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ruby
you rang?
Member since 6/08 5573 total posts
Name:
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Any New Jersey girls?
DH and I have started our home hunt, so I've been lurking alot on this board and will most likely be posting more as questions come up (Nice to meet you all  ). We've been living in the city until now but as our DS turns one, we've outgrown our apt and are looking to move to the burbs. We both grew up in Rockland but would like to settle down (we're pretty sure) in Jersey, northern NJ to be specific. We've been looking for the past 2 months in Bergen, in Allendale, Hillsdale, Ramsey, Westwood, Wyckoff, Ridgewood. We did find some houses we liked, but not loved and we think we're priced out there and are looking for more suggestions. I'm hoping if I list what we're looking for I can get more suggestions from some of you here.
DH needs to be within an hour commute from the city...could stretch a little longer if it's an easy commute, preferably a train town, but not absolutely necessary. We'd like somewhere with a town center or downtown feel, which is what drew us to the towns above. Cute walking area with shops, restaurants etc. While we want to retreat to the suburbs we still want to have some sort of a pedestrian lifestyle, walk to get coffee, basics at the store, window shop, etc. Oh, and a great school district.
Our budget is around 400K, 10K or under in taxes, preferably a 3 bdrm/2btrm, basement to make into a playroom......are we dreaming??? I am not familiar with any other parts of Jersey aside from Bergen, but I heard Essex is nice...I've heard Montclair is gorgeous but too pricey for us. Any help would be most appreciated and I look forward to learning more about the home process from everyone!!!
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Posted 2/11/10 1:15 PM  |
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MrsFab
this is bliss.......
Member since 10/08 1234 total posts
Name:
Mb
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Re: Any New Jersey girls?
I grew up in Morris County- its beautiful, reasonable and has amazing schools... try Parsippany, Morris Plains and Lincoln Park- those are my favorites!
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| Posted 2/11/10 1:17 PM |
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ruby
you rang?
Member since 6/08 5573 total posts
Name:
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Re: Any New Jersey girls?
Posted by MrsFab
I grew up in Morris County- its beautiful, reasonable and has amazing schools... try Parsippany, Morris Plains and Lincoln Park- those are my favorites!
Thanks, how far are those towns from the city (mass transit commute time)?
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| Posted 2/11/10 1:26 PM |
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suvenR
designer mutt
Member since 5/05 4239 total posts
Name:
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Re: Any New Jersey girls?
Are you looking exclusively for houses, or would you also consider a townhouse? For the price point you're at, a house in Bergen County will be tough. But, there communities in Essex where you can get a great townhouse for 400k.
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| Posted 2/11/10 1:31 PM |
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MrsFab
this is bliss.......
Member since 10/08 1234 total posts
Name:
Mb
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Re: Any New Jersey girls?
Posted by ruby
Posted by MrsFab
I grew up in Morris County- its beautiful, reasonable and has amazing schools... try Parsippany, Morris Plains and Lincoln Park- those are my favorites!
Thanks, how far are those towns from the city (mass transit commute time)?
umm not sure, I can ask my mom though and I'll FM you when I talk to her
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| Posted 2/11/10 1:32 PM |
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ruby
you rang?
Member since 6/08 5573 total posts
Name:
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Re: Any New Jersey girls?
Posted by suvenR
Are you looking exclusively for houses, or would you also consider a townhouse? For the price point you're at, a house in Bergen County will be tough. But, there communities in Essex where you can get a great townhouse for 400k.
Houses, I tried to talk DH into townhouses but he's against it. I think because we've spent so many years apartment living, being on top/next to/under our neighbors that he finally wants his "own" space, and I get that. Are we really priced out of anywhere under those parameters with our pp for a house?  What about an hour and a half outside the city?
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| Posted 2/11/10 1:37 PM |
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ruby
you rang?
Member since 6/08 5573 total posts
Name:
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Re: Any New Jersey girls?
Posted by MrsFab
Posted by ruby
Posted by MrsFab
I grew up in Morris County- its beautiful, reasonable and has amazing schools... try Parsippany, Morris Plains and Lincoln Park- those are my favorites!
Thanks, how far are those towns from the city (mass transit commute time)?
umm not sure, I can ask my mom though and I'll FM you when I talk to her
Thanks!
