Morris County Vs Princeton

[Obrero]

Originally Posted by Pro_PK

Hello All,

Thanks for your replies. Through different web searches, I'm zeroing towards parsippany or Montville school districts (if I decide to relocate in Morris county) or in Windsor/plainsborough school district. The company I'm joining has two offices, one in Morris county and another in Princeton, and I can possibly join either. So commute is similar in both cases. Would appreciate if anyone can compare parsippany/Montville with Pricenton/Windor/Plainsboro ares in terms of 1. real estate 2.crime /living conditions/ things to do etc 3. schools (I'm assuming they are comparable, but please let me know if there're any strong opinions either ways).

regards,
PK

Where in Morris is your office? I would not use Parsippany schools. Montville is ok but like Chatham, Kinnelon or Mountain lakes schools better.

[captne76]

I like the geography of Morris County better, more hills and mountains, lakes, higher elevations. Personal choice. That's why you probably want to visit both areas if possible.

[Pro_PK]

Thanks for all the responses. I've now shortlisted Morris County, and even made a short visit there last month (and expected to be there again in ~ a week- not sure how much time would get from housing point of view). I checked few towns and communities during my last trip, and was hoping to learn from our collective wisdom on following:
Parsippany - still like it, but so unstructured, and nothing really stood out, I liked a community called Glenmont commons there, which were new (5-10yrs) townhomes. Do you know of similar new communities in these towns?
Boonton - OK, house prices are quite low, heard some bad comments about the schools there, but suspect they were demographics related. any insights? Florham Park/East Hanover -seemed posh, may be too much house than we need. how are the schools here (mainly concerned about elementary & middle)
Montville - seemed very rural, couldn't do justice, need to see during daytime once
Wayne - Had to go to a big shopping Mall there, which was good. Is there a good community nearby? also heard Wayne is is prone to floods?
Livingston - Went to some restaurants, that's all. Never felt anyone is living around those lonely roads:-)
Madison: Liked the main street area, but are there any family entertainment / shopping places nearby?

I'm used to CA suburbs, which are so much more crowded than what I saw in NJ that I'm thinking of choosing relatively busier spots in Morris county.
So, where do you recommend to dig further if what's of interest is somewhat newer homes (townhomes acceptable, if the community is settled), good elementary schools, and nearby shopping/entertainment?
Regards,
PK

[Pro_PK]

Also came across the prevalent rule of tenant paying the rental agent's commision /finder's fee Very odd!! Is there any way around this, other than bumping a prospective landlord before he hires a realtor?:-)

[Ellwood]

Originally Posted by Pro_PK

Parsippany - still like it, but so unstructured, and nothing really stood out, I liked a community called Glenmont commons there, which were new (5-10yrs) townhomes. Do you know of similar new communities in these towns?
Boonton - OK, house prices are quite low, heard some bad comments about the schools there, but suspect they were demographics related. any insights? Florham Park/East Hanover -seemed posh, may be too much house than we need. how are the schools here (mainly concerned about elementary & middle)
Montville - seemed very rural, couldn't do justice, need to see during daytime once
Wayne - Had to go to a big shopping Mall there, which was good. Is there a good community nearby? also heard Wayne is is prone to floods?
Livingston - Went to some restaurants, that's all. Never felt anyone is living around those lonely roads:-)
Madison: Liked the main street area, but are there any family entertainment / shopping places nearby?

Whippany and Cedar Knolls might suit your needs. They are in Hanover Township (near Parsippany/Florham Park). Townhouse community - Oak Ridge in Whippany and Eden Lane.

Montville is a really nice area with several townhouse communities.

Willowbrook Mall in Wayne area should definitely be avoided at all costs due to flooding. Be careful in Wayne or Pompton Plains, especially since recent hurricane Irene.

Livingston/Madison/Chatham areas don't sound like a match for what you want.

[Kracer]

The weather in central NJ is inconsistent. No place to hide. Storms from the different directions blanket one area and not the other.

Generally the weather forecast uses east west rt 78 as the borderline for the intensity of winter snows. Again, it all depends on the snows direction.

The northwest corner of the state is consistently colder and has more snow but we're talking a few inches of difference.

You can't get to Morris county from Princeton in the am. Rt 206 /202/287 a major traffic jam.

Plenty of nooks and crannies in Morris county to match the more bucolic lanscape of the Princeton area. If you enjoy a good commute, pick Princeton.

Try Bernardsville, Pepack, Gladstone, Basking Ridge instead of Princeton.

[HalfFull]

Glad you were able to make a visit to get a feel. Montville remains a good chice and Cedar Knolls/Whippany was a good suggestion (access to both Parsippany and Morristown). You mentioned that you saw Madison -- a popular town with good schools and nice downtown. You should also take a look at Denville; nice downtown and a variety of neighborhood options (it did get hit hard with flooding from Irene, but isn't generally a bad flood area).

I think the tenant paying agent commission is mostly the case, so if you can go direct and avoid an agent that can be a decent savings, but takes some more work/time.