Personally If I was your shoes and only looking to rent, I’d be looking at tarrytown/sleepy hollow and dobbs ferry area. (NY not NJ).
IMO the Hudson line is more dependable than Jersey transit and grand central is much better than penn station. My wife commuted for a few years through penn and couldn’t handle it anymore. The commute time wasn’t terrible but that station is like going to a terrible airport twice a day. And then the fight to get to your track is ludicrous. They call your track and if you don’t run and elbow people down a narrow escalator you’ll miss your train.
Westchester has some great riding spots (blue mountain, graham hills, sprain, tarrytown lakes) and is still close to the north Jersey stuff. And the road riding is good and there’s some actual gravel to be found.
I'd 3rd thisHands down the best advice given. Grand Central Terminal puts all other transit hubs to shame. And you will only be dealing with NY taxes if you live in the same state.
Metro north is 100x better then anything NJ has to offer. Westchester and Putnam county's are an excellent location to jettison you to best the north east has to offer.