Central Jersey?? (Union, Plainfield, East Brunswick: low crime, homes, schools)

[canjra820]

My husband and I are both originally from Jersey. (I am from Rockaway and my husband is from Kendall Park). We currently live in NY and are looking to relocate back to NJ. Ideally, we would like to move to an area that is somewhere in the middle of Rockaway and Kendall Park, so that we are both close to our family and friends.

Does anyone have an suggestions on towns? We have just begun our search and are considering parts of Somerset County, but really have no clue as to where we should be looking.

Union County is also in the middle, but I am not sure about the area.

Hunterdon County is also in the middle, but again I am not sure about the area.

Thanks in advance!!

[JoeSo]

I grew up mostly in central Jersey,as far as just the towns somewhere like Watchung would technically be in between Rockaway & Kendall Park. Pricewise I'm not sure what you're looking at but as far as decent towns,pretty much anything north of Route 22 in Union County would be ok and in Somerset County most of the towns seem to be ok except for parts of Somerville,Bound Brook(flood risk),and of course Plainfield.
Hunterdon County is also good.
Pricewise Somerset County may be the least expensive,followed by Union and then Hunterdon,which was once rated one of the most expensive/wealthiest in the country not too long ago.

[DodgeViper01]

Watchung and Somerset would be nice and so would bernardsville, basking ridge and far hills. All depends on your price range as those are pretty expensive towns.

[syncmaster]

Originally Posted by JoeSo

... in Somerset County most of the towns seem to be ok except for parts of Somerville,Bound Brook(flood risk),and of course Plainfield.

Technicality: Plainfield is in Union County. North Plainfield is in Somerset County. South Plainfield is in Middlesex County.

[JoeSo]

Originally Posted by syncmaster

Technicality: Plainfield is in Union County. North Plainfield is in Somerset County. South Plainfield is in Middlesex County.

Good,less places to worry about then

[Jerseywoman]

You can't go wrong looking in Woodbridge Township. Taxes are too high in Union County. Much lower in Woodbridge which is part of Middlesex County. Schools are also better and crime rate is lower.

[transpearancy]

I currently live in Central Jersey - Monmouth County. But it is becoming too built up for me, plus it is overflowing the schools. I have recently found a site on which you can check the pollutant levels in various areas, and have found that Monmouth County is one of the worst!! So, I am currently looking into Sussex County, which fares much better by that criteria alone.

[JKasper]

Middlesex County is also an easy location to get to both.We live in Monroe Twp and go to Rockaway all the time, we have family there too!
East Brunswick, Monroe Twp, Plainsboro, South Brunswick

[jerseychick]

I really love this area, the downtown is beautiful, quaint and charming, and the schools are excellent. I also like Millburn.

As for Somerset county, Flemington, Hillsborough are great choices.

Holmdel is another great place to live in Monmouth county. It has excellent schools and is not far from highways and trains to NYC.

[jerseychick]

Originally Posted by transpearancy

I currently live in Central Jersey - Monmouth County. But it is becoming too built up for me, plus it is overflowing the schools. I have recently found a site on which you can check the pollutant levels in various areas, and have found that Monmouth County is one of the worst!! So, I am currently looking into Sussex County, which fares much better by that criteria alone.

Take a look at Sparta, Hopatcong areas.

I find Newton not so great. Although there are million dollar homes built in this zip code, there is a large diversity in areas, such as the area around and off of Main St. as compared to other areas in Newton, which are much nicer, in my opinion. Best bet is to drive around. Check out Hackettstown in Warren county. This is another great town which has decent schools, and low crime.