You work in Manhattan. You want a house, a yard and a town you love. You are looking at Westchester, at Darien, New Canaan and Greenwich, at Long Island and Staten Island. Look at New Jersey too. It has the stadiums, the airport, the beaches, the mountains and the food. It has a one-seat train ride to Penn Station and a bus a block from Grand Central. Ryan Horvath has lived in Summit since 2015 and sells homes across Union, Essex, Morris and Somerset counties for Prominent Properties Sotheby’s International Realty.
Do not take a Realtor’s word for it. Take the rankings.
Metro-North is not the only way to Grand Central. It never was.
NJ Transit’s Midtown Direct trains run from towns like Summit, Maplewood, South Orange, Short Hills, Chatham, Madison and Morristown straight into Penn Station. You do not change trains. You get on, you read, you get off in Midtown.
If your office is near Grand Central, take the bus. Boxcar runs reserved-seat commuter buses from Union, Essex, Morris and Somerset counties into Manhattan. Riders get a guaranteed seat and Wi-Fi. The Summit bus lets you off at 43rd Street and Madison Avenue. Grand Central is one block away.
If your job puts you on planes, this is the deciding fact. Newark Liberty is United’s New York hub, with nonstop flights to more than 200 destinations. In 2026 it led every major Northeast airport in on-time flights.
From Summit, Newark is a short drive. From Darien or Westchester, JFK means the Hutchinson, the Whitestone or the Van Wyck at rush hour. Anyone who has made that trip knows how it goes. Live in New Jersey and fly out of Newark, and the airport stops being an ordeal.
The teams play here.
On July 19, 2026, MetLife Stadium hosted the World Cup final. Spain beat Argentina 1-0 in extra time before 80,663 people. The same stadium hosted Super Bowl XLVIII. Springsteen plays it. Taylor Swift and Beyoncé played it. When the biggest show in the tri-state area comes to town, it usually comes to New Jersey.
New Jersey has about 130 miles of Atlantic coast. Each beach town has its own character. Pick the one that fits you.
If you want a boardwalk, music and restaurants:
If you want quiet:
Drive west and the land rises. In winter you ski.
In the warm months, the Appalachian Trail runs about 72 miles across New Jersey. The Delaware Water Gap cuts through the ridge. High Point, at 1,803 feet, is the top of the state.
Party boats leave Point Pleasant Beach and Belmar for deep sea fishing. Whale-watching boats go out from Cape May. Humpbacks feed off the coast. You can be on the ocean in the morning and home for dinner.
One more thing. New Jersey does not charge sales tax on most clothing and shoes.
Food & Wine named New Jersey the best state for pizza in America. Locals were not surprised. This is diner country, Italian deli country and Taylor ham country. A Denville restaurant, The Pasta Shop, topped Yelp’s first national list of the best pasta spots in October 2026, and USA Today named it one of its 2026 Restaurants of the Year. Every town guide on this site lists the places locals rave about.
U.S. News & World Report ranks New Jersey’s pre-K through 12 schools first in the nation in its 2026 Best States rankings. In 2025 the state ranked first in education overall and placed in the top five on every pre-K through 12 measure, from test scores to graduation rates. These are public schools. You do not have to pay tuition to get them.
Netflix is building a studio campus of about $1 billion on 292 acres at the old Fort Monmouth. It will have 12 soundstages when it is done. The first stages are set to open in summer 2027. Film crews come to New Jersey because one state can stand in for almost anywhere: a city skyline, a farm town, a beach, a mountain road.
Every town below has its own guide, with year-to-date sales data, where to eat, what to do and a little history.
Union County: Summit · Westfield · Scotch Plains · Fanwood · Cranford · Berkeley Heights · New Providence · Springfield · Mountainside
The Plainfields: Plainfield · North Plainfield · South Plainfield
Essex County: Short Hills / Millburn · Montclair · Maplewood · South Orange · West Orange · Glen Ridge · Bloomfield · Livingston · Verona
Morris County: Madison · Morristown · Chatham · Florham Park · Harding · Morris Township · Chester · Long Hill · Mendham · East Hanover · Mountain Lakes · Denville · Washington Township
Somerset & Hunterdon: Bernardsville · Basking Ridge · Bedminster · Watchung · Warren · Far Hills · Peapack-Gladstone · Tewksbury
It can be. Boxcar buses from Union, Essex, Morris and Somerset counties drop riders at 43rd Street and Madison Avenue, one block from Grand Central. Midtown Direct trains run without a transfer to Penn Station.
WalletHub ranked New Jersey the second-best state to live in for 2026 and first for safety. New York ranked 12th. U.S. News ranked New Jersey’s pre-K through 12 schools first in the nation.
Newark Liberty. It is United’s New York hub, with nonstop service to more than 200 destinations, and in 2026 it led all major Northeast airports in on-time flights.
The Giants and Jets at MetLife Stadium, the Devils at Prudential Center in Newark, and the Red Bulls and NWSL champion Gotham FC at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison.
Yes. Mountain Creek in Vernon and Campgaw Mountain in Mahwah, plus Big SNOW, an indoor slope at American Dream. The Poconos are a short drive west.
For quiet: Spring Lake, Sea Girt, Bay Head, Cape May, Avalon and Stone Harbor. For boardwalks and nightlife: Asbury Park, Point Pleasant Beach, Belmar, Seaside Heights, Wildwood and Atlantic City.
Buying, selling, or just curious what the numbers say. Call me.