Relocating to Hopewell, HELP! (Trenton, Ewing: homes, safe area, buying)

[arielmel]

My family and I are relocating from Ft Lauderdale Florida to Hopewell(Merrill Lynch). We have 2 children, one in middle school, the youngest in elementary school.

Am very confused as to which areas are best to live in and which areas should be avoided, looking for safe area with good schools that is very family oriented. Also interesed in not having the long commute I have now.

We have been looking at Flemington, Hopewell, Ewing & Pennington. Also looking at Pa, but guess I will post something in their forum for that.

Any help you can give would be most appreciated.

Thanks.

[AnthonyB]

Originally Posted by arielmel

My family and I are relocating from Ft Lauderdale Florida to Hopewell(Merrill Lynch). We have 2 children, one in middle school, the youngest in elementary school.

Am very confused as to which areas are best to live in and which areas should be avoided, looking for safe area with good schools that is very family oriented. Also interesed in not having the long commute I have now.

We have been looking at Flemington, Hopewell, Ewing & Pennington. Also looking at Pa, but guess I will post something in their forum for that.

Any help you can give would be most appreciated.

Thanks.

Hopewell itself is a lovely town, Pennington too and both have good schools. Flemington is nice but a little further and Ewing has good housing stock at affordable prices but the Trenton side is a little rough and the schools aren't as good.
A lot depends on your budget but as long as you avoid the Trenton circle you should be fine.
You could also look at Lawrenceville (Princeton side), Rocky Hill, Blawenburg, Montgomery, Hillsborough and East Amwell. That should provide you with a decent choice of town/rural.

[jerseyj]

I agree with AnthonyB. Hopewell/Pennington is a beautiful area and the school district is excellent. They have a nice mix of older and newer homes and some new developments of very large homes. A nice variety from which to choose.
I would avoid Ewing, as a large portion of that township borders Trenton (a place you want to stay away from). Ewing is also experiencing some gang activity and they are having budget issues which are threatening to result in huge tax increases for those residents.

[jazzy08534]

I lived in Hopewel Township until March of 2006, when my home burned down. I lived about two blocks from the middle and high school. Most kids are bussed because the township is so large, which is why I liked my block; my son could walk to school. The taxes are on the high side, but if you're going to buy, now is the time. The schools are good to very good quality. I teach in Montgomery Township, which seems to get a higher rating, but I don't nececesarily agree. Hopewll Township, which includes Pennington Borrough, Pennington, and Hopewell Boro are family oriented. The only think that I didn't like about it is that the township is so big, your kids will likely have to be driven everywhere, unless you live in a development. My home was only about 5 minutes from Bristol Myers. If you are interested, I would be willing to build a home on my property, to suit you. A three bedroom home on my property would probably go for about $500,000, but you could put a smaller home or just buy my land. I have given up on building and am buying in a neighboringh town since I don't need the schools of Hopewell anymore. My kids are in college.

I would not recommend Montomery. Taxes are high and going higher. Flemington is good, but out of the way. Lawrencevill is nice and more affordable, but their h.s. has a lower repuation than their lower schools. Forget Princeton. Way too overpriced. Titusvill is also part of Hopewell Township and send its kids to Hopewell schools. Titusvill lies along the delaware River and is more rural and out of the way, if you like that. Feel free to write me at jazzy08534@yahoo.com.