Good towns in NJ - working in Secacus,NJ & NYC
 

Hello...We are moving to NJ and will be working in Secacus to begin with, and may have to work in NYC at later point in time. So looking for good towns keeping both these work locations (Secacus,NJ & NYC) in mind.

Looking for:
- 30 (max 45) mins commute to Secacus - either by car or via train from where I can take shuttle from Secacus train station
- 60 mins commute to NYC - by bus or train...prefer train over bus
- Budget $500-600K...around 550k will be ideal!
- Of course, good school is priority #1 .. I have 2 little kids, one of which will go to elementary school this Fall..So good elementary and good middle schools are top priority...
- Good towns with low crime...
- About house... I would prefer 4 bed rooms but 3 will be fine as well, with 2.5 bath (in my budget range)...

Any suggestions for towns will be highly appreciated!! Thanks a lot!

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I'm thinking New Brunswick fits the description perfectly.

First, you probably know this already but even though Secaucus is only about 6 or 7 miles from midtown Manhattan some of the nicer towns that are a 30 to 45 minute commute from Secaucus may be more than a 60 minute commute from NYC using bus or train and it may be easier to commute into NYC from some towns then it will be to commute to Secaucus.

Anyway, check out River Edge, Emerson, Oradell, Westwood & Hillsdale

Also look at Teaneck, Tenafly, Woodridge, Montclair, the Oranges and Clifton.

Keep in mind that most of the towns that are close to NYC (that have good commutes to NYC) are older more established towns with "older homes" at higher prices. The further you get from NYC the more house you'll get for your money but the further you go the longer the commute.

For what it is worth

Hint, look at google maps to see what towns are within 10 to 15 miles of Secaucus - those will be the ones that that will most likely give you a reasonable commute to NYC.

I would start by looking at info on school districts (and taxes, which can be high in NJ) and then transit to Secaucus and also NYC. (Not sure about train in Secaucus - I worked with people who lived there and commuted to NYC and they all used a bus.

After you locate a couple of potential areas you can see how much house you can get for your budget. I don't know housing prices in Jersey very well but suspect your budget is low for an excellent school district. My mom lives in Nassau county in a good school district and $500K is a starter house - 3 BR Cape with 1.5 baths on a 60 X 100 plot. But obviously if you go farther from the city you can get more for the money.

One of the reasons I mentioned New Brunswick is the direct and frequent train service to Secacus -- about 40 minutes.

Rutherford has good schools. Most of NJ has good schools.

I wouldn't want to go too far... in case you have to start making that commute back and forth to NYC.

Ridgewood NJ is a beautiful town and has excellent schools. Prices may be high but you can find 4 bedrooms in your price range in the town. I checked on realtor.com. Not sure where they are.(driving 27 min without traffic) and train 33min, train to NYC 1 hour travel time.
http://www.njtransit.com/pdf/rail/R0020.pdf

My good friend lives in Glen Ridge NJ and it is closer to NYC and Secaucus. They have excellent schools there too. (driving to NYC 30 min, train 1 hour, driving to secaucus, 20 min.

Schools in NJ are run by each town. Towns in Morris county will have lower taxes than Passaic County. Passaic has cities to fund and Morris has less cities and more industry, thus lower taxes. Ridgewood is in Bergen county which has high taxes, but the town has excellent schools and lots of amenities. The train station is right in the middle of the town and there is a large town to shop and walk.

I commuted to NYC from Kinnelon, which is a small town in Northern NJ. It was a hike between car and train. There are many nice small towns with good schools. Look at the school rankings and go from there.

Also, look at the train lines and how often they run and how long they take. I rode the Boonton line, which has limited services, or more limited than some of the others. Morristown line and Bergen line have more trains.
Montclair is a beautiful old town on the Boonton line and a short ride to Secaucus, but their school system was good and awful. Just be wary because each town has control over their schools. Some towns are much better than others. If you are staying in NJ for a while, do your research. :) Good luck. NJ is a great area to raise kids and has excellent food options. Best pizza in the US. I miss the food, but not the crowds. Secaucus is close to NY, but is citylike. For raising kids, I would say go away from that area.

http://www.njtransit.com/sf/sf_servl...Action=TrainTo

I had friends that lived in Millburn too which is about a 30 min drive and or 30 min train ride to secaucus and not much farther to NY. I believe it has a good school system, but check it out because it was a while ago that they lived there.

<<Good towns with low crime>>

Morristown is the first place that comes to mind.

That budget will be tight.

Avoid NJ cities (Newark, Jersey City, Paterson, Elizabeth, etc.).

Woodbridge and Edison Townships have low crime. Luckily, you need to be halfway across the state from Camden and Trenton, the former is a complete dump, the latter has both violent and white collar crime (it IS the capital).

I'd suggest you have a look at our town, Madison, and nearby Morris County municipalities such as Chatham Township, Chatham Borough, Morris Township and Florham Park. These are on or near the Morris-Essex line of NJTransit. Many NY Penn Station-bound trains stop at Secaucus Junction.