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| Posted 2/11/10 1:38 PM |
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MrsFab
this is bliss.......
Member since 10/08 1234 total posts
Name:
Mb
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Re: Any New Jersey girls?
Posted by MrsFab
Posted by ruby
Posted by MrsFab
I grew up in Morris County- its beautiful, reasonable and has amazing schools... try Parsippany, Morris Plains and Lincoln Park- those are my favorites!
Thanks, how far are those towns from the city (mass transit commute time)?
umm not sure, I can ask my mom though and I'll FM you when I talk to her
I just looked on the NJTransit website- and they have a 9:10am train and that gets into Penn Station at 10:08- so its a little under an hour
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| Posted 2/11/10 1:40 PM |
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suvenR
designer mutt
Member since 5/05 4239 total posts
Name:
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Re: Any New Jersey girls?
Posted by ruby
Houses, I tried to talk DH into townhouses but he's against it. I think because we've spent so many years apartment living, being on top/next to/under our neighbors that he finally wants his "own" space, and I get that. Are we really priced out of anywhere under those parameters with our pp for a house? What about an hour and a half outside the city?
Do you mind doing work to the house? I think you can find something that needs work for $400k.
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| Posted 2/11/10 1:41 PM |
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ruby
you rang?
Member since 6/08 5573 total posts
Name:
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Re: Any New Jersey girls?
Posted by suvenR
Posted by ruby
Houses, I tried to talk DH into townhouses but he's against it. I think because we've spent so many years apartment living, being on top/next to/under our neighbors that he finally wants his "own" space, and I get that. Are we really priced out of anywhere under those parameters with our pp for a house? What about an hour and a half outside the city?
Do you mind doing work to the house? I think you can find something that needs work for $400k.
Not at all. It would have to be livable upon move-in, but we don't mind work to make it what we want. We found a great house in Ramsey, walking distance to the downtown area, a little above 400k and we almost made an offer, but it needed too much work to be livable. We realized that we would need to put out too much cash immediately just to make it functional. So that's too big for us, but improvements, updating, etc is not too much.
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| Posted 2/11/10 1:46 PM |
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MrsRbk
<3 <3 <3 <3
Member since 1/06 19197 total posts
Name:
Michelle
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Re: Any New Jersey girls?
I'm in Essex County. There's quite a few of us that live here. The area that I'm in is a 30 minute commute by train into Penn Station. Most of the towns have jitney/shuttle service to and from the train station during peak rush hour times.
Maplewood/South Orange/Millburn area. Both Maplewood and South Orange have a cute little downtown area, although I like Maplewood better it's a smaller area of restaurants/coffee shops. South Orange Village is right up the road from Seton Hall so you get alot of the college kids hanging around. South Orange however has KILLER taxes. Maplewood and Millburn are slightly better.
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| Posted 2/11/10 1:55 PM |
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jellybean78
:)
Member since 8/06 13103 total posts
Name:
Mommy
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Re: Any New Jersey girls?
Posted by MrsRbk
I'm in Essex County. There's quite a few of us that live here. The area that I'm in is a 30 minute commute by train into Penn Station. Most of the towns have jitney/shuttle service to and from the train station during peak rush hour times.
Maplewood/South Orange/Millburn area. Both Maplewood and South Orange have a cute little downtown area, although I like Maplewood better it's a smaller area of restaurants/coffee shops. South Orange Village is right up the road from Seton Hall so you get alot of the college kids hanging around. South Orange however has KILLER taxes. Maplewood and Millburn are slightly better.
Some of my co-workers live in Essex County (Cedar Grove and Upper Montclair to be exact). Not sure how $$ the houses are but the commute seems to be pretty reasonable according to them. Good Luck!
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| Posted 2/11/10 1:57 PM |
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MrsRbk
<3 <3 <3 <3
Member since 1/06 19197 total posts
Name:
Michelle
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Re: Any New Jersey girls?
Posted by jacquig
Posted by MrsRbk
I'm in Essex County. There's quite a few of us that live here. The area that I'm in is a 30 minute commute by train into Penn Station. Most of the towns have jitney/shuttle service to and from the train station during peak rush hour times.
