Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > New Jersey
 [Register]
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.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 12-18-2014, 08:27 PM
 
16 posts, read 16,599 times
Reputation: 20

Advertisements

My husband has a great job prospect in New Brunswick. We currently live in Chicago (western burbs) and
I'm looking for info to see if this would be a good fit for our family.
A little about us:
Early 40s, have a 6 year old daughter, whose involved in several after school activities
(Gymnastics, Girl Scouts and soccer).
I'm currently a SAHM.
Looking for safe, family friendly suburb with great school district about 30 min
From New Brunswick).
Where we live now:
We are about 5-10 min to shopping, doctor, mall, with a cute downtown area. Very safe
Area ( basically I can leave my doors open-think Mayberry
Would purchase home. Range between 450-525k. At least 3 br, 2 1/2 bth. Newer construction
Preferred.

What concerning to me is the higher standard of living coming from the Midwest, and
Also Property taxes. We've relocated once before (Minneapolis) so I want to
Get as much information as possible before considering another big move.


Thank you all for your time.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 12-18-2014, 08:49 PM
 
298 posts, read 339,113 times
Reputation: 363
Others who live closer to New Brunswick may chime in...I think if he's willing to drive 30-35 min you should be able to do it. I would look at Plainsboro & West Windsor. Both are good school districts. Montgomery & Hillsborough are also possibilities. If you wanted to look to the north, there is Green Brook (North of Rt 22), but that commute could be harder.

If he's not averse to taking the train into New Brunswick, there is a station in West Windsor.

West Windsor does not have any "downtown" but large mall (Quakerbridge Mall on Rt 1, as well as a lot of shopping on the West side of Rt 1.

You really need to see the area here, because you may or may not like it. I don't particularly like the Rt 1 corridor. Its just miles and miles or stores, gas stations, and strip malls, but hey that is America!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 12-18-2014, 10:02 PM
 
16 posts, read 16,599 times
Reputation: 20
Thanks for the feedback Atomicdoug, that's the kind of information I'm looking for.
I'm not familiar with Jersey at all, so I'm trying to get a feel for it.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 12-19-2014, 12:38 AM
 
3,021 posts, read 5,826,126 times
Reputation: 3151
I second West Windsor or Plainsboro. Both are in the same school district.
West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District

NJ Transit is a very quick train trip between Princeton Junction station & New Brunswick.
New Jersey Transit - Home

There's also a bus: Coach USA

West Windsor / Plainsboro are also right near Princeton. You'll find lots of activities in the area for children & adults.

Keep in mind that some houses have mailing addresses that do not reflect the school district, i.e. part of West Windsor has a Princeton mailing address, but is in the WW-P school district. Once you decide what school district you want than phone the school district before signing a lease to check if that address is actually in your chosen district.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 12-19-2014, 08:03 AM
 
Location: Center of the universe
24,645 posts, read 38,563,555 times
Reputation: 11780
West Windsor or Plainsboro. End of story.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 12-19-2014, 08:17 AM
 
324 posts, read 572,658 times
Reputation: 314
I understand not wanting to have to move an extra time, but I'd hate to rush such an important decision as buying home. I always recommend renting before buying, to people who are moving to a completely new area for two reasons:

You'll have more time to familiarize yourself with the area to decide where you ultimately want to buy and stay long term. You'll also have a greater selection of homes if you are not under a time constraint.

If, for some reason, it doesn't work out, you don't have to go through the hassle and huge expense of buying and selling a house in a distant place.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 12-19-2014, 08:41 AM
 
298 posts, read 339,113 times
Reputation: 363
Default moving

Quote:
Originally Posted by JerseyStrong1 View Post
I understand not wanting to have to move an extra time, but I'd hate to rush such an important decision as buying home. I always recommend renting before buying, to people who are moving to a completely new area for two reasons:

You'll have more time to familiarize yourself with the area to decide where you ultimately want to buy and stay long term. You'll also have a greater selection of homes if you are not under a time constraint.

If, for some reason, it doesn't work out, you don't have to go through the hassle and huge expense of buying and selling a house in a distant place.
That is excellent advice. Unfortunately some relocation plans (if paid by the company) don't provide for a long term rental. They typically expect you to move from one house to another. This is where it pays to do your research, have the right real estate agent and talk to people who work at the same company to see where they live and work. Also research the schools, although there seems to be good consensus about WW/PBoro here.

I would definitely strongly urge you to make at least 2 trips here. First one, do an area tour, to see the work location and surrounding towns that you might purchase in. The second trip would be a 6-7 dat stay in which you specifically tour properties in the town or area you want to live in.

You really need to spend some time in NJ to make sure that this is a place you will be happy living! You don't want to be unhappy after 6 months. I always encourage people to drive to work from the exact neighborhood where you'd be living. Test the commute at 7:30 am and again at 5 pm. Test it under the worst case conditions to make sure that you can handle it.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 12-19-2014, 08:50 AM
 
Location: New Jersey
2,257 posts, read 5,172,619 times
Reputation: 1876
Quote:
Originally Posted by JerseyStrong1 View Post
I always recommend renting before buying, to people who are moving to a completely new area...
I second that suggestion.

OP, I would strongly recomment Bridgewater, East Brunswick, South Brunswick and Hillsborough. They are all within 30-35 min drive to New Brunswick, have very good schools, are very family friendly with safe neighborhoods and within your budget. Plainsboro and West Windsor are excellent but more pricey, if you can afford it, go for it.

You will get the most bang for your buck in Hillsborough with lot of newer construction and bigger lot sizes. For the remaining three towns, it might be tough to find new construction within your budget but these towns went through significant growth in late 90s and thousands of single family houses were built during that time. You will find very well maintained and clean properties in these towns. I have lived in midwest (incl. Chicago) and I think you will love all the above 4 towns.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 12-19-2014, 09:07 PM
 
Location: NJ
4,940 posts, read 12,105,058 times
Reputation: 4562
Quote:
Originally Posted by Atomicdoug View Post

You really need to see the area here, because you may or may not like it. I don't particularly like the Rt 1 corridor. Its just miles and miles or stores, gas stations, and strip malls, but hey that is America!
I completely agree. Plainsboro, South Brunswick, North Brunswick, Edison....this area is the epitome of suburban sprawl.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 12-19-2014, 09:57 PM
 
24,488 posts, read 41,036,057 times
Reputation: 12919
If your daughter is going to public school, then Plainsboro. West Windsor if you can afford it. If your daughter is going to private school, then there are plenty of options.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
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.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:




Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > New Jersey

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top