Dina Santillo-Ortiz and her husband, Ray Ortiz, had yearned for a larger home in an affordable community with good schools and a reasonable commute. But they were hesitant to leave their old Jersey City neighborhood and its many conveniences.

“We loved Jersey City,” said Ms. Santillo-Ortiz, who lived in a two-bedroom apartment in the Heights area. “We could walk out of our building and have access to pizzerias, cleaners, banks.”

The couple, who have two young daughters, began their search for a new home about four years ago, first looking in Brooklyn and then in Montclair, N.J., before settling on the township of Nutley, N.J., about 15 miles from Midtown Manhattan.

Nutley “wasn’t even on our radar,” said Ms. Santillo-Ortiz, 44, a television lighting director. But after buying their 1924 center-hall colonial for about $315,000 in late 2013, they were certain of their choice. “As we were moving in, one neighbor came over with champagne and another with baked goods,” she said. “I felt like I was in a movie.”