Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Metuchen, Highland Park and Cranbury all have nice main streets, but quite expensive as they all have a lot of "old money".
Beyond that, I would say a more affordable option that is certainly nice enough would be Milltown. It's more affordable than the other towns mentioned, but still very well-kept and feeds into decent schools. The north side has lots of nice old houses with distinct character too.
There is also downtown Woodbridge which is on North Jersey Coast Line so you have mass transit as a bonus, but it is a very large town as a whole.
We're looking to relocate to NJ and are looking for towns around Somerville that have downtowns with some resturants, businesses, and are nice to walk around. I heard that Somerville may have a bit of a downtown, does Bridgewater have anything? Princeton would be wonderful but it's too far to commute up 206 in that traffic.
Raritan?
Bernardsville?
Basking Ridge?
Watchung?
Scotch Plains?
Westfield?
Metuchen?
Anything north of Basking Ridge worth looking at?
What would the commute on 22 be like if it was westbound in the a.m.?
Thanks so much!
Basking Ridge was at one point great but since the 1980s it has suffered from over expansion, high taxes, and expensive housing. As a kid who was raised there, it went from farmville in 1989 to McMansion suburbia by 2000. Watchung is a good alternative to B.R. because the housing and taxes are slightly lower, but generally share the same suburban qualities. Bernardsville is very similar to B.R. but even more rural and rich in some mountainous parts. I consider Westfield is elite club.
Scotch Plains and Metuchen are more down to earth and on the cheaper side. I'd give them a look as well as Bridgewater, Berkeley Heights, and Green Brook.
Basking Ridge and Bernardsville have small downtowns with a few shops & restaurants. Bernardsville has more with also grocery store, movie theatre, haircut, Starbucks, Burger King, bagels, etc. Both are really nice towns with nice neighborhoods and housing and excellent school districts. (both pricey).
Bridgewaters school district is average-to-above-average but nothing like the other two, and have heard that it is "going downhill" from people that live there. Will be more affordable though and lots of nice housing options and closer to mall etc if you want that.
We are leaving Bridgewater. We hate it. No downtown. No feeling of community at all. Housing prices have dropped, and schools are ranked much lower than they were when we bought years ago.
We are leaving Bridgewater. We hate it. No downtown. No feeling of community at all. Housing prices have dropped, and schools are ranked much lower than they were when we bought years ago.
We are looking at Westfield.
Quote:
Originally Posted by snuffybear
Westfield has a big, thriving downtown.
Basking Ridge and Bernardsville have small downtowns with a few shops & restaurants. Bernardsville has more with also grocery store, movie theatre, haircut, Starbucks, Burger King, bagels, etc. Both are really nice towns with nice neighborhoods and housing and excellent school districts. (both pricey).
Bridgewaters school district is average-to-above-average but nothing like the other two, and have heard that it is "going downhill" from people that live there. Will be more affordable though and lots of nice housing options and closer to mall etc if you want that.
Why 908Boi? I happen to have some inside info on what goes on in that HS And the housing prices have dropped...I know a couple people that lost $$ when they sold. Two of us posted basically the same thing.
Why 908Boi? I happen to have some inside info on what goes on in that HS And the housing prices have dropped...I know a couple people that lost $$ when they sold. Two of us posted basically the same thing.
??? Of course there are people who lost money on their homes....we had one of the worst housing collapses in history. What time frame are you talking about? There may be legit reasons to not like bridgewater, but this is a huge leap.
Why 908Boi? I happen to have some inside info on what goes on in that HS And the housing prices have dropped...I know a couple people that lost $$ when they sold. Two of us posted basically the same thing.
I want to know what your inside information is actually.
Bridgewater HS does very well on school rankings, especially for a school with such a large population. Much easier to have a high average SAT score when you're a small district like Millburn. Also like Tahiti said, house prices are down vs 2005-2007 in every town in the state, so that anecdote is meaningless.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
And the housing prices have dropped...I know a couple people that lost $$ when they sold. Two of us posted basically the same thing.