Maplewood/South Orange/Millburn area. Both Maplewood and South Orange have a cute little downtown area, although I like Maplewood better it's a smaller area of restaurants/coffee shops. South Orange Village is right up the road from Seton Hall so you get alot of the college kids hanging around. South Orange however has KILLER taxes. Maplewood and Millburn are slightly better.
Some of my co-workers live in Essex County (Cedar Grove and Upper Montclair to be exact). Not sure how $$ the houses are but the commute seems to be pretty reasonable according to them. Good Luck!
IDK about Cedar Grove but Upper Montclair is $$$$$$$
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| Posted 2/11/10 1:57 PM |
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Ophelia
she's baaccckkkk ;)
Member since 5/06 23378 total posts
Name:
remember, when Gulliver traveled....
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Re: Any New Jersey girls?
I know you said Jersey...BUT
have you checked out Orange County NY at all. it's basically across the Delaware from the places you are looking at and NJ Transit is easy in to the city.
Warwick is gorgeous and definitely has stuff in your price range and is about an hour from the city, as are plenty of other nice towns..but Warwick has a GREAT villagey feel.
just a suggestion. I know if you looked in Orange you'd find something great in your range. WITH a decent sized lot.
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| Posted 2/11/10 2:16 PM |
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Cheeks24
Living a dream
Member since 1/08 8589 total posts
Name:
Cheeks
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Re: Any New Jersey girls?
I know you said NY but one of my friend's recently purchase a home in Pearl River. Very close to the NJ Transit line.
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| Posted 2/11/10 2:27 PM |
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ruby
you rang?
Member since 6/08 5573 total posts
Name:
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Re: Any New Jersey girls?
Posted by Mici C
I know you said NY but one of my friend's recently purchase a home in Pearl River. Very close to the NJ Transit line.
We actually know Pearl River very well and are considering it, it's the only town in Rockland we'd consider (only because we grew up in Rockland and would like a bit of distance from our parents), but we're particular about which streets we'd like to live on there, so in the chance of a house we like being up for sale on a street we like we'll jump at it but it hasn't happened yet.
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| Posted 2/11/10 2:31 PM |
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ruby
you rang?
Member since 6/08 5573 total posts
Name:
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Re: Any New Jersey girls?
Posted by Ophelia
I know you said Jersey...BUT
have you checked out Orange County NY at all. it's basically across the Delaware from the places you are looking at and NJ Transit is easy in to the city.
Warwick is gorgeous and definitely has stuff in your price range and is about an hour from the city, as are plenty of other nice towns..but Warwick has a GREAT villagey feel.
just a suggestion. I know if you looked in Orange you'd find something great in your range. WITH a decent sized lot.
Originally we started our hunt with Putnam/Dutchess. Since our families are in Rockland we wanted to stay close to them (but not too close) but still a decent commute to the city and Westchester was totally out of our price range. Totally priced out of P & D counties too unless we went way up in Dutchess. DH then wanted to look in Orange but I was against it. I guess I don't know enough about it except from my short-sighted views on it growing up. Through my teenage eyes it was very rural, and though we want quiet, we don't want rural, we still want vibrant, if that's possible. Would you say Warwick, or any parts of Orange have any "vibrant" parts?  Know anything about the schools there?
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| Posted 2/11/10 2:35 PM |
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ruby
you rang?
Member since 6/08 5573 total posts
Name:
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Re: Any New Jersey girls?
Posted by MrsRbk
I'm in Essex County. There's quite a few of us that live here. The area that I'm in is a 30 minute commute by train into Penn Station. Most of the towns have jitney/shuttle service to and from the train station during peak rush hour times.
Maplewood/South Orange/Millburn area. Both Maplewood and South Orange have a cute little downtown area, although I like Maplewood better it's a smaller area of restaurants/coffee shops. South Orange Village is right up the road from Seton Hall so you get alot of the college kids hanging around. South Orange however has KILLER taxes. Maplewood and Millburn are slightly better.
I'll take a look at Maplewood, thanks!
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| Posted 2/11/10 2:37 PM |
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Ophelia
she's baaccckkkk ;)
Member since 5/06 23378 total posts
Name:
remember, when Gulliver traveled....
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Re: Any New Jersey girls?
