Advice on places to live in NJ

[ChrisBrown]

My wife and I can't afford living in Ft. Greene, Brooklyn anymore so we are moving to NJ. We need to live within an easy train or bus commute to Manhattan.
Yesterday we went driving around Westfield, Cranford, and Millburn and they all seemed not bad and had houses within our budget. Does anyone out there have recommendations for interesting NJ towns? Any advice on the three I mentioned? Anything seriously wrong with any of those towns that you wouldn't know by just driving through?

[JPMNICK]

of the three, millburn is the nicest, and if you plan on having kids it has the best schools. Cranford is also a nice town, it is more blue collar then millburn. Millburn is VERY wealthy town, most of the people who live there work in NYC.

also look into Summit

[Caseyelan]

We live down a lil lower jersey... It's really nice but dave has to commute via bus everyday which takes about an hour.

I like it...much cheaper then bergen or northern nj.

[Lady Resin]

Stay out of Essex County!

[Don Stugots]

and Sussex, unless you are a farmer.

[happytypinggirl]

will you need to walk to the train/bus? or will you be able to live where you can drive to a train?

[ChrisBrown]

Stay out of Essex County!

Thanks for the quick replies. Why stay out of Essex Country? I heard the taxes are the worst.

[ChrisBrown]

will you need to walk to the train/bus? or will you be able to live where you can drive to a train?


Good question. Ideally, we would love to be able to just walk to a train. Yesterday, however, we realized that we will probably need to buy a car so now we are thing of places that we can drive to a train.

[JPMNICK]

Good question. Ideally, we would love to be able to just walk to a train. Yesterday, however, we realized that we will probably need to buy a car so now we are thing of places that we can drive to a train.

if you are going to drive to the train anyway, maybe live in a town that does not have a train. it is usually cheaper in non-train towns. Look into Springfield, it is in between summit and millburn. the houses are a little cheaper, but it is still a nice town.

any where that you are looking has really high taxes

[Lady Resin]

Thanks for the quick replies. Why stay out of Essex Country? I heard the taxes are the worst.The taxes stink and I don't like them. They tend to improve certains towns than others.

[ChrisBrown]

We live down a lil lower jersey... It's really nice but dave has to commute via bus everyday which takes about an hour.

I like it...much cheaper then bergen or northern nj.

Thanks for responding, Casey. How long is the commute? That would be our big concern about moving much farther out than Westfield..

[Caseyelan]

Thanks for responding, Casey. How long is the commute? That would be our big concern about moving much farther out than Westfield..

We have a nice townhouse close to the beach and I drive dave to the bus station about 8 mins away in red bank.... It takes 50 mins to port authority. Then he takes the subway to midtown from there.

Ps. The train takes about 30 mins longer then the bus... (the bus is also much cheaper)

[Foster]

We live down a lil lower jersey... It's really nice but dave has to commute via bus everyday which takes about an hour.

I like it...much cheaper then bergen or northern nj.

Thanks for responding, Casey. How long is the commute? That would be our big concern about moving much farther out than Westfield..

an one hour commute typically takes about an hour

[JPMNICK]

make sure you live on a train line that does not require you to change in newark, which I think Westfield does

[Lady Resin]

You also can go to www.nj.com. On the home page click interact. The on the next screen click on forums. On that page under Local at the bottom click on "all local forums." You can post a question under the Counties your are interested in.

[Tenbatsuzen]

You also can go to www.nj.com. On the home page click interact. The on the next screen click on forums. On that page under Local at the bottom click on "all local forums." You can post a question under the Counties your are interested in.

Actually, the City-Data.com forums are a lot better than NJ.com's forums. NJ.com's forums are full of kooks and assholes.

[Lady Resin]

NJ.com's forums are full of kooks and assholes.

Yep, and they're mostly in Essex.

[Tenbatsuzen]

Yep, and they're mostly in Essex.

The Radio Forum is fucking hysterical. It's the same 10 people, and they're all posting hate about 101.5.

[Lady Resin]

The Radio Forum is fucking hysterical. It's the same 10 people, and they're all posting hate about 101.5.

I check that one out first thing every morning. What a bunch of maroons!

[Foster]

We have a nice townhouse close to the beach and I drive dave to the bus station about 8 mins away in red bank.... It takes 50 mins to port authority. Then he takes the subway to midtown from there.

Ps. The train takes about 30 mins longer then the bus... (the bus is also much cheaper)

what time of the day is Dave commuting into NYC? He might miss a lot of morning traffic

[Tenbatsuzen]

I check that one out first thing every morning. What a bunch of maroons!

