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Kingwood, nice rural friendly,
Rockaway, similar w/more mountains and lakes, slightly more suburban,
Denville, nice reasonable downtown,
Cranford, great mix of downtown and as close to the city as I'd want to live,
Rahway, nice town with arts district, direct trains, nice residential areas,
one more have to mention
Elizabeth just because its steeped in early NJ history, 1666, all that stuff, basically one of the first towns settled.
1. Morristown. Perfect blend of nightlife, diversity, culture, and natural beauty. If only it were affordable...
2. Montclair. Similar to Morristown, but fewer bars and a bit more artsy. Closer to NYC too.
3. Lambertville. The drive to get there is alone almost worth it, given the beautiful rural roads of Hunterdon and northern Mercer. Great restaurants, awesome urban architecture, and a cool vibe.
4. Bordentown. There's likely going to be a North Jersey/Shore bias to this thread, so I'll throw a SJ town in here balance that a bit. Not particularly hip, but has a really nicely preserved colonial center, and a few interesting shops. Tons of history too (Thomas Paine and Joseph Bonaparte owned property in the town).
5. Hard to come up with a single answer for this spot. For the sake of being different, I'll say Boonton. Has some really cool buildings downtown, a nice park, great views, a few art galleries, and even a Uzbek restaurant. Not bad for such a small town.
Honorable mention (popular towns division): South Orange, Maplewood Village, Princeton, Red Bank, Somerville, Cranford
Honorable mention (cities division): Jersey City (Van Vorst Park neighborhood), Newark (Ironbound; Halsey Street), New Brunswick
This is weird. I have lived in New Jersey for all my life--and I will be 57 this year--and I have never once set foot in Morristown. Maybe I should go there. I have never been to Princeton, either, but I will be going there by the end of the month.
1. I think my favorite town is Upper Saddle River. Has that country/wealthy feel to it, with lots of history of old Dutch farmers, separate from the busy world but still close to it.
2. Ridgewood would be next, just because I was born there and it's familiar. My hometown, Midland Park, would go along with this, but it has changed so much that it's not the same place I grew up in. It has lost much of it's small-town charm from having all the woods whacked down and the streams and swamps filled in, although it's still got a bit of it.
3. Red Bank. I live close to there now, and I really like the little downtown and shops and restaurants.
4. Long Branch. A city with a bit of grit to it right next to the ocean.
Kingwood, nice rural friendly,
Rockaway, similar w/more mountains and lakes, slightly more suburban,
Denville, nice reasonable downtown,
Cranford, great mix of downtown and as close to the city as I'd want to live,
Rahway, nice town with arts district, direct trains, nice residential areas,
one more have to mention Elizabeth just because its steeped in early NJ history, 1666, all that stuff, basically one of the first towns settled.
OK, now that's an intriguing statement, and I will have to investigate more about Elizabeth!
My list (in no particular order) is:
Princeton
Westfield
Cranford
Frenchtown
Lambertville
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mightyqueen801
OK, now that's an intriguing statement, and I will have to investigate more about Elizabeth!
Yes, Elizabeth does have a long and interesting history.
As but one example, The College of New Jersey was located there, before they moved to Princeton and changed their name to...Princeton College.
Of course, that was a couple of centuries before Trenton State College co-opted the name for themselves.
IIRC, one of the students at The College of New Jersey--when it was located in Elizabeth--was Aaron Burr, who went on to a somewhat...infamous...career.
And, after the college moved to Princeton, its sole building at the time--Nassau Hall--served for a brief period as the meeting place of The Continental Congress, thus making it the capital of the rebellious colonies during that time.
OK, now that's an intriguing statement, and I will have to investigate more about Elizabeth!
Elizabeth was founded by Puritans from Long Island in 1666, only two years after the British took over New Amsterdam and the surrounding territory (which included the land between the Hudson and Delaware). Newark was founded the same year, buy Puritans from New Haven Colony (now Milford CT). Other settlements formed around then included present-day Shrewsbury and Cape May.
Since it was divided into East and West, and overshadowed by the rapid growth of New York and Philadelphia, colonial NJ failed to grow a major city, despite the best efforts of the colonial assembly. Lack of a good port and river system handicapped the colony (Newark Bay was only dredged and built into the modern port in the early 20th C.). Elizabethport, as it was known back then, grew thanks to small-scale coastal shipping and trade with New York. It controlled a lot of territory, along with Newark they claimed most of what's now Essex and Union counties, but these land claims were in dispute, (thanks to confusion between the state's proprietors and early governor, land-holdings and taxes were frequently in dispute in early NJ).
At the time of the Revolution, it was NJ's biggest town, but only had ~1,000 people living there. It wasn't particularly dense either, contemporaries described it as a mere collection of houses and gardens. Elizabethport was basically on the frontline during the war, and suffered attacks from British troops in Staten Island. As far as I can tell, almost nothing remains of colonial NJ in Elizabeth, aside from Liberty Hall on Kean Campus (technically Union). During the 19th century, Newark, Paterson, and Jersey City overtook Elizabeth as the state's major cities, though Elizabeth remained in the top 5 thanks to manufacturing (Singer Sewing Machines) and later the port. The old Elizabethport neighborhood is mostly Bayonne Boxes and other ugly modern townhomes. For really good examples of early colonial architecture in NJ, check out Burlington (the old capital of West Jersey) which has one of the best colonial-era downtowns. Perth Amboy (East Jersey's capital) has the Proprietary House, which was built shortly before independence as the colonial governor's mansion.
As for Morristown, it's worth a visit if you're headed up 287. The national park there has a good museum and tells an important story, more soldiers were based at Morristown for a longer period than any other spot in the country during the Rev War, and the major encampment at Morristown was arguably more severe and more important than the much more renowned encampment at Valley Forge. Morristown was also home Alfred Vail, who helped Morse develop the telegraph, as well as political cartoonist Thomas Nast. Today, Morristown has ~45 liquor licenses issued, which means it likely has more bars per square mile than any other town in the state except Hoboken. There are also numerous BYO restuarants too, so I estimate there are around 70 eating establishments in the town. It's one of the few smaller, non-college towns I've encountered that have bars that have a real nightclub atmosphere, with dance floors and DJ's. In addition to the national park, there's a performing arts center, renovated downtown AMC theater, the Morris Museum, Historic Speedwell Village, and McCulloch Hall. There are a number of independent shops, though the town could benefit from better shopping. There are many new, expensive apartment buildings in town, some with penthouse condos priced at 1.2 million. Yet, 5 to 10 minutes west of town, you're in beautiful forests and countryside in Mendham, Harding, and Randolph.
But there are many really nice towns to choose from.
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