I commute Northern NJ to Brooklyn. From March to September I bike over the GW Bridge down the West Side Greenway across the Village to the Lower East Side and over the Williamsburg Bridge once or twice a week. I usually drive the other days. Often I'll bike home one day and in the next. Though I have also taken Bus/Subway and Ferry/Bike. I am at work around 7:30 AM before traffic gets awful. But questions such as secure bike storage, will you ride rain or shine and will you ride in the dark must be addressed.

As far as affordable, I don't know what that means any more. Towns near me like Bergenfield and Dumont seem "affordable" but that is a relative term. I also don't know what you mean by "too far". Is it time, or miles. I commute 25 miles each way. Usually less than an hour by car though rarely it has taken as long as 2 hours. By bike 1 hr and 40 minutes to 2 hours.

So many other questions. Do you want a house, condo or apartment. Are schools important. What kind of social life married or single. Shopping? Most stores are closed in Bergen County on Sundays. I like it that way. Others may hate it. Why do you want to leave NYC?

However, if you go to the top of the Empire State Building in the summer and look out over the 360 degree vista you will see two large green areas. Central Park and Northern New Jersey along the Hudson. I can't live in Central Park.