Bridgewater (Edison, Somerset, Middlesex: attorney, real estate, budget)

[NJNJNJ]

I have found city-data to be really helpful in my search (we have also done a lot of driving around) of NJ towns and my husband and I have decided to live in Bridgewater. Our condo is now currently under attorney review with an offer close to asking price. If all goes well, we feel very lucky in this current market.

Our range is between $450 - $500 and we would like to buy a 3 to 4 bedroom house above Route 22. I have several questions regarding my situation, current bridgewater situations, and the housing market.

• I have done a lot reading regarding the housing market, should I believe all this hype that the housing market will continue to go down in until 2009, 2010? If so, should my husband and I consider living with my in-laws to wait for prices to go down further? I have always heard you should not time the market...
• I have mixed feelings about Martinsville being considered the nicest part of Bridgewater to live in. Do house prices maintain their value more in this part of town? There are some really nice colonials west of 287 (Meadows Road, Short Hills Road), and really like that area as well. Does anyone have local knowledge of this area? (I know Somerset Airport is near-by).
• In general, how much can we offer below asking price? (Our real estate agent is helping us out with this, I just want a general opinion).
• I have heard mixed reviews (mostly positive though)of the Bridgewater-Raritan school system. I know about the debate it made the top 1300 High Schools list vs, not making the 75 top high schools in NJ (I really do not put a lot off trust in rankings). I know about the new school administration, no science text books for 5th and 6th graders but will be coming next year, etc. I am not interested in the top tier high schools in the surronding areas (I do not feel that is a good fit for my family), but I would like to know about the general experiences people are having with the school system today?
• I am also concerned with the lack of local governmental response to problems, such as inflex of building temples. Please do not make this a diversity or racial issue - because this is not the case. It seems many Bridgewater residents are concerned with the number of temples that are being built or proposed, have attempted to appeal these proposals with the local government - but has had no success. Is this true?
• Any other positives or negatives about Bridgewater would be greatly appreiciated....

Thanks for your help!

[syncmaster]

Originally Posted by NJNJNJ

I am also concerned with the lack of local governmental response to problems, such as inflex of building temples. Please do not make this a diversity or racial issue - because this is not the case.

Oh, but it is! I'm of Indian descent and it is laughable at how our temples are opposed everywhere they are proposed and somehow.... it's never a racial issue. Give me a break. Of course it it.

Which is fine by me. Other ethnic and racial groups have had their knocks, we've had it relatively easy so far. S'ok. Bring it.

[NJNJNJ]

syncmaster -

I apologize if you feel this is a racial issue or feel that I was alluding to that. I am from many different cultural backgrounds and would not want myself or anyone else to experience the racial segrations that so many of us experience in New Jersey. My reason for bringing up the building of temples in Bridgewater was the local government response. I have read and heard that many Bridgewater residents are happy with the first temple being built and okay with the second one which is soon to be built, but are upset that there are three or four being proposed and the local government supports it and residents do not want anymore to be built as this time. The government is not responding to the local desires of the citizens of Bridgewater. Bridgewater does have a growing indian population, but it is not the majority of the Bridgewater population. It makes sense to have 1 or 2 temples to support the local population, but residents are complaining that it is not serving the local population but residents from communities up to two hours away and congestation is becoming unbearable.

My concern of building too many temples is the same concern of too many cell towers being built and the local government not supporting the residents...

[syncmaster]

NJNJ,

Those are all fair points. I'm actually someone who never even goes to temple. But it has not gone unnoticed that almost without exception, Indian temple proposals are lately being challenged in many parts of the state. This is one reason why Bridgewater has so many planned - the town is seen as 'friendly'. Franklin Twp in Somerset county and (of course) the Edison area in Middlesex are other areas that are seen as 'friendly' to us and our community. If even Bridgewater turns its back on us, this will just have to end up in court. I have heard through community contacts that many unofficial temple proposals have been shot down in Mercer and Hunterdown counties. I have also heard that the tenor of the objections is very 'us vs them'. Traffic/congestion tends to be how they present their objections in public. Bridgewater is simply an easy sell because the town is friendly.

[emanon]

Martinsville is the preferred area of Bridgewater by the people who live in Martinsville perhaps because we have our own little town center and our own post office. When I was looking to buy in Bridgewater I looked all over the town and I felt that Martinsville offered more of that home town feel than the other areas of Bridgewater.

Years back when we had two High schools, Bridgewater East and Bridgewater West there certainly was a rivalry between both sides of town and those in the Western part of town considered Martinsville which was in the Eastern part of town to be a snob area.Some even called Bridgewater East "Martinsville prep", how ridiculous.

It does not matter where you live in Bridgewater because overall it is a good place to live.
Your budget probably excludes you from most of Martinsville.

E

BTW I don't care how many churches or temples they build in Bridgewater as long as they provide enough off street parking

[kalim2008]

Originally Posted by syncmaster

Oh, but it is! I'm of Indian descent and it is laughable at how our temples are opposed everywhere they are proposed and somehow.... it's never a racial issue. Give me a break. Of course it it.

Which is fine by me. Other ethnic and racial groups have had their knocks, we've had it relatively easy so far. S'ok. Bring it.

Well to be honest about it, I've read of other cases where homeowners also oppose non-Hindu places of worship...I think most of the time it's just the problem of crowding....I myself would not want any kind of church (or for that matter, any kind of mass gathering place) right next to my home. It lowers the housing value and you get tons of cars parking and people walking all over.

[Rollersk8]

No specific help on Bridgewater, but how would your quality of life be if you moved in with your in-laws? For some people it works fine, but for many more it would get old pretty quickly. We did it for a few weeks and wouldn't do it again.