The black lady who is threatening to boycott the car dealerships has to be a board character or mentally retarded. God, the knowledge I could drop on her would make her shit her pants.

[Lady Resin]

The black lady who is threatening to boycott the car dealerships has to be a board character or mentally retarded. God, the knowledge I could drop on her would make her shit her pants.

I started reading that post from the beginning. After awhile I gave up on it. If it's a board character she's a good actress.

[NewYorkDragons80]

My wife and I can't afford living in Ft. Greene, Brooklyn anymore so we are moving to NJ. We need to live within an easy train or bus commute to Manhattan.
Yesterday we went driving around Westfield, Cranford, and Millburn and they all seemed not bad and had houses within our budget. Does anyone out there have recommendations for interesting NJ towns? Any advice on the three I mentioned? Anything seriously wrong with any of those towns that you wouldn't know by just driving through?

I have a friend in Westfield. It's a pretty nice area and not a bad commute to NYC at all. If you can find something in your price range, go for it.

[Caseyelan]

what time of the day is Dave commuting into NYC? He might miss a lot of morning traffic

he leaves on an 8:50ish bus... he doesn't really have to worry about traffic. Buses have their own tunnel lanes.

[JerseyRich]

I grew up in Westfield and live in Fanwood now...Fanwood/Scotch Plains has a train station(Next stop west of Westfield). Westfield/Cranford/Scotch Plains/ Summit/ Clark...all have great schools. Taxes are shitty, but it's a convenient place to live.

And don't worry about having to change trains in Newark... it's not that big of a deal. I did it for 4 years when I commuted to school in Manhattan.

Good luck with your search.

[Hottub]

NJ.com's forums are full of kooks and assholes.

:innocent:

[Don Stugots]

:innocent:

and creeps?

[Friday]

I live in Garwood, the teeny tiny town sammiched in between Westfield and Cranford and i love it.
All the perks of the nice money-having towns without the crazy taxes. The train and bus are a block away and there are tons of parks and bike trails in the area.
It's a nice place to live. And a great area for kids to grow up.

[Lady Resin]

I live in Garwood, the teeny tiny town sammiched in between Westfield and Cranford and i love it.
All the perks of the nice money-having towns without the crazy taxes. The train and bus are a block away and there are tons of parks and bike trails in the area.
It's a nice place to live. And a great area for kids to grow up.

I always thought Garwood was in Bergen County. I have to get out more often. :down: Sounds like a nice town. I wish we could move but hubby works for the country and he has to live in the county. Right before he got the job we wanted to move to Monmouth County. Poor timing.:wacko:

[AngryAsianGuy]

I hear there are great supermarkets in Edgewater.

[ChrisBrown]

Thanks again for the responses. This has been helpful.

[JPMNICK]

I always thought Garwood was in Bergen County. I have to get out more often. :down: Sounds like a nice town. I wish we could move but hubby works for the country and he has to live in the county. Right before he got the job we wanted to move to Monmouth County. Poor timing.:wacko:

you are thinking of Garfield

[Tall_James]

you are thinking of Garfield

You're thinking of the fat orange cat that eats lasagna.

[Lady Resin]

you are thinking of Garfield

It's the wood part that screws me up. NJ had 5 Washington Twps. I use to work for the phone company. We spent at 3 months trying to clear up accounts for the PO for mailing address.

[landarch]

Stay out of Essex County!

There are a lot of really nice classy neighborhoods in western Essex county. A lot of style that you don't see anywhere else. I lived in Westfield for a couple of years. It's a nice town but the people are incredibly snooty. The neighborhoods south of the train tracks are not as snooty (and not as nice, on average) as those on the north side. The taxes aren't as high either.

An example: My in-laws had a house there on the north side of town. Nothing fancy, 70 years old and not really updated. In-ground pool, 75 X 160' lot. When they sold their house three years ago, they got $580K. Their taxes were $12,000 per year at that time, and I can't imagine they've gone down. Lots of Land Rovers in Westfield. Great schools the kids can walk to, and a nice downtown.


Mountainside has nice houses and neighborhoods, and much lower taxes.


If money was no object, however, I would live in Summit. It's a little nicer than Westfield but not as snooty by a long shot. Great downtown area full of small upscale family owned stores. Westfield's downtown has a lot of mall stores.

[rick9669]

if your in union county (westfield , cranford) catch the train in elizabeth (secured parking grage) and the train a sraight shot to nyc

[Devo37]

you are thinking of Garfield

i prefer to think of Garfield minus Garfield (http://garfieldminusgarfield.net/).

