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I would suggest West Windsor Plainsboro School District. The Princeton Junction Train Station on New Jersey Transit goes to Penn Station. The actual door to door commute would be a bit longer (house to train) but there are express trains at rush hour.
The school district is /has always been stellar. Diversity is absolutely applicable to the area.
Curious to see what other suggestions come around.
The closest place to the city for a midtown commute in terms of time with top-end school systems is northeastern Bergen County. The GWB gets traffic jams less frequently and less severely than the tunnels, and approaching it from the north lets you avoid the worst of the wait to get on it too, while the school systems (Tenafly, Northern Valley Demarest, Northern Valley Old Tappan, and Cresskill in that order but all are very strong) are some of the best in the entire state (and considering that this is NJ, you can extend that statement to the country if you really wanted to). Demographics are heavily Jewish (most so in Tenafly, but significant everywhere) and Korean (most so in Closter, but again significant everywhere), with large Christian White and Chinese populations, with a small but present Hispanic population but almost no African-Americans. The big downside of this area for some people is that there isn't a train locally, so if you're set on doing a train commute that's obviously going to be a problem and a potential deal-breaker.
If you want a train there are several options. In Northwestern Bergen County, Ridgewood and Glen Rock are very popular among people looking for top-notch schools, a train commute into the city, and with a budget around what yours is. Ridgewood also has an incredibly nice/cute downtown, which you could access easily both in Ridgewood (obviously) and from next-door Glen Rock. Ridgewood is generally the better of the two in most ways: it has slightly better schools, is a bit better in terms of catching the train (see the schedules to see what I mean), etc; obviously you pay a small premium for the small marginal improvements (although if you're looking for housing in one you should look in both and you'd be shooting yourself in the foot not to, just be aware of that). Demographically the area is dominated by Christian Whites, with moderately sized (although much less so than further east) Jewish and Asian communities, and again a small Hispanic population and almost no African-Americans. The relative downside of the area is that it is further away from the city.
If you're looking for a train town there are also some very nice places further south along the other train lines that I'm less familiar with but other posters will know more about.
Look at South Orange, Maplewood, and Montclair. These towns don't have school districts rated among the very top in the state but they solidly ranked and are considerably more diverse than the top districts. All these towns have trains direct to Penn Station.
Look at South Orange, Maplewood, and Montclair. These towns don't have school districts rated among the very top in the state but they solidly ranked and are considerably more diverse than the top districts. All these towns have trains direct to Penn Station.
This.
If you're looking for great schools, diversity, and a short commute to Manhattan, you can't beat these three towns.
Train from Princeton Junction is at best 60 minutes on an "express" train.
In reality it makes it more of a 80+ minute commute door-to-door.
I live in West Windsor and go to 47th. It's 1 hour and 15 minutes door to door.
The community and schools more than make up for the slightly long commute. I don't mind it since it's a train ride. If I were driving for that long, then no.
I live in West Windsor and go to 47th. It's 1 hour and 15 minutes door to door.
The community and schools more than make up for the slightly long commute. I don't mind it since it's a train ride. If I were driving for that long, then no.
Isn't it more than just a train ride?
There is the pre-train ride = driving to station, parking at the station, waiting at the station platform for train
And there is the post-train ride = getting off train and walking to work
Isn't it more than just a train ride?
There is the pre-train ride = driving to station, parking at the station, waiting at the station platform for train
And there is the post-train ride = getting off train and walking to work
It's a 15 minute walk from Penn to 47th. If you get the subway just right, maybe less than 10 minutes. 1:15 from West Windsor to 47th means you're pretty much living at the train station.
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