Maplewood and South Orange NJ are lovely but the taxes are high. Maybe look down the shore and take the ferry from Atlantic Highlands when you need to go into the city?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Montclair is great (I would love to live there!!!) But since neither of them have to commute daily to NYC they may have more options further out. Also OP may want to check out the NY river towns like Hastings-on-the Hudson. The Times has a funny article a while ago about it being hipsturbia

Awesome! Thanks, these were not even our radar. Living in DC and trying to figure out where to move is hard. I just read about Hastings-on-the Hudson & some other NY river towns - Ardsley, Dobbs Ferry, Irvington etc. They all look great.
I see lot of research in my future.

My sister has lived in Briarcliff for years and has loved it. Lots of nice towns relatively close in and affordable on the Hudson line. Also consider Madison and Chatham in NJ. Some of the neighborhoods mentioned by other PPs above will not be doable with your budget.

+1 for Madison and Chatham NJ. Great towns.

DH grew up in Larchmont NY, walking distance to the little downtown. Very good schools and a lovely town.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How about Montclair, NJ - wonderful neighborhood

Montclair is awesome... so are the property taxes! Glen Ridge is also worth a look.

Everyone wants great schools but, cheaply If I could guarantee better schools, good infrastructure etc I would gladly pay. It sucks when you pay a lot ( Montgomery county) and don't get good schools. Trash pickup is awesome though.

You’ve got to go drive around and suss out the vibe. It’s a huge area and there’s much more local flavor than in the DC area. We were once going to move to NYC and on paper the river towns looked perfect for us. They are beautiful but maybe because it was summer and I was pregnant, the smell of the river made me retch. I could not get past it, and our poor realtor kept trying to talk up the advantages while I retched by the road. I have no idea whether as a non pregnant non-super-smeller it would be a problem but a case for visiting in person!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Montclair is great (I would love to live there!!!) But since neither of them have to commute daily to NYC they may have more options further out. Also OP may want to check out the NY river towns like Hastings-on-the Hudson. The Times has a funny article a while ago about it being hipsturbia

Awesome! Thanks, these were not even our radar. Living in DC and trying to figure out where to move is hard. I just read about Hastings-on-the Hudson & some other NY river towns - Ardsley, Dobbs Ferry, Irvington etc. They all look great.
I see lot of research in my future.

My sister has lived in Briarcliff for years and has loved it. Lots of nice towns relatively close in and affordable on the Hudson line. Also consider Madison and Chatham in NJ. Some of the neighborhoods mentioned by other PPs above will not be doable with your budget.

Anonymous wrote:Montclair, Ridgewood, Paramus, all easy commutes to the NYC from NJ and excellent schools

All great options, but a very different vibe between the three. Do your homework.

Anonymous wrote:Montclair is great (I would love to live there!!!) But since neither of them have to commute daily to NYC they may have more options further out. Also OP may want to check out the NY river towns like Hastings-on-the Hudson. The Times has a funny article a while ago about it being hipsturbia

Awesome! Thanks, these were not even our radar. Living in DC and trying to figure out where to move is hard. I just read about Hastings-on-the Hudson & some other NY river towns - Ardsley, Dobbs Ferry, Irvington etc. They all look great.
I see lot of research in my future.

Montclair is great (I would love to live there!!!) But since neither of them have to commute daily to NYC they may have more options further out. Also OP may want to check out the NY river towns like Hastings-on-the Hudson. The Times has a funny article a while ago about it being hipsturbia

Anonymous wrote:Montclair, Ridgewood, Paramus, all easy commutes to the NYC from NJ and excellent schools

Thanks!

Anonymous wrote:Look at Summit in NJ.

CT is lovely but if you think the property taxes are high in NJ ...

Thanks, I'll check it out.

Rhinebeck, NY That's where everyone from the Today show lives....

Look at Summit in NJ.

CT is lovely but if you think the property taxes are high in NJ ...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel like prices in NJ are really low; you will get a lot for your budget. I used to live in NJ 20 years ago, and the current prices in my small town hardly seem like they’ve gone up. Really strange.

Remember NJ high property taxes, double ours in NoVa.

And you get much better schools in return.

Montclair, Ridgewood, Paramus, all easy commutes to the NYC from NJ and excellent schools