I agree with Deborah and I don't even live in Wayne, it is a great area.

Tue Mar 4 2008, 15:49

H, I just came across your question,If you are looking to buy in wayne, and have children, the only place to live is in Pines Lake. I have lived here since 1993, My kids are in middle school and in High school, its still a great place for them and with the lake community there is always something to do!!! in summer there has NEVER been a need to send them to "camp" because they are busy from morning to afternoon with Lake activities.
hope you come and look, this is the time to buy into Pines Lake
a Pines Lake resident.

Sat Feb 2 2008, 03:19

Hi John,

The great thing about Wayne is that it is centrally located near major highways and very easy to get to and from. Great school system as you can gather from the other posts to your question so I won't include the statistics here.

I personally like Wayne if I could afford to live there. There are a lot of home style choices but careful with the more moderate priced ones since they may be located in flood zones.

Easy commute into the city from Bus or Train (new Bus Depot is just being finalized (but not open yet) on the Southbound side of Route 23 near Interstate Route 80.

With regards to traffic, where that's a common concern with most towns in North Jersey, especially on major thoroughfares. It's just a part of life. If you plan to work in NYC, keep in mind that the the NJ Transit Bus System has a dedicated HOV type lane into the city starting near Secaucus before heading into the Lincoln Tunnel in the mornings if your destination is Port Authority (near Times Square). So bus traffic is generally faster than car traffic as you approach NYC. Keep in mind that the public transportation buses do experience traffic congestion before approaching their HOV lanes.

Otherwise, it's a nice ride if you're not part of the morning or evening rush hours.

Wayne is very convenient to shopping but it is a very large township so it depends on where you live. There is a shopping center near the north part (Wayne Hills Mall) and Willowbrook Mall and Wayne Town Center to the south. The nearby highways make it easy to commute to other towns since Wayne does not really have its own local central town community.

Good luck on your home search journey and all the best

Carmelo Torres
ct@ctorres.com

Mon Dec 24 2007, 10:16

Hi,

In NJ, we are the king of home town rule, small boroughs and small school systems. Wayne, with 3 public middle schools, and 2 public high schools is a town, not a small borough. Wayne has larger mass than so many of our small towns, also. It’s not a city; it falls into that category of township instead of borough, or unincorporated. It doesn’t have the nucleus of a downtown that you might find in other areas, but it has convenience in transportation, malls, strip shopping centers, and subdivisions. From those who thrive on the energy of a downtown with heart, they will shy away from Wayne. For those who find suburban living with conformity, you may hear praises. Value for the size of the properties are good. It might be helpful if you share info about your preferences.

Wayne was on the list for 2006 BTW.


Regards,
Deborah Madey - Broker
Peninsula Realty Group, Inc.
732 530-6350 Direct
Deborah@PeninsulaFirst.com

Sun Dec 23 2007, 13:20

Wayne is an over valued/priced city.

There are many flood areas where homes were drenched during a storm. It also depends on what you're looking for. It's generally a safe city to live in; that's probably about it. There is not much night life or trendy locations. Getting to NYC is not very easy if that's an issue.

The university that resides in Wayne is probably the only commodity to the city which may not be a commodity for the average person, beside having poor college kids to rent out to. However, doing some research on how many students dorm or live with their parents may even shed further light on it's non-usefulness to the average person.

There are many safe cities in NJ that are not as over valued as Wayne. Personally, I have not seen Wayne mentioned anywhere as a best city to live in, on the contrary to what was posted below. You can check "CNN best places to live 2007" and see where Wayne is listed in respect to other New Jersey cities.

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2007/index.html

I would look elsewhere if you're looking for value.

Sun Dec 23 2007, 12:53

My friend has lived in 2 different houses there for a number of years and is very happy. The flooding is an issue in some areas so make sure the home you are looking at is in a "dry" location. Speak to neighbors.

Rafi Footerman
Mid Jersey Inspections
732-906-4100
NJ Home Inspection Lic. #076900

Wed Dec 12 2007, 12:47

Hi John,

Wayne is one very large town, and it is nicely located for NY City commuters. The negatives include some well known flood zones and heavy traffic congestion. At 3:30PM on a school day, it can be a challenge to move around at all. Just a ton of cars and school buses, even on the secondary and tertiary roads.

Wayne is a town of subdivisions. Many of them contain Colonials, Split Levels, Bi-Levels that offer good utility and square footage. However, they are short on charm and offer little of interest in terms of architectural appeal.

Wayne is pretty much the definition of suburban sprawl, with all that entails, both good and bad. Route 23 is the major commuting artery, and is impossible during rush hour, especially if it is raining or snowing.

There is no "downtown". Wayne does not have any "village" feel at all. It is a fairly vast suburb. That is not to say there aren't some nice areas that are rustic. For example Pines Lake and Packanack Lake are really nice lake communities.

But for the most part Wayne is not a "good looking" town. It does have some strong points. Great access to shopping along Route 23 and at the Willowbrook Mall, and convenient centralized location to employment centers both to the East (Manhattan & Jersey City) and West (Parsippany), as well as the immediate area (there are several large corporate parks at the North end of town).

Prices in Wayne are fairly high. The median home price for the past 9 months is $535,000. For that price you get a 3-4 bedroom Split Level or Bi-Level in average to good condition.

If you want a nice 4BR Colonial, say 2,700-3,100 square feet built in the 1970's-1980's on a quiet street, plan to spend $700,000 to $800,000.

A million dollars will get you a 5-15 year old 4-5BR Colonial of 3,000-4,000 square feet with a nice granite kitchen and 3/4 acre. Or a smaller house, say 2,000 SF, maybe a Contemporary or Ranch, on one of the lakes.

All in all I would say that Wayne is a desirable suburban setting, long on utility, but short on esthetics.

If you have any interest in a sample pack of homes from each of the sections in the town such as Wayne Valley, Pines Lake, Packanack Lake, Alps Village, Wayne Hills, Black Oak, Pointview Estates, Marc Valley, Hilltop, Waterview, Indian Hills, Preakness, etc, contact me through my website and I'll send them over.

Good luck in your home search!

Mon Nov 26 2007, 19:29

Hi John,

I noted from your other post that you are relocating from TX. Your other Q pertained to Westwood, NJ. Where will you need to commute for work? Wayne is a great community, and that may mean it is a great community for you, or it may not. It depends upon your criteria. If you want a complete demographic report for any town (borough, township, or city) in NJ, you can request such from our customer service desk. This is available via a PDF file and generally runs several pages including graphs and charts. I cannot post as a link, but our office will happy to email you a report for any town upon request.

You can request via
CustomerService@PeninsulaFirst.com

Best of Luck and Again, Welcome to the Garden State

Regards
Deborah

Sun Nov 25 2007, 20:33

It was named one of 2006 Best Places to live. Here are a couple of websites that may assist you in making a decision. http://www.waynetownship.com/ and http://www.hometownlocator.com/City/Wayne-New-Jersey.cfm

Sun Nov 25 2007, 19:48