Family-friendly semi-affordable areas in the northeast?
Hello! My husband and I have spent the past year looking to buy a home in the North Jersey suburbs, and have concluded that it’s not gonna happen for us at our current income level. So we’re curious to expand our search to nearby areas with a plan to move in the next 1-2 years.
About us: mid-30s couple with a 4yo and another baby on the way. My mother also lives with us. I work remotely and my husband is a teacher. Our combined annual income is around $140k. We are hoping to buy a home in the next few years - preferably a 3-4 bedroom in the 500-600k range. SFH would be nice but we’re open to townhomes too.
Our #1 priority is proximity to family who are all in the northeast. We have family in Orange County NY, central NJ, and the DC area. Ideally I would like to stay a 1-2 hour drive from the NY/NJ folks and no more than 3-4 hours from the DC folks.
Even though I harbor fantasies of warm weather, low COL, and a life-changing cross-country move, raising our kids close to family takes precedence. We would also prioritize good schools and decent healthcare access especially for my mom as she gets older. Hopefully it’s an area that’s good to teachers also, since my husband would need to find a teaching job locally.
I would love some sort of access to cultural amenities/ things to do/ walkability, but I’m also ok with letting some of those things go if it means we can buy a house in an area with good schools. I’ve lived in cities for the past 16 years and I think I am ready to move on…even though I’m a little scared.
I’ve mostly been looking at the South Jersey suburbs, but that does put us pretty far from our Orange County people which isn’t ideal. I’ve thought about the Lehigh Valley area in PA also but it’s a total unknown to me since I’ve never visited.
If there anything I’m missing?? If you live in an area that meets these criteria I would love to hear from you!