My family (mum, dad and two kids aged 3 and 1) is thinking of
relocating from Sydney, Australia to Weehawken New Jersey for work
reasons. I am likely to be in NY on a bus trip in Jan, and might have
a couple of days to look at houses. What are generally considered to
be the nicest towns for a family to live in within 45mins to 1hr
commute of weehawken? Cost of accommodation is NOT a major factor.

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Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 12 Nov 2004 18:34 PST

williaa67-ga,

Have you thought of living in New York City?  It's one of the most
dynamic and exciting places in the world.  Sure, it has its
challenges, but what big city doesn't?  When you visit NY, take a
stroll down Perry Street in the West Village (Greenwich Village, that
is) and see if you can imagine you and your family settled in there
for a spell.

If NYC isn't quite your cup of tea, then there are certainly some very
pleasant places in New Jersey, but it depends an awful lot on what
you're after; small town, big city, university setting, easy commute,
etc.

If you can give us a few parameters to work with, we might be able to
assist you with some well-targete suggestions.

All the best,

pafalafa-ga

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Clarification of Question by williaa67-ga on 13 Nov 2004 18:25 PST

Thanks for the response and apologies for the lack of clarification in
my original question. I suspect Manhattan isnt our cup of tea, so
perhaps the easiest thing to do is describe where we currently live.
We currently live in a four bedroom house in an affluent (by
Australian standards) suburb relatively close to the city. Things I
like about it are: (1) its a relatively short commute to the office -
30 mins or so (2) its a leafy suburb, near the beach with lots of
parks and open space and (3) it has a good selection of smallish
shops, food shops, restaurants, butchers, bookshops, etc all of which
are within walking distance of our home so although we'd drive to the
supermarket we dont have to drive if we want to go out for a pint of
milk or a coffee. Whilst I was brough up in a big city, my wife was
brough up on a fam and we've found it an ideal compromise. We'd also
most likely be renting accommodation, rather than buying and so any
website which would indicate likely rental prices would be a huge
help. Thanks in advance.

Hello, I am following up on your question. Here are resources that
allow you to search for counties, communities and community
information near Weehawken. You might schedule with a real estate
agent to look at prospective areas while you are visiting, and I have
included these as well. My search found the town of Secaucus as the
greenest community in your demographic in Weehawken's Hudson County, 3
miles from Weehawken.
  
  Weehawken Online - Township of Weehawken, NJ
  http://www.weehawken-nj.us/
   Transportation > Light Rail
   http://www.weehawken-nj.us/info.php?pgname=literail 
   (This summarizes varieties of light rail transportation, with area
     descriptions, links & maps that show nearby desirable suburbs)
   Light Rail & Area Map
   http://www.njtransit.com/images/hb_final_1031.gif

  Hudson County 
  http://www.hudsoncountynj.org/default.asp
  Maps & Demographics, Transit
  http://www.hudsoncountynj.org/downloads/default.asp
  Green Map
  (Shows Secaucus as greenest area near Weehawken)
  http://www.hudsoncountynj.org/downloads/masterplan/green%20map.pdf
  Northwest of Weehauken is the Town of Secaucus
  http://www.hudsoncountynj.org/downloads/dp/DP1%20Secaucus.pdf
  Hudson County Transit Guide
  http://www.hudsoncountynj.org/downloads/transitmap/hc%20transit%20guide.pdf

  The Town of Secaucus - Jewel of New Jersey's Meadowlands (3 mi from
    Weehawken)
  http://www.secaucus.org/
  Our Town, Residents' Zone, Lodgings, Transportation, Shopping, Tourism,
    Links, web directory
  Links (Scroll down to Real Estate links to find rental homes)
  http://www.secaucus.org/web.html
    (Incl this longtime Secaucus resident & agent)
    M. Doyle
    Incl Apt & Home Rentals
    http://www.mdoylere.com/

  New Jersey Counties Map
  (Weehawken is in Hudson County - you can see which counties are nearby)
  http://county-map.digital-topo-maps.com/new-jersey-county-map.gif

  New Jersey Counties Near Weehawken - Official Websites - with Demographics &
    Community Info, Links 
    -Bergen
      http://www.co.bergen.nj.us/
    -Essex
      http://www.co.essex.nj.us/ 
    -Morris
     http://www.co.morris.nj.us/
 
  New Jersey Home Rentals by County
  http://www.weichertrents.com/stateSearchResults.aspx?state=NJ
    -Hudson County (Weehawken's County) Home Rentals - by Town, incl Secaucus
     http://www.weichertrents.com/countySearchResults.aspx?countyID=33663
    -Bergen County 
     http://www.weichertrents.com/countySearchResults.aspx?countyID=32518
    -Essex County
     http://www.weichertrents.com/countySearchResults.aspx?countyID=33229
    -Morris County
     http://www.weichertrents.com/countySearchResults.aspx?countyID=34383  

  The New York Times - Real Estate - Select State & County - Incl NY, NJ, CT
  Find demographics, recent sales, school information and interactive county
    maps for your community.
  http://realestate.nytimes.com/community/searchindex.asp

I hope these are helpful. Please let me know if I can be of further
assistance.  jdb-ga

Lower fairfield County Connecicut is beautiful (and also where I
live). Weehawken is approximately 45 minutes from Stamford , CT and
Greenwich, CT.

Greenwhich, CT is 45 minutes from Weehawken, NJ provided you make the
trip at 3 AM. As a daily commute, most people would find it arduous at
best.

Weehawken is a typical Hudson County, NJ town, for the most part the
houses are old and close together, parking your car requires
significant creativity, patience or knowledge... but good public
transportation.  In my experience, people with money don't like living
in these types of towns.

Most Northern New Jersian natives would probably do it this way... in
your situation.

Plan on taking public transportation to work. There is a light rail
system that connects the Hoboken train station to Weehawken.

http://www.njtransit.com/images/sf_tr_rail_map_small.jpg

Look North or West. 

Morris county and Northern Bergen County is where people with money tend to like.. 

I can answer specific questions if you have them.

Hi!!! I am a north NJ native!!! :) I found your question to be most
interesting to answer. I actually lived in North Arlington, NJ (Bergen
county) it is about 20-25 minutes from NYC. Buses are easy to catch
there, the town is small, clean, and quiet. It has a WONDERFUL view
(on one side of the town) of NYC skyline. It's main popuation is
filled with older people, and house prices can be resonable. However,
I would recommend buying ASAP, as prices are always on the rise since
it is so close to NYC.

Good luck on finding a home! :)

Mr.Design

I also live in North Arlington, NJ.  It's a nice place and the school
systems are pretty good.  The only complaint that I have is high
taxes.  I live in a pretty small size home and pay taxes around
$8,000.  A lot of places to rent is also expensive, but I guess you'll
find that everywhere.  Good luck whatever you may do.