I don't know the area at all outside the city. Where would I live where I'd have access to a train to take me into the city, but be far enough away to have a house and a garden? I can't estimate what my salary would be, but I really can't imagine giving up gardening! The shorter the commute, the better.

Thanks!

Better yet are Somerset and Union counties along the Gladstone line of NJ transit, the towns of Millington, Stirling, Gillette, Berkeley Heights - all are closer to NYC than the stops mentioned above and offer mid-town direct trains.

Check out the link.

I like the same type of towns that you like. I lived in Millburn 50 x 150 lot about 30-35 minutes from midtown. You can use realtor.com and see the prices there are see what you think

The tricity states are

One of the most important things we'd like is the ability to walk places from our house; we live in a semi-urban-ish area, not a suburb design where you must get in your car to go anywhere. Mixed use and styles of architecture, varied incomes/races, progressive thinking ... it's hard to immediately identify some of these. But I know I need some land!

Our current lot is a mere 30' x 120', and more would be nicer (more veggies!), but defining the area looks like a challenge right now.

Where to start: Loretta has the very BEST suggestion of
all. . .RENT initially, don't try to buy - the choices are
just too many and too complex. I lived, and gardened, in
Manhattan for over 40 years, before taking up full time
residence out here in Monmouth County, NJ (sales pitch:
it's a great location for NYC workers - excellent bus,
train and ferry service 24/7, the proximity to the Shore,
a central Jersey location that makes Philadelphia, with its' storied gardening history and culture, just as
accessible as New York). . .Contrary to most people's
perception, New York City is a gardener's paradise: start
with Central Park, one of the most extraordinary gardens
in the world, add in the New York Botanical Garden, Wave
Hill, the Brooklyn Botanical Garden, the list goes on and on, ad infinitum. Don't rule out the City as your
first rental stop, particularly Brooklyn, if you want a
garden (had an apartment and gardened there for nine years!). . .check out neighborhoods like Cobble Hill,
Carroll Gardens, Clinton Hill, Fort Greene, and Park Slope,
which is across the street from the other great NYC park,
Prospect Park (same designers as Central Park).

If garden planting zones influence you at all, know that
you can have everything from Zone 5 in the Hudson Valley
and NW Connecticut, right on down to Zone 7 in central NJ and along the Shore.

If there is ONE area I would NOT reccommend, it is Long
Island. . .oh, there are terrific gardens and suppliers of
all kinds out there, and I do visit often, but the sheer
nightmare of getting back and forth to NYC puts me off
completely. . .there's also that knowledge that you are ON
an island and the only way off (along with millions of others), is back through the bottleneck of New York City. . .it's a good thing this is a NJ Forum or I'd be
getting hate mail in two seconds!

Actually, this whole subject of folks re-locating to New
York is something I've helped a number of friends with
over the years - but you've added a novel twist by adding gardening to the mix! Feel free to contact me directly
here on GW through My Page if you'd like more detailed information. . .but my fingers are getting tired, and there's SO much more to tell, and everyone else on this thread is nodding off. . .

Carl

One of my best friends is a gardener in Evanston. You will delight in being one zone warmer and able to grow a bunch of new things. I'm a pro and here's my take on garden worthy towns (I used to commute to NYC).

You will have to trade off land and house size for time. Generally to live in a place similar to Evanston, you will have to commute at least 45 minutes to over an hour by train or bus in NJ, 1 hour in Connecticut and upper Westchester/Dutchess County NY and the same for Long Island. All have areas of rich gardening traditions.

I, for one, chose Morris County, NJ for it's direct and regular train service, old buildings and still open space (although it's considerably less that when I moved here.) My daily commute from here was 1 hour and 20 minutes by train and foot each way door to door. I worked in midtown. That's considered average.

Good luck.

Based on this...

One of the most important things we'd like is the ability to walk places from our house; we live in a semi-urban-ish area, not a suburb design where you must get in your car to go anywhere. Mixed use and styles of architecture, varied incomes/races, progressive thinking ... it's hard to immediately identify some of these. But I know I need some land!

...you simply must check out Maplewood, NJ

MW is 20 mins from NYC's midtown, via NJTransit's "Midtown Direct" train.

We moved from an urban area and while there are many wonderful aspects of more rural and suburban areas, we too were looking for a place where we could walk to shopping, the movies, restaurants; neighborhoods where you'd find people on the sidewalks; someplace with a "hip" vibe.

Mixed use and styles of architecture? Center hall colonial? Got it. Victorian? Got it. Four square? Got it. Ranch? Got it. Dutch colonial? Got it. Tudor? Got it. Arts & Crafts? Got it. I've described most of the homes in my neighborhood.

Varied incomes/races? Got it.

Progressive thinking? Oh Lordy, yes.

One thing you didn't mention is "garden club". Got it. And there are a good number of men in the club too!

Check out the link below to see what people love about and love to fight about in Maplewood, NJ.

Metuchen
Montclair
Westfield

Cranford (next to Westfield) is a little more affordable, I think.

We moved here from Texas and decided to lease for a year until we decided where we want to live. Unlike you (and being from Texas)walking distance to places was not something we wanted. We wanted a good school for my daughter, a big yard, nice neighbors, excellent dining and close shopping. We are leasing just that! We love Whippany (just outside Morristown)...however, we have to drive to the train station.

If this area interests you, Madison is nice quaint little town with a train station and great dining and a wonderful main street and there are many houses in your price range that are within walking distance to most everything!

Happy hunting! We love New Jersey!
Ellen

PS. Be sure to check out your prospective towns carefully first. There are a few bad areas peppered throughout NJ that you may want to steer clear of, even though they have a few big, beautiful houses for reasonable prices.

Forget about New Jersey.Live in New York

>>>YOu should definitely live in New York,
>>>why would you want to live in New Jersey?

To avoid the NY snobs

Anita

If you work in NY and live in NJ you generally get to credit your NY taxes paid against your NJ tax liability which helps big time. Connecticut puts a limit on the credit in such a way that makes it less attractive (I have lived in both NY, CT and NJ while working in NYC).

You may want to check with your accountant or run some scenarios using some tax software.

New Jersey is the third smallest state in the Union, but has 1,910 vascular plant species - more than states 11 times its size.

New Jersey has five physiographic provinces, very rare. In the northwest is the ridge & valley region, then, stretching in bands essentially running northeast to southwest, the highlands region (with conditions similar to central Ohio) and piedmont region; below those, the inner coastal plain to the west, and, to the east, the outer coastal plain (with conditions similar to central Virginia).

New Jersey is at a crossroads, or intersection, in the plant world. This is where southern plants pushing the limits often reach their northernmost limits ... and where northern plants reach their southernmost. There are also species here in NJ that are also found in Canada ... but not in New York or Connecticut, as their ancestors were carried down on the leading edge of the glacier, which stopped here in New Jersey.

For anyone who likes to garden, this is pretty good stuff.

Maplewood
South Orange
Montclair