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Me and my wife have been living in Plainsboro for 5 years, and we are considering buying our first place in New Jersey. Any advice/recommendations would be appreciated.
Here some information about us:
- We are both in our early 30s, no kids yet, but want to have them soon
- She works in Princeton (right off US1), I work in Skillman
We have the following requirements for a house:
- Price range $450k - $500k
- Acceptable commute time to our current jobs (<30 mins)
- Accessible to commuting to NYC via bus or train (even though we don't work there now, we may in the future)
- Home should be a newer construction (ideally, 15 years or less)
- School district should be acceptable (it's okay not to be ranked top in the state, but it should not be abysmal)
- Good place to raise young children
We looked at some places in Somerset/Franklin Township/North Brunswick, but we were not really convinced by any of them yet. Also, I heard some not so good things about Somerset.
I would second the Robbinsville recommendation in your price range. Montgomery is also nice (which is where you work) but I'm not sure about your price range there for what you want. Try Robbinsville though. Good luck.
Well, we looked at Robbinsville, but it doesn't really seem to fit our requirement of being close to our current jobs as well as moving us closer to the city. Looking at the distance, we could then almost move to Pennsylvania, where the property prices and taxes are lower.
Montgomery could be another option, not sure about the commute to the city though from there. We are also considering East Brunswick and South Brunswick, any input on these areas is also appreciated.
Ann, why would you not recommend Sommerset/Franklin/N Brunswick?
Well, we looked at Robbinsville, but it doesn't really seem to fit our requirement of being close to our current jobs as well as moving us closer to the city. Looking at the distance, we could then almost move to Pennsylvania, where the property prices and taxes are lower.
Montgomery could be another option, not sure about the commute to the city though from there. We are also considering East Brunswick and South Brunswick, any input on these areas is also appreciated.
Ann, why would you not recommend Sommerset/Franklin/N Brunswick?
Thanks!
Hmm, I didn't see the NYC commuting issue in there, sorry.
I wouldn't recommend those towns because I think in your price range, you can find towns that have better school districts, since you are hoping to have a family one day.
I think East Brunswick and South Brunswick would be great places to start in your price range, which is a pretty decent price range.
Look into Freehold, Manalapan and Middletown. All great towns with many commuting to NYC everyday.
Although I have heard mixed things about Freehold many love it. Jut be careful with the area of freehold.
Manalapan- Very nice town with newer and older houses.
Middletown- Huge town with a great school district. Many upscale parts of the town(1+ million) and middle class neighborhoods. Lincroft and New Monmouth look perfect for your family and price range.
Somerset & Franklin are the same town & so is Franklin Park for that matter. You can get decent schools maybe even good schools for elementary eduction, but when it comes to high school you would have to send your children to private school for both a good education & environment.
North Brunswick is better than Franklin, but still not as good as either South or East Brunwick.
Newer homes under 15 years old & for under $500K in South Brunswick, East Brunswick and Montgomery would probably be townhomes. Is that acceptable or are you only looking for a single family detached home?
Look into Freehold, Manalapan and Middletown. All great towns with many commuting to NYC everyday.
Although I have heard mixed things about Freehold many love it. Jut be careful with the area of freehold.
Manalapan- Very nice town with newer and older houses.
Middletown- Huge town with a great school district. Many upscale parts of the town(1+ million) and middle class neighborhoods. Lincroft and New Monmouth look perfect for your family and price range.
Thanks for your comment NickCent. However, Freehold would probably push the commutes of my wife and I closer to 1 hour each for each way. I am not sure how manageable this will be once we have kids, my wife and I both want to continue working.
So it seems that South/East Brunswick and Montomery are some good options.
Can anybody comment further on Somerset and Franklin Township? I heard some good and bad things about these townships. We looked at some houses there, and they mostly seemed okay and in our price range. How are the schools in these townships, and also what are good areas and what areas should be avoided?
Can anybody comment further on Somerset and Franklin Township? I heard some good and bad things about these townships. We looked at some houses there, and they mostly seemed okay and in our price range. How are the schools in these townships, and also what are good areas and what areas should be avoided?
I would recommend Franklin Park over the Somerset section of Franklin. Ideally, the further away you are from the northern section of Franklin (near New Brunswick) the better off. Franklin Park has a nice mix of homes from condo's & townhomes to million dollar homes.
Do an internet search for NJ Report Cards and you will get the scores for all of the schools/districts at the NJ Department of Education website. If you just go to the NJ Department of Ed website, you can probably find the Report Cards right from there.
Print out the towns that you are looking at, at all levels, elementary, middle and high school.
Take a look at the test scores, the graduation rates, where the students go after college, etc. Make your own decision. In that area, I might use West Windsor as a benchmark. It doesn't mean that where you ultimately choose has to be as good as WW on these measures, but it's a good place to start as a comparison.
It may be that the schools are ok for you and you would rather get a bigger/better house in Franklin than a smaller/older home in another town. It's all a balancing act.
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