[Heather 8]

I hear there are great supermarkets in Edgewater.

Mitsuwa FTW. :clap:

[AngryAsianGuy]

Mitsuwa FTW. :clap:

BOOYAH !!!

[BillySolHarg]

Monclair is nice and fairly close to transport.
Same can be said for Nutley.

[Tenbatsuzen]

I live in Middlesex county, which is relatively close to the turnpike, as exits 10, 9, 8a, and 8 run through it. It's about halfway between New York and Philly. There are great schools (East Brunswick, South Brunswick, and North Brunswick all have Blue Ribbon accreditation) and the taxes are so-so. Not insanely high, but not low either.

Shopping in the area is all right. You have access to Woodbridge Center, Menlo Park, etc.

[9mileskid]

i'm out in dover,nice town but alot of spanish.the train is in town it starts running about 4:30am.you can catch a bus at the rockaway mall.shopping is easy schools suck plenty of bars and restaurants.taxes are about $6000 plenty of empty homes.good luck bro'

[ANC]

I live in Middlesex county, which is relatively close to the turnpike, as exits 10, 9, 8a, and 8 run through it. It's about halfway between New York and Philly. There are great schools (East Brunswick, South Brunswick, and North Brunswick all have Blue Ribbon accreditation) and the taxes are so-so. Not insanely high, but not low either.

Shopping in the area is all right. You have access to Woodbridge Center, Menlo Park, etc.

Ummm yup. I was pretty much going to post the above, but it covers what I'd say so I'll just ride coat-tails. Well done :thumbup:.

Also I can't say enough about Cranford/Garwood/Westfield area.

[midwestjeff]

Fuck Jersey.

Move to Iowa.

It's much nicer.

[Thebazile78]

Fuck Jersey.

Move to Iowa.

It's much nicer.

Iowa's only selling points are fictional character Walter "Radar" O'Reilly and a CDC research lab in Ames.

New Jersey, on the other hand, has the ocean and the Pine Barrens.

Take THAT you land-locked corn-eater!

[A.J.]

Iowa's only selling points are fictional character Walter "Radar" O'Reilly and a CDC research lab in Ames.

You forgot beloved actor/entertainer Tom Arnold!

[Warren Peace]

i'm out in dover,nice town but alot of spanish.the train is in town it starts running about 4:30am.you can catch a bus at the rockaway mall.shopping is easy schools suck plenty of bars and restaurants.taxes are about $6000 plenty of empty homes.good luck bro'

aka Doverico

[Thebazile78]

You forgot beloved actor/entertainer Tom Arnold!

No I didn't.

[LordJezo]

Westfield has the only Trader Joe's in the state that sells booze.

So that's a plus.

[ahhdurr]

My friend's wife commutes regularly from Red Bank. Somewhat hip little Jersey Shore town.

I would do a little research on NJ Transit lines from Jersey. I lived in the Metuchen area for years and the old man took the NE Corridor during that time. Even from Trenton, the express ride to Newark Penn Station is just over an hour.

[Caseyelan]

My friend's wife commutes regularly from Red Bank. Somewhat hip little Jersey Shore town.

I would do a little research on NJ Transit lines from Jersey. I lived in the Metuchen area for years and the old man took the NE Corridor during that time. Even from Trenton, the express ride to Newark Penn Station is just over an hour.

Your wife and Davey should High Five in the morning.

[Aqualad]

My friend's wife commutes regularly from Red Bank. Somewhat hip little Jersey Shore town.

I would do a little research on NJ Transit lines from Jersey. I lived in the Metuchen area for years and the old man took the NE Corridor during that time. Even from Trenton, the express ride to Newark Penn Station is just over an hour.

You can take the train from Asbury. It's coming back, I swear!

[ahhdurr]

Fuck Jersey.

Move to Iowa.

It's much nicer.

Or just PA... closer and just as nice. Best thing I ever did.

You forgot beloved actor/entertainer Tom Arnold!
And the prestigious Iowa writer's workshop... (which really is the only thing about Iowa -oh and Slipknot... they're from there I think... and ethanol)

I've been to Sioux City though... it's like Trenton - only safer... with Riverboat Gambling?? Riverboats full of illegal Vietnamese who look like they'd rather just slit your round eye throat.

Your wife and Davey should High Five in the morning.
Oh - no, that really is my friend's wife ... not like a Dr. Steve show where someone says "this 'friend' of mine has chlamydia".

Seeyas at The Downtown some night!