher, and it is harder to find newer, larger houses in Metuchen. One of our partners lived in a small house in Metuchen for a few years and eventually moved to Westfield--but our office is in Metropark.
Hope this helps.
Do you actually do this commute? I've been told it takes over 30 minutes to get out of the metropark parking garage in the evening.
Paramount building? I'm in the same building.
Dealing with similar school commute questions as you. This comes down to how much time you want to waste on the commute. Best commutes with best schools: short hills, summit, Ridgewood or Glen rock. End of story. You're looking at about an hour or a bit more. Goes up from there. Or you choose a lower tier but still good town like Rutherford and there are a few others with a good commute.
I actually have the benefit of parking across the street at an office building where we have our office, and I can get of the train and in my car in 5 minutes and get on the Parkway. If possible, it is always good to scout out a commute to see how it is in action. 30 minutes seems like a lot of time.
haha It’s that or close to it. My experience on Friday’s with lower volume of people hour and 20. Regular day hour and 40.
the problem with NJ is the part of once you get into the city. I lived in CT for a while. Metro north to grand central and you walk right into your park avenue office.
Nj you struggle out of Penn station and them take a subway all the way across town. Sucks.
Also metro north was way more on time.
All those trains were built by Vanderbilt and he built crazy good infrastructure right into the heart of midtown.
That parking deck is a nightmare. People taking trains around 8am turn the entrance to the deck into a clusterf. Then the same thing between 430 and 630 on the way out. My wife would drop me off and pick me up from the the acela service there and I would just watch the horror every time.
Same. I'm involved in some major business in AH and I've completely fallen in love with the town, the people and the vibe.
^^^^^ Truth
Back in the day, I used to hit the Acela for work meetings or MR in DC, Baltimore or Boston about once a month. The MP parking deck is literally the definition of clusterf. I quickly started to use a car service for the train station. Never did car service to EWR, but had to for MP. It's worst than Princeton Junction ever was!
Can't beat the views.
This house is only $725,000. One downside is that the houses with the views usually have sloping lots.
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/167-Ocean-Blvd-Atlantic-Highlands-NJ-07716/39221159_zpid/?
No views, but newer house for $799K
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2-Latham-Ave-Atlantic-Highlands-NJ-07716/183270272_zpid/
Ferry less than 5 minutes away, great downtown with restaurants, Highlands and Sea Bright restaurants close by, and Red Bank not far away. Excellent Mt Mitchill Park with stunning views, and the outstanding Hartshorne Woods.
Can't beat the views.
This house is only $725,000. One downside is that the houses with the views usually have sloping lots.
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/167-Ocean-Blvd-Atlantic-Highlands-NJ-07716/39221159_zpid/?
No views, but newer house for $799K
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2-Latham-Ave-Atlantic-Highlands-NJ-07716/183270272_zpid/
Ferry less than 5 minutes away, great downtown with restaurants, Highlands and Sea Bright restaurants close by, and Red Bank not far away. Excellent Mt Mitchill Park with stunning views, and the outstanding Hartshorne Woods.
My wife and I rode our bikes up to that Mt Mitchell Park about a month ago. My brother used to live in AH but I had not been up there in probably 20 years, I forgot how beautiful the views are and some of those homes up there have some of the best views on the east coast.
That house is nice but those pics of the view are deceiving as they were taken from a drone
Some of the most enjoyable bicycle riding I have done include:
Sandy Hook in the fall/winter/spring--an incredible amount of historic building and nature preserves;
Over the Highlands bridge, through the Highlands, Henry Hudson Trail along the bay (it is very wet in spots)- and then the steep hill up Ocean Ave to Mt. Mitchill Park;
Hartshorne Woods.
Outstanding location, and the easy commute to lower Manhattan is a major bonus. NYC is not a popular destination at the moment, but it will be back.
I know someone who does the BR commute. She takes an Uber/Lyft to and from Summit train station.
If you commute from MetroPark, don't drive there. Take an Uber, or have someone drop you off. Especially at the end of the day. South bound train, you can walk to Rt 27 from the platform and avoid the the parking deck and train station.
If you move to Metuchen, make sure you are walking distance to the train.
That's a pretty penny 2x per day, 5 days per week but offset partly by the cheaper train ticket for the shorter ride.
I imagine there must be almost no parking available at Summit, or just a forever waitlist, as to why not just drive herself to Summit?
I don't know the Summit parking situation. But i guess Uber is hassle free for her and she was doing it 3 times a week (not Wednesday or Friday).
Can't beat the views.
This house is only $725,000. One downside is that the houses with the views usually have sloping lots.
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/167-Ocean-Blvd-Atlantic-Highlands-NJ-07716/39221159_zpid/?
No views, but newer house for $799K
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2-Latham-Ave-Atlantic-Highlands-NJ-07716/183270272_zpid/
Ferry less than 5 minutes away, great downtown with restaurants, Highlands and Sea Bright restaurants close by, and Red Bank not far away. Excellent Mt Mitchill Park with stunning views, and the outstanding Hartshorne Woods.
AH is full of PWT and awful school systems. Pass.
Where many of the druggies come from to Bayshore Hospital ER.
