Moving to Franklin Township, NJ (Jersey City, New Brunswick: rent, townhouse, safe area)

[Jaybee86]

Does anybody have any info. about Franklin township, nj (somerset county). I will be moving there in about a year I do not know much about it. I now live in Brooklyn. some things I would like to know about Franklin is how safe it is, and is it considered a good town to live in. Also is there anything fun to do there? Schools dont really matter to me for now.

[Roger Davis]

The Southern area of Franklin has some of the most beautiful properties in all of Somerset Co. The areas next to the Delaware and Raritan canal are also beautiful.
The Northern and Eastern parts of Franklin are adjacent to New Brunswick which is the county seat of Middlesex county. It is the largest city in central NJ and has the usual city problems with crime.
If I still had kids in school I would not want to send them to the Franklin Twp schools.

[yclept]

Originally Posted by Jaybee86

Does anybody have any info. about Franklin township, nj (somerset county). I will be moving there in about a year I do not know much about it. I now live in Brooklyn. some things I would like to know about Franklin is how safe it is, and is it considered a good town to live in. Also is there anything fun to do there? Schools dont really matter to me for now.

Franklin Twp schools are amongst the worst, but since you aren't worried about that for now, then it's no biggie. Just be aware that unless things change between now and when you DO care about schooling, you may need to either move or accept the bad reputation the schools have

Some areas of Franklin are very nice, quiet neighborhoods. Focus on those - the further away from New Brunswick, the BETTER. And most of the towns surrounding Franklin (Other then New Brunswick) are nice, as well.

As for the "fun", Franklin is smack in Central NJ. So you will be close to many things - the shore, NYC, Philly, and even a trip to Ocean City, MD or Baltimore is close enough.

[tonysgrlaz]

I come from New Jersey originally, but now live in Arizona. I came from Hudson County, (Jersey City) to be exact. But, I have a sister and brother in law who live in Franklin Twsp. They live in Franklin Park and she's thinking about moving out here to Valley of the Sun too. My brother in law owns a restaurant and she's a hairdresser/ realtor. My nephew, their son, decided to attend ASU and he says he'll never go back to New Jersey so now they are planning on taking the big step and coming out here too.
She says she can no longer afford to live back there. Her property taxes are going through the roof, $5,800 for a small townhouse! His rent on his buliding is astronomical as well. The traffic sucks....and there's always traffic. No matter where you go and what time of the the day you go there's congestion on the roads.
I don't mean to sound discouraging but that's the realty of it and that's why I don't live in the lovely Garden State anymore.
We come back to visit at Christmas and my boyfriend says every time I'm never coming back here again. We're either stuck on the Garden State Parkway for hours or stuck at every toll on the New Jersey Turnpike. The only thing that's enjoyable about coming back for a visit is the food. We can't get all the good food out here that we took for granted back there when we lived there. Out here Papa Johns and Dominoes are what these people consider good pizza! YUCK.
If you need any more info I'd be happy to ask my sister for you.

[elaine2345]

the thing about the schools. Have you ever attended one of the many Franklin Township Public Schools? I have, ever school year. And there is NOTHING wrong with the schools. They are NOT amongst the worst schools, so stop trying to give it an even more bad name. People like to make it seem worse than it really is. The reputation it has is because of the people who WENT to it. They like to make stories. Going to the schools every day, I have NEVER experienced a bad situation. You witness a couple, and its over petty things. All I have to say is know who you're friends with, know what you're getting into, and as long as you respect those around you, you,too, will be respected. I hate when people give Franklin a bad name. I was a straight A student, given all the opportunities possible, and I love it here. I don't think I'll ever leave. Its not whether Franklin fits you, its whether you fit Franklin.

anyway. Its safer the farther you are from New Brunswick. The closer you are, the closer you are to the "ghettos", even though they arent really ghetto. There are many things to do, but you'd have to go out of the township. There are also many hang outs, food places, mainly. You are 20 minutes away from Princeton, 5 minutes away from the clubs and bars in New Brunswick, 10 minutes away from the bus station, which can take you into the city, 10 minutes away from the train station which also takes you into the city (when i say city, I mean NYC), there are many beautiful parks in the town, and there are 2 really good hospitals near eachother, located in New Brunswick (just incase you need a job as a nurse or something). It really is a great place to live, but remember, keep your mind open and you'll love it here.

