Relocation: Need help with towns 45 min from Flanders,NJ please

[rdevine10]

Hi everyone,

Well, the DH was just offered a relocation package and we are trying to figure out what to do. He will be based in Flanders, NJ. I am not familiar with the area at all!

Looking for some recommendations for towns within 45 min of Flanders that have good or great schools, reasonable prices (nice home for $400K or less) and lower taxes- yikes NJ taxes scare me! We would also consider PA as well.

Any and all insight is appreciated! We are coming from CT, but have very reasonable taxes for our home here.

Thanks!

 

[njmom47]

Hi everyone,

Well, the DH was just offered a relocation package and we are trying to figure out what to do. He will be based in Flanders, NJ. I am not familiar with the area at all!

Looking for some recommendations for towns within 45 min of Flanders that have good or great schools, reasonable prices (nice home for $400K or less) and lower taxes- yikes NJ taxes scare me! We would also consider PA as well.

Any and all insight is appreciated! We are coming from CT, but have very reasonable taxes for our home here.

Thanks!

I'm not from North Jersey, but in general, the farther north you go in NJ, the more expensive it is. I'm sure there are affordable areas within 45 minutes but traffic can also be pretty bad around 287 and 80. Flanders doesn't seem to be too far from PA....you might have better luck there. (Not that I don't want you to move to NJ, I really do love my state)

 

[njcarita]

Hackettstown........... its about 10 minutes from flanders.......

 

[njcarita]

Hackettstown........... its about 10 minutes from flanders.......

you can find homes for about 300,000's and taxes around 10,000 a yr

 

[njcarita]

and flanders itself i lovely...... and homes are not expensive..... and no commuting for hubby..............

 

[Tosie]

Flanders is really nice. You can also check out

Mt. Olive
Hackettstown
Harmony
White Twp
Belvidere
Blairstown

 

[texasroni75]

We moved to Texas 4 years ago, but we owned a house in Caldwell NJ for 10 years. Taxes in 1999 were $5000 a year. We were re-assessed 7 years later, same house, same lot, just a new roof and new siding and they bumped our taxes up to $10,000. It's unpredictable there but the schools in our town were top-notch and it was a very safe town with lots to do within walking distance. The closer to NYC (East) from Flanders you get, the crazier the traffic gets too. I'd stay away from Passaic County.

Look North or West. Sparta is pretty rural and quiet and not as expensive, but there's not much of a nightlife anywhere nearby. Andover Township is nice too, decent schools. Lots of man-made lakes that don't fall into a flood-plain and so you won't pay insane flood insurance costs.

Good luck! The best thing about a move to the Flanders or surrounding areas is that you will be within an hour or two of everything - NYC, Jersey shores (not just Seaside Heights - there are MANY lovely quiet clean beaches and boardwalks), Pocono Mountains, Delaware River, even Philadelphia museums.

 

[poohguys]

Not sure what you are used to, but traffic can be bad on Rt. 80 in the morning so you may want to rule out Pennsylvania. We live out in Warren county and have cheap taxes, but the differences is no services (no local police- State Police, fire is vol., garbage-pay private co. We have well and septic.) and not close to shopping. We have to drive to Hackettstown or Phillipsburg for shopping. My two choices would be Randolph or Morris Township. Both have reasonable taxes and everything is right there. Flanders is closer to Randolph than to Morris Twp. Good luck with your move.

 

[mjkacmom]

I recently saw this http://njmonthly.com/articles/towns_and_schools/top-towns-list/top-towns-alphabetical-list.html

Prices go up north and east.

 

[crazyme5kids]

My sister lives in Flanders. When they were relocating about 20 years ago, my brother-in-law researched areas, he's very picky and thorough. They choose Flanders and have been very happy with the area.

 

[rdevine10]

All of this info has been very helpful in our initial searching. thank you all so much for all of this info!

 

[MaryKLady]

I've lived in north Jersey my whole life. Most people I know commute to work. Traffic can be disgusting...not quite like southern California but still really bad. My family chooses to live close to work but have sacrificed open space and square footage. 45 minutes is relative. What would take you 45 minutes normally could take you 1.5 hours in high traffic, bad weather (like rain) or an accident on the highway. Try to avoid routes 287 or 80, they're the worst in that area. If you have more specific questions feel free to PM me. Good luck.

 

[amylevan]

We bought our first house in Belvidere. We found being in town to be reasonably priced. It's a small town, country feel there with lots of history. We moved to PA before we had kids though, so I can't give you much on the school district, other than its pretty small. We found taxes to be reasonable for NJ.

I used to coach cheerleading in Hackettstown. It is more urban than Belvidere, but still a close knit community. I know a bit more about the schools there since that's where I was coaching, and I wouldn't hesitate to send my kids there. The sending districts to Hackettstown are more rural and include Independence Township and Allamuchy.

We live about 20 min into PA now. More house for less money than NJ, however, traffic heading into NJ with all of the commuters is ridiculous, and making it to Flanders in 45 min might be difficult.