Where to live with a city commute.

[Tarhunt]

3 minutes ago, Live to Hunt said:

Yea Taxes are a big thing.  All I can say is don't live for a mortgage.  

I see too many people doing this.

[Live to Hunt]

17 minutes ago, Tarhunt said:

I see too many people doing this.

Yes me too and then they are miserable when they cant do anything else. 

[Lunatic]

Commuting absolutely sucks. I don't know how some of you do an hour or more each way
I did it for many years but it was always about 30 to 45 minutes and I absolutely hated it. Fridays in the summer, PM  was the worse since I was always going with the shore traffic.
Last 14 years my office if 5 miles from my house and I am loving it. I get up at 7 to be at work for 8:-)
Unfortunately, one of our Project Managers quit on us and he was running a job in Jersey City/Bayonne area. So now I am filling in since Monday, commuting again from Keyport. I will be doing it until we find replacement and this is not going very well. The only thing different now is I discovered Audiobooks so I don't waste the time by just driving and I get to enjoy an interesting book on the way to work and then back home.  (Truman is playing right now and it will last a while since its a 67hr book:-) )

BTW we are looking for a heavy highway Project Manager or Project Engineer.

[mattg1500]

56 minutes ago, jlaz90 said:

Cj all depends what taxes are but the homes i were looking at were in the mid 3s I can go a little higher but all depends on the house 

I pay 7600 now in Pa which sucks but I paid 274000 for my house that only 20yrs old and had 2400sqft main floor and 850sqft fully finished basement with unfinished storage on other half. Id never get that in nj

[nmc02]

My commute is killing me. 3.5 miles each way

[cantw82start]

18 hours ago, Rusty said:

Find a house in West Milford backed up to the Watershed.  You'll be set for deer and turkey.  

I grew up in this situation, and would go back if I could.  Nothing beats having access to Newark watershed, lots of land and few hunters.

[Haskell_Hunter]

You want to live in Haskell.  Everyone does, but they won't admit it.

The town is surrounded by 15,000 acres of state land, the vast majority of it huntable.  Bus route 197 goes right through town and gets you to Port Authority in about an hour, 1:20 depending on the weather.  Route 194 is nearby as well as 193.  So you have a ton of options.  If you want to drive 20 minutes down Rt 23 to take the train, that too is an option.  You're right off of Rt 287, so you can go 208 to 4 to the GWB, or you can cross over the Tappan Zee and take 9 down to the city.

Lots of hiking trails our your back door as well as places to fish.

West Milford is a 10 minute drive away.  Haskell is truly the center of the universe.

[1957Buck]

10 minutes ago, nmc02 said:

My commute is killing me. 3.5 miles each way

Mine too One flight of Stairs. 

[Haskell_Hunter]

49 minutes ago, 1957Buck said:

Mine too One flight of Stairs. 

Got you both beat.  Mine is about 30' on one floor.  Needless to say, I don't get out much.

[1957Buck]

Just now, Haskell_Hunter said:

Got you both beat.  Mine is about 30' on one floor.  Needless to say, I don't get out much.

       Time to get out  

[Bucksnbows]

22 minutes ago, Haskell_Hunter said:

Got you both beat.  Mine is about 30' on one floor.  Needless to say, I don't get out much.

You're not even in the ballpark.  I'm 10 feet and 10 7/8" from my bedroom door to my office door.  And yes, I just measured. 

 

I grew up in West Milford with thousands of Newark watershed acres attached to our backyard.  Hunting, camping, hiking, fishing, trapping, all right out my back door.  West Milford is 2nd largest town in the state in terms of square miles, but most of the land is watershed and not built on.  For deer and turkey, you'll have lots of land to hunt, but mostly mature oak/hickory forests.  Haskell area and that section of the state is more or less the same, and the commute isn't as hideous as it is in other parts of the state.  But the closer to the city you get, the more it will cost and the less hunting opportunities you will have.      

[CapeCod]

Maybe  look into Kinnelon. 

[Bucksnbows]

5 minutes ago, CapeCod said:

Maybe  look into Kinnelon. 

Much better schools and taxes for what you get than West Milford, if you are planning to put kids through public schools wherever you go.  Morris County versus having to carry cities like Patterson on your (tax) back like you do in Passaic County.  And right over the Pequannock's wild brown trout from WM and also abutting Newark watershed.

Edited April 1, 2018 by Bucksnbows

[CJ3a]

Will you take a train if you commute into manhattan? You may want to be close to a rail line.

[birddogger]

23 hours ago, jlaz90 said:

So I currently live in union beach/ Keyport area but looking to buy a house. I commute m-f to the Bronx for work, but after 3 more years of steam time I’ll become a engineer and be able to work in Manhattan or Brooklyn also. I’m looking to not lengthen my commute( takes a hour 10 in the morning and hour 30-45) on way home). Realistically I would love to not have to live in nj but I’m far from retirement and my job is too good to leave. Looking for an area where I get a little more for my money. Would love if possible to live in wooded area possibly with the choice of hunting my own property. Just looking for any suggestions if anyone else has a city commute or just knows the area. This morning me and my gf went to west Milford , Vernon, and Hewitt to look at some houses and the area and they were all very nice areas but literally no property and on the side of the steepest cliffs possible. Any suggestions on where to look? Ideally I would love to be able to deer, duck, goose, turkey hunt my own land but I don’t see that happening haha but just looking for any ideas. Thanks

I would get an old fashioned paper map of  NJ and a large compass, or a pencil tied to a string.   Find out how many miles per inch the map is scaled to.

Then I would put one end of the string on my current work location and measure off 60 miles and then 90 miles.    I would look within that zone for WMA's, state forests, state and county  parks where hunting is permitted to  focus my home search.

The reason I say 60 mi. is twofold.  first, there is little in the way of open hunting land in North Jersey which is also close to NY city and even if there was...the price would be astronomical and the number of anti hunters  non hunters and police in the area would make it darn near impossible to do anything outdoors that resembles hunting without getting harassed, even on your own property.   Whittingham WMA area comes to mind as an affordable housing area option if you are interested in deer and turkey. 

There are two major east/west roads that can extend your "reach".  I-80 and I-78.  Also there is I-287 which runs mostly Northeast/Southwest in that area.   Any of these roads get congested in spots during rush hour, but even with that,  they will get you out there faster than the local roads.   287 through Morristown is a cluster---- during rush hour and the 80/287 junction is similarly a mess.  78, in by Newark and  out by Somerville gets pretty gnarly during rush hour also.

Good luck on your search. 

 

RayG