need opinion to shortlist towns in passaic or essex county (Newark: townhouse, buy)

[saraogi]

Hi guys,

i was trying to short list some towns in essex or passaic county where i can buy my first home. i work in the midtown new york city, so i don't want my commute to be more than 1 hr door to door- i prefer close to train. i am looking for single family houses( can compromise to townhouse) 3 bedroom 2 bath with good KG-G2 schooling. I prefer newer or renovated construction- price range in 400K.
Any adv would be welcome

[ansky]

1-hour door to door commute from Essex County is tough unless you lived in Newark or Harrison and took the Path. The train ride from the Oranges is at least 30 minutes, and closer to 45 minutes from Montclair. So unless you move right near a train station and have an office right near Penn station this is going to be tough.

[sukar]

it takes abt an hour door to door from the oranges to midtown

[nemmert]

You aren't going to find much new construction in Passaic County, especially not in that price range... most newer construction is the typical "tear em down replace with McMansion" sort of thing. I believe you can get from Parsippany to mid-town in about an hour if you leave early enough in the morning but you'd need to stick near Route 80 for the staight shot into the GWB. My home in Pompton Lakes is 4/2, 55 years old, on the market for low 300s... you may need to modify your expectations some.

[kemcnyc]

This is a popular post! I actually started on City Data a few weeks back w/ a similiar..... unfortunately, the answer is "1 hr commute door to door from Decent NJ suburb does not exist"

South Orange is an option but will run over 1 hr door to door.

A co worker of mine swears by the Montclair commute (he takes the bus).

Might want to check out Maplewood.