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Might be 20 minutes longer on the bus each way. I would much rather live in Marlboro Manalapan or Freehold than Old Bridge. I have lived off of Route 9 for the past 30 years and drive into Newark every day.
Commuting into Manhattan is a grind no matter where you live.
Listen I'm not a hater of Marlboro/Manalapan or Freehold. I have friends that live in both and some that commute to the city each day. There are many threads on this board that bash Marlboro - my neighbors actually started out in OB, moved to Marlboro but due to the pretentiousness of the schools moved back to Old Bridge. Everyone has their opinion on what is better and why. Both towns are nice (I like the Freehold downtown area) and Marlboro has some great neighborhoods, but when you have to take a daily commute into account, each person has to weigh the pros/cons of everything (not just schools)
Even if they are just 20 minutes more each way each day, that adds 3-4 hours a week to an already long commute. I get off the bus at Cheesequake (sometimes my door to door runs 1.5-2 hours) going to Old Bridge (when there is bad weather, traffic) and I sit there and think I can't imagine being the people that stayed on the bus who are going to Red Bank, Middletown, Freehold, etc because by that time I am done and can't imagine sitting on the bus another minute (and I like those towns). I actually don't even think Old Bridge is a great commute (its ok) but many northern Jersey towns that have a shorter commute are just much more expensive. When the bus is on schedule, I can do an hour 20 min door to door which for me isn't bad at all considering where I work in the city.
Nothing is really bad about Old Bridge, it just has some areas, mostly a few apartment complexes that you want to stay away from, as well as some more blue collar neighborhoods mostly west of Rt 9 and up on the bay (Lawrence Harbor/Cliffwood Beach).
I wouldn't say Marlboro or Manalapan are any better though. Mostly glorified white trash - "fake" wealth (all show and no dough), driving leased 75K cars and taking out triple mortgages on their McMansions full of empty rooms, worth the same as their little shack on Staten Island they sold during the bubble. Now they think they are living so large and that their $#!+ doesn't stink anymore. Complete with their horrific driving skills, ten year old mentality and spoiled brat offspring quickly becoming just like them. And they also have a disdainful attitude toward just about any other place on the face of the earth. This lancers character is probably one of them.
for me, commute is very important. When i saw Old Bridge a few months ago it looked like a nice, calm area. I am not looking for towns with top top schools. Priority is
1) Easy commute to Midtown NY
2) Home prices / taxes
3) No flood zones
4) Safety / schools
5) Quality of roads, etc (coming from Brooklyn, NY this shouldn't be hard)
6) Some shopping nearby, beach, etc
pretty much, i am looking for a good deal on housing while still being able to keep my NYC job.
There is no easy commute to Manhattan from NJ unless you choose to buy an overpriced condo near the tunnels.
No way would I buy any home south of Old Bridge where I needed to take route 9 during rush hour.
Even during the week, let alone the weekends, route 9 south of Old Bridge is a parking lot.
I have driven Route 9 from the Parkway exit in Sayreville/Parlin the past 30 years and while it has gotten progressively worse over the years it is in no way a parking lot. Not that long of a ride anyway.
I drive down to Raleigh/Durham twice a month so driving doesn't bother me. You want to see a parking lot try 95 in Virginia. Route 9 is nothing.
Nothing is really bad about Old Bridge, it just has some areas, mostly a few apartment complexes that you want to stay away from, as well as some more blue collar neighborhoods mostly west of Rt 9 and up on the bay (Lawrence Harbor/Cliffwood Beach).
I wouldn't say Marlboro or Manalapan are any better though. Mostly glorified white trash - "fake" wealth (all show and no dough), driving leased 75K cars and taking out triple mortgages on their McMansions full of empty rooms, worth the same as their little shack on Staten Island they sold during the bubble. Now they think they are living so large and that their $#!+ doesn't stink anymore. Complete with their horrific driving skills, ten year old mentality and spoiled brat offspring quickly becoming just like them. And they also have a disdainful attitude toward just about any other place on the face of the earth. This lancers character is probably one of them.
Someone sounds jealous. Like you know me pal? You must have met the wrong people.
I guess I should have clarified "easy" commute. I am comparing to 1 hour commute I have now on NY Subway door to door. As long as on average it's around 1h 10 min i call it an easy commute
Alright so .... after all the reading and studying .... I have jotted down the following places to look for housing ...
West Orange
Montclair
Morristown
Rutherford
Maplewood
Cranford
Millburn
Short Hills
Summit
New Province
Berkley Heights
Chatham
Madison
Pompton Plains
Pequannock
Moris County
Middletown
East Brunswick
Any of these should be OFF my list considering what I was looking for?
thank you
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