Originally Posted by yclept

Franklin Twp schools are amongst the worst, but since you aren't worried about that for now, then it's no biggie. Just be aware that unless things change between now and when you DO care about schooling, you may need to either move or accept the bad reputation the schools have

Some areas of Franklin are very nice, quiet neighborhoods. Focus on those - the further away from New Brunswick, the BETTER. And most of the towns surrounding Franklin (Other then New Brunswick) are nice, as well.

As for the "fun", Franklin is smack in Central NJ. So you will be close to many things - the shore, NYC, Philly, and even a trip to Ocean City, MD or Baltimore is close enough.

[kjp74]

I agree. My family and I have lived in Franklin Twp for the past six years originally from NY and the schools in FranklinTwp are fine. The other districts may have better recognition but being a realtor in the area and an active parent the kids in Blue Ribbon school districts have alot of drug issues but no one says anything about that. Franklin is a beautiful place to live voted the 5th best place as per Money Magazine 2008 and doubt that the schools are the worst. Educate your children as parents along with the help of the schools and your children will excel no matter what!!!

[jersey15]

I don't understand a lot of these school district arguements I see on here. Someone explain to me what the difference is between a kid going to Franklin high school and say Chatham high school? If the kid does well, what exactly is the difference?

[NORMGLO]

Franklin Township is a very nice and safe area. The Franklin Park Elementary School is a very desirable magnat school. A new high school opened last year and it is beautiful and massive with a new and improved curriculum. There are a number of private schools as well. I think the "old timers" of the area carry a lot of baggage about how Franklin Township used to be.

Somerset, which is in Franklin Township, is a growing town with lots of parks, a couple of golf courses, a great transportation network and some lovely housing. Franklin Park, Rocky Hill and a northern portion of Princeton are at the southern end of the Township, and this is considered by some to be the most desirable area of Franklin Township because of the open space and close proximity to the Route 1 tech and pharm companies, shopping, restaurants and culture of Princeton Borough.

You have to decide what type of lifestyle is best for you. Pick a day or two to ride around Franklin Township to try to get a feel for the area.

[mumra]

Originally Posted by jersey15

I don't understand a lot of these school district arguements I see on here. Someone explain to me what the difference is between a kid going to Franklin high school and say Chatham high school? If the kid does well, what exactly is the difference?

Higher learning and college prep. There are certainly some exceptions but on average the better schools such as Millburn prepare the students at a higher level. Unfortunately the pace at which curriculum is taught can not be duplicated at all school districts, so certain districts cover more in a given school year than others. I had a friend who was just an average student at our high school and then he switched schools to a lower performing district and suddenly became a top 10% performer. I have another buddy that graduated form Cornell he said he had a hard time competing with grads form Millburn. He stated the kids that came from Millburn were better prepared.

Now for the benefits, having a high class rank in a lower performing school is much better than being average ranked in a good district in terms of college acceptance. The chances of the student getting accepted to a better college is greater if the student were a valedictorian at newark than and average joe at south orange. Based on the similar GPA’s /SATs.

[AnthonyB]

Originally Posted by yclept

Franklin Twp schools are amongst the worst, but since you aren't worried about that for now, then it's no biggie. Just be aware that unless things change between now and when you DO care about schooling, you may need to either move or accept the bad reputation the schools have

Franklin schools are in the top third in the state. No it's not a "prestigious" district where all the Wall Street nouveau riche send their kids but anybody who keeps an eye on their kids education will find it just fine.

Franklin Twp must have the most maligned schools in the state, for no real apparent reason. It's certainly not a hoity toity town but it's not a hole either, just an average big town with a mix of upper, lower middle class and blue collar neighborhoods.

I live in it and quite like the fact that it is a lot less "keep up with the Jones's" than so many other areas.