in and out of NYC. Housing prices along train lines are higher because they can have you in city in minutes. I used to live along a bus line and while they have dedicated bus lines you still will hit traffic at times. But man, I finished a bazillion books riding the bus.

NJ gets a bad rap for being the "oil refinery and petrochemical state" which is accurate for multiple very ugly cities, many right around Newark airport but you don't have to go very far before you're in rolling green hills, trees and water. Most of the state really is the garden state and NJ grows quite a bit of corn and blueberries.

I would not recommend Connecticut. It's further away and though you wouldn't believe it, is actually MORE expensive than New Jersey. CT is also very pretty.