Opinion on Laurence Harbor, NJ (Rahway, Old Bridge: low income, insurance, daycare)

[ASNJ]

We are planning to move to Laurence Harbor, NJ in the Bridgepointe complex. I did not see any posting regarding this area.
My husband works in NY city so our main concern is the commute to the city. I heard that there is a bus system from cheesequake p&r to Wall street.
Could anyone please suggest me about the area, commute to city, elementary school system and safety? Thanks.

[MPBsr]

Here's some info
Moderator cut: linking to competitors sites is not allowed


Plus there is a major park and ride on Route 9 North in Old Bridge. Only a few minutes away.

[tasbir]

We also saw few townhouses in the Bridgepointe community and really liked it. Not so sure about the Laurance Harbor area though. It looked very run down when we drove by.

As far as commute into the city, we saw there are few good Bus options but not sure if they make the time they claim. I wonder how bad the parking is in South Amboy train station. I was thiking maybe drive to SA instead. Any idea guys.

Thanks.

[MXG]

When we were looking for a house we were told to stay away from laurence harbor b/c of flooding.

[apvbguy]

Originally Posted by tasbir

We also saw few townhouses in the Bridgepointe community and really liked it. Not so sure about the Laurance Harbor area though. It looked very run down when we drove by.

As far as commute into the city, we saw there are few good Bus options but not sure if they make the time they claim. I wonder how bad the parking is in South Amboy train station. I was thiking maybe drive to SA instead. Any idea guys.

Thanks.

LH is a lower class blue collar area, the closer you get to 35 the worse it gets. Parts of the area do have flooding issues you'll need to ask the locals where those areas are. If that is what you can afford it isn't the worst place to live but if you can afford it, you should consider other places

[mcf17]

As a resident in Bridgepointe, I can tell you that flooding is not really a concern. The actual harbor is over a mile away, and I did not need to get flood insurance.

If you're concerned about lower-middle class areas, then they're easy enough to avoid. There's enough of a distance that the older parts of Laurence Harbor don't encroach on the complex. Personally, I don't think the harbor area is that bad. We've taken our dogs and our son to the park up there to play a few times, and I've never been concerned for our safety. Granted, the park area isn't pristine - I think it's got a lot of potential, but it still needs some sprucing up. They also do a 4th of July fireworks festival up there - kinda fun, but pretty crowded.

Like I said, though, if you're not interested in that and want to avoid it, it's easy enough. If you only went back-and-forth toward the Parkway or drove toward 34, you would never know it was there.

I used to commute to NYC (midtown), and I tried the bus from the Route 9 P&R when I first moved here (some go to P.A., some to Wall St.). I didn't like that I would usually end up with a long walk (10-15 minutes), since I commuted later than most people, and the buses at those times often got caught up in the tunnel traffic. After a few months of that, I decided to drive to Metropark (and later Rahway, because my son's daycare was there) and take the express train from there. I never really had a problem with it (aside from not getting a seat from Metropark), but a lot of my neighbors wondered why I didn't commute from South Amboy, so that's probably a good option, too. I don't think Aberdeen-Matawan is an option because of the parking issues there, unless you have an inside connection or something. I'm not sure if there are buses from Cheesequake that go to Wall St, but that P&R wasn't an option for me, because the buses stopped running too early in the evening. If your husband's day ends shortly after the closing bell, then that shouldn't be a problem.

Overall, we like it here. It's great if you have dogs - you can sneak into the back of Cheesequake SP and go for long walks. Access to the Parkway is obviously great. And in a couple months, after spring rolls around, the neighborhood looks fantastic.

If you have any questions about Bridgepointe or the area, feel free to send me a message.

[tasbir]

Thanks mcf17. your posting was very helpful. How do you like the school system there?

[mcf17]

My son is only 2, so we don't have any experience with the school system. If you look at the NJ schools report card (NJ.com: Everything Jersey), schools in Old Bridge appear to be fairly average. Scores can only tell you so much, but unfortunately, our friends in the neighborhood either have very young children, or moved to the area after their children were already grown. It's a concern for us now, but it will be more so in a couple years.

[RobRiguez]

The only part of that town I know is between the highway and the beach. I havent been back there in 5-6 years so take what I say with a grain of salt. While it wasnt a BAD neighborhood it was very bluecollar almost to the point of low income. A little trashy but the people were very nice and many people never locked their doors. My young cousins loved playing at the park along the waterfront and we used to have awesome BBQs on the beach.

[TeleFan]

I'm considering a move to Bridgepointe. Are there any negatives about the community?