Moving to NJ (Bergen, Union, Essex, Morris) (Passaic, Wayne: real estate market, house)
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I am looking to move to NJ from Long Island in the summer of 2008. The towns I am looking into are as follows: Ridgewood, Wyckoff, Oradell, New Providence Chatham, Millburn.
I have 2 kids (5 yr olds), one with special needs, so the school district is the most important factor. I would like a town which is family oriented and also has a nice downtown.
I work in NYC so I would like my commute to be under 1 1/2 hrs.
Our max price is $625k.
Our max taxes is $10k
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
P.S. If anyone has any info/opinions on the special edcucation on these towns I would really appreciate any input.
Read your post, not sure if you are still looking or not, but the towns you mentioned sound great, but just wanted to add that you should really look into Franklin Lakes in Bergen County and Wayne in Passaic County. Both are minutes from Ridgewood, and Wayne is just minutes from Upper Montclair.
Franklin Lakes home prices are quite high but you can find deals every now and then, and the taxes are very low.
You can get a lot more for your money in Wayne, especially in the Packanack Lake neighborhood. Taxes are comparable to most North Jersey towns. Very family-oriented community with much shopping/restaurants nearby as well as being between located between Ridgewood and Montclair's downtown centers. The lake itself does not flood and the neighborhood is actually hilly and woodsy. It's located minutes from a Park & Ride with NJ Transit bus and train on Route 23 which usually takes 30 to 60 minutes to get into Port Authority depending on traffic.
My top pick is Ridgewood 'cus it has a great downtown and school system. The commute should also be within 1.5 hours. You'll probably get in closer to an hour if you work and live near the train.
Here's a commuter map you'll find quite helpful in your search.
The problem with Ridgewood is that the property taxes are fairly high to support the good school system (I grew up in Ridgewood and we just sold my mother's house a few years ago. Her taxes were close to 9K on a house with NO land on a busy street).
Additionally, Ridgewood brings with it a lot of attendant social-climbing issues that one should be prepared for. I loved it there as a child - and it does have a fantastic downtown, small town feel, and great schools - but when you hit junior high and high school and you don't have the money to keep up, as a kid you feel it keenly. It's just something to keep in mind. You'd probably find less of that in Glen Rock, Waldwick, Wyckoff where the disparity is somewhat less.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kimchee
My top pick is Ridgewood 'cus it has a great downtown and school system. The commute should also be within 1.5 hours. You'll probably get in closer to an hour if you work and live near the train.
Here's a commuter map you'll find quite helpful in your search.
To be honest, all the towns the OP list are on the upscale side with average homes price starting from $570K in New Providence to 1 mil in Millburn.
You're going to encounter the mentality you described in any of those towns. Home prices in Wyckoff are even higher than Ridgewood. I would like to hear some more opinions on the disparity at each of those towns 'cus I too am considering Ridgewood as a possible future hometown.
I live in Harrington Park which is 5 minutes from Oradell and in between Haworth and Old Tappan. I do not know anything about the last 3 towns listed and don't know what size house you are looking for but i can tell you anything in Ridgewood, Wyckoff or Oradell will probably start or be close to your max house and tax pricesand go up from there. I started paying $7800 in taxes here 7 years ago and I am now paying $11,400. If I were you since you say you have a special needs child I would base my choice of town on whichever has the best services. Call the board of ed offices in each town and ask them what kind of services they offer. You could probably also meet with the special ed offices in the elementary schools. Best of luck, hope all works out.
One other thought - why are you confining your search to North Jersey, which is probably the most expensive and congested option?
I live in Middlesex County right now (Metuchen). I love it here, to me it has many of the nice things I grew up with in Ridgewood (vibrant downtown, good schools, etc.) without the social competitiveness. Additionally, if you are commuting to midtown by train, it's actually a much better commute - 45 minutes into Penn Station. It's also much closer to the beach if you enjoy that.
I chose these towns because I have done research regarding there SPE Services. I have spoken to SPE CSE Chairmen, Regional Coordinators, SEPTA Members, APSEN Groups, as well as Parent Advocates. Believe me its not easy getting answers regarding SPE Services for many reasons which I won't go into hear. For the most part these towns are consistent regarding peoples opinions on the SPE Services. At the end no school district is perfect. So I have make a leap of faith.
We also chose these towns because from what I understand and hear they are family oriented, within 1 1/2 of the city (where I work) and have nice downtowns. We also have family that live in Fort Lee. Currently we live in Long Island have no familiy around so being close to relatives is important to us.
Our biggest concern is to ensure my son stays mainstreamed in school so from my research I have been told its better to stay with a large to medium size school district.
Regarding the fact that some of these towns are very rich and as my kids get older there will be pressure to stay up with the Jones or that people are snobby in these towns, this is something to consider but if this is my biggest problem in the future I will consider myself lucky.
I appreciete all of your opionions and info. Thank you so much. If you have anymore info on schoold districts and towns please write back.
P.S. I looked into Franklin Lakes but it seems to expensive for me. Wyckoff and Oakland share there High School.
Someone did mentioned the South Jersey and beaches, we do like the beach and we go almost every weekend in the summer, so that is one thing I'll miss. We hope to find a nice lake in Bergen thoug:-).
You may want to try Westfield. Based on your price range and your max taxes there is a very good chance you will not find anything you like within your budget, but as the real estate market is currently tanking you may get lucky. Westfield has an excellent school system with a very good special education program. It also has an unbeatable downtown within walking distance for most people. Westfield does not have direct service to NYC which is kind of annoying but by 2016 that will hopefully have changed. All the same, the commute is managable. Only 40 minutes or so to midtown and about 45 min. to WTC. I commute to school in the east 80s and I can get there in an hour and a half pretty quickly. I strongly suggest at least looking into it as Westfield has probably the best downtown in the area. In terms of being family oriented, there are plenty of youth programs available, the neighborhoods are safe, the people are friendly, there are several parks, and a lot of families, but you may get hammered in taxes. An $800,000 property had to pay 15k in taxes last year.
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Packanack Lake in Wayne
