s/o best places in nj

HBear19

So FI and I have been talking about where to buy a house, and I was wondering what all of you thought about where you would want to raise a family in NJ.We need to consider easy commute to NYC (FI works there) and good schools (for our future children!).So far we are talking about Hillsborough, Princeton, and Freehold.

erikag23

princeton borough or township?  same with freehold, bourough or township?

Danes983

I grew up in Hillsborough. Its awesome and I cant wait to move home.  Just an FYI. Not an eaasy commute to NYC at all. I did for 4 months. Wanted to die.  You have to take 2 trains if you want to stay local.

FutureMrsF111

FI and are north of you but we are looking in Westfield, Summit, Cranford, Scotch Plains and maybe Kennilworth. We are thinking more about resale value right now then schools because of the market we figure we have about 7 years before school becomes an issue.

HBear19

Erika- FI differentiates between borough and township, but honestly I don't know the difference, especially in Freehold. He says one is better than the other, but I don't know which is which!  

Lola Minnie

According to MB's post, Newark

mrs.spunky1508

I'd love to live in the Princeton area, but it was too expensive for us. Even West Windsor, Plainsboro and Princeton Junction were too expensive for the type of home we were looking for. We lived in Plainsboro for a time, in an apartment, and I really liked the proximity to everything. We also looked a LOT in Hamilton, which also has a pretty good school district, and some in Pennington, Titusville. We ended up in northern Burlington County in a little town that no one's heard of, Florence. I like it, the schools are pretty good in our town, and they just built a new HS. Commuting to NY would be tough though - it would require a nearly 90 minute train ride. However, if money were no object, I'd move near where my ILs live in Bernardsville. My H's old HS routinely ranks among the best in the nation.

I <3 Seabass

I grew up in Belle Mead so right in between Hillsborough & Princeton and either one wont be "easy" commute to the city. My mom actually wants us to move back there to be closer to them and I keep telling her I can't do that commute to the city. I mean it's doable but very long.

jtheiss

FI and I just bought in Madison. Good schools, direct train to the city, low taxes, and (best kept secret) water and electric are subsidized because they own their own electric grid and water purification (or whatever it is). It's a little further north than you appear to be looking, but I would recommend it.

Angie550

I would also love Princeton, but it is too $$ for us.  What about Berkley Heights, Scotch Plains, somewhere around there.  They are all on a train line and I believe the schools are good.

erikag23

imo, freehold township is much nicer than the borough same with princeton.  i grew up not far from p'town it is beautiful, but like kate said, homes and taxes are high.  freehold is also nice a place.  i think commuting to nyc from p'town is pretty easy...just hop on the train and you are in penn station in about an hour.  all 3 places you listed are VERY different from one another.where do you currently live?  you are looking in 3 different counties.  imo, i think you should first narrow down a county and then take it from there.

Danes983

Seabass did you got to Hillsborough High? What year did u graduate?

HBear19

Yes, it is 3 different places. We are currently in Franklin Park. We love Princeton, we are actually getting married there. We would love to stay, but as many of you pointed out, it is $$. My family lives in Hillsborough, so that is the draw there. FI seems to think he'd be willing to commute from there, though from what some of you have said, it could be tough. I came across Freehold on realtor.com, and it looks like you can get a nice house for reasonable prices. What we want: central Jersey, a nice house for our buck, and a nice neighborhood. It's tough!

erikag23

i'm sure you can get a nice house in any of these towns for a decent price since the housing market is soo _shitty.

mbcdefg

My aunt and uncle live in Freehold Township and they seem to be happy. I really like their neighborhood and wouldn't mind living there myself someday. We haven't looked seriously into houses yet so I don't have any concrete advice.

mrs.spunky1508

I think if you went from Hillsborough to Somerville to get the train it wouldn't be too terrible. I get hives just thinking about that stretch of 206 during rush hour though... My FIL commuted from B-ville to NYC for years and it took 90 minutes on average. However, he drove to the city and this was before they had a direct line into Penn so it required switching in, I think, Hoboken. He also commuted from there to Trenton which was not any better.

I <3 Seabass

Danes ~ I went to Montgomery. class of '99

kewltif

If you want a short commute into NYC then I would look in Bergen County- particularly Tenafly which is a great town and close to the city.

mrs.spunky1508

Steph, my H dated a girl who graduated from Montgomery HS in 1997. Initials JS, played tennis.

I <3 Seabass

I'm so bad at this game! I most likely know who she is because our school was super small at the time, but honestly I'm horrible with names. I'll pull out my yearbook tonight and see if I can find her.

erikag23

seabass~ did montgomery go to school with rocky hill?

I <3 Seabass

Think it depended on where in Rocky Hill you lived. I def. had friends that lived in RH that went to MHS, but I don't know if it was the whole town.

mrs.spunky1508

Ok this may make it easier, her last name (beginning with S) is the same name as a section of Montgomery Twp.

I <3 Seabass

haha! That did make it easy...I'm pretty sure who I know who you're talking about!

kdimartino98

I Live in Hillsborough!!! I LOVE it... its a really nice town, very family oriented - tons of easily accessible shopping, close to the mall, close to hospital, tons of doctors right in town!  The train station is located in Raritan and Somerville, next towns over to get to NYC.  Also I believe there is a bus depot near the Somerville train.  Not sure what you prefer.  We moved here 1 1/2 years ago - and its definitely home for us now!

lovbulldgs

I live in Marlboro and commute to the city each day.  It is an adjustment for me as I lived in Hoboken for 12 years before moving but over all the commute is not so bad.  Marlboro/Manalapan are right before Freehold and both have good schools.

uppereastgirl

What about Millburn or Maplewood?

30may09bride

I live in Freehold Township, and I really like it. But, for commuting into the city, I wouldn't do it from there. Rt. 9 is a PITA, and the buses make sooo many stops.  What about Old Bridge or Matawan?  I have friends that live in Old Bridge, right near the park and ride on Rt. 9, and they live in a great neighborhood and have an easy commute into the city from there.  Matawan is a tiny bit further away, but has a train and buses, and I think better schools than Old Bridge.  Just keep in mind, with any trains in that area, unless you can drop him off and pick him up, Matawan and Princeton in particular, have waiting lists for parking spots that are years long.  Good luck!

Karma01

We are moving to Madison (Morris Co) and we are close to the train that goes to NYC. Essex county taxes are crazy, stay away from there if you can.

reneel828

Monroe. Good schools low taxes. I'm biased because I'm from there. My husband commutes to Wall St so we were thinking about Tinton Falls area so he could take the ferry. I love in Marlboro now and hate it.

reneel828

Not love in...live in..Marlboro and we dont like it. The coummute to Wall St via bus is doable but almost 2 hours at times.