Posted by ruby
Posted by Ophelia
I know you said Jersey...BUT
have you checked out Orange County NY at all. it's basically across the Delaware from the places you are looking at and NJ Transit is easy in to the city.
Warwick is gorgeous and definitely has stuff in your price range and is about an hour from the city, as are plenty of other nice towns..but Warwick has a GREAT villagey feel.
just a suggestion. I know if you looked in Orange you'd find something great in your range. WITH a decent sized lot.
Originally we started our hunt with Putnam/Dutchess. Since our families are in Rockland we wanted to stay close to them (but not too close) but still a decent commute to the city and Westchester was totally out of our price range. Totally priced out of P & D counties too unless we went way up in Dutchess. DH then wanted to look in Orange but I was against it. I guess I don't know enough about it except from my short-sighted views on it growing up. Through my teenage eyes it was very rural, and though we want quiet, we don't want rural, we still want vibrant, if that's possible. Would you say Warwick, or any parts of Orange have any "vibrant" parts? Know anything about the schools there?
hey man, I live there, so it can't be all bad
we have our house just outside of Middletown. that is closer to Sullivan and the train is 90 mins so I wouldn't recommend it for an every day commute (which is partially why we don't live there every day)
it is definitely quieter, but I don't find it any more or less so than other 'burbs.
Warwick is one town with a very nice village life...shops, cafe's, restaurants etc. you can buy in warwick and walk to the shops nearby..sort of like how Huntington feels to me.
we basically did the same search you did...we looked in Rockland, West, Dutchess, and Putnam. the property taxes in Putnam alone were enough to give me a heart attack. and like you said, the homes in Dutchess in your range (a similar range to ours) was going up in the Wappingers area, at least 90 minutes from the city.
we ended up looking in Orange b/c I couldn't bring myself to move to Jersey ( no offense to anyone) and we go up there all the time anyway--apple picking, camping, rafting on the delaware etc.
of course it's not the city by any stretch, but our house is in a great location. we are minutes from the rail road, a huge mall/shopping complex, main roads etc but still feel sort of secluded.
our house is about 1800 sq ft. it was built over 200 years ago. we are on about a half acre and we pay just over 4k in taxes.
do yourself the favor and indulge your dh. just go up and look. if you want to make a day of it, we can make arrangements to hang.
the schools in Warwick are supposed to be good...but honestly, I am not a nut about the statistics b/c I went to some of the WORST schools in NYC and I think I am ok.
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| Posted 2/11/10 2:51 PM |
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leighla
Support Cancer Research
Member since 5/05 16353 total posts
Name:
Lauren
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Re: Any New Jersey girls?
I lived in Denville, center of Morris County.
It is considered a very desirable location because it's commutable, with good schools and a great community.
You can get a decent house in that area for the price you are looking for, but not a lot of land, if that matters to you.
I'm in Roxbury now, further west. You get a little more house for the money out here, and land, which is the only reason we moved from Denville.
Since DH died I've considered moving back to Denville since I don't need a house this big anymore.
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| Posted 2/11/10 3:39 PM |
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evnme
My little lamb
Member since 8/05 12633 total posts
Name:
aka momma2b
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Re: Any New Jersey girls?
Metuchen is in Middlesex Co, it's about a 45-50 min train ride to penn station.
it has a small town feel w/ a great main street, a very walkable town.
we lived there for 3 years (we rented).
we loved it there!
we bought our house in monmouth co. we moved to be closer to my job.
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| Posted 2/11/10 4:58 PM |
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luvsun27
Check out my cool glasses
Member since 5/05 8135 total posts
Name:
Kim
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Re: Any New Jersey girls?
The house across the street from me is for sale...not redone or as nice as my house...but probably in your price range  I am in Elmwood Park...taxes are about 6K and you can definitely find houses in your price range. Right near me is Fair Lawn, Saddle Brook, Paramus (maybe out of your price range). Good luck!
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| Posted 2/11/10 5:00 PM |
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ruby
you rang?
Member since 6/08 5573 total posts
Name:
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Re: Any New Jersey girls?
Thanks everyone for all of your suggestions. This gives me so many more towns to look up which is great, we definitely needed more options. I'm sure I'll have more questions and if anyone has any more towns they recommend I'm all ears! 
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| Posted 2/11/10 7:41 PM |
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