What is Princeton like? (Lawrenceville, Allentown: townhouse, private schools, university)

[khill16]

Hello
My husband and I are who are both in the medical field are thinking of moving from Philadelphia to Princeton. What is the Princeton area like ie. expense of homes, schools, restaurants etc.? Any advice is greatly appreciated.

[Allentown]

Princeton has a very nice main street with many stores and good resturants. I know that the area immediately around the university has many fine older homes and I've read about some newer developments as well. The high school is rated veryn high academically. They have a very diverse population, as does the community. You are a short driving distance to other towns where housing is abundant ( West Windsor, Montgomery, Lawrenceville, etc. )

I'm not sure if you care, but there are also four major Prep Schools (private) in the Princeton area. Many are boarding schools but do also have day students ( Hun School, Princeton Day School, Stuart ( girls ) & Lawrenceville Prep. You are also close to the RT 1 corridor that runs North & South and train station.

Hope this helps.

[khill16]

Allentown,
Thanks for your reply. It was very helpful. We are going to visit the area this weekend to get a feel for it.

[jerseyj]

Princetown Boro and Princetown Township are lovely areas. The Boro is quite small, the University is a big portion of the Boro, but the main street and Palmer Square have quaint restaurants and upscale shops (Ann Taylor, Coach etc). Princeton Hospital is on the border of the Boro but will be moving to Plainsboro in a few years.
The public schools are excellent and, as Allentown said, there are numerous private schools (quite pricey, 15,000.00+) in the area.
Housing in the Boro is historic and cute but expensive. We looked at a small 3 bedroom, 1 bath on one of the "tree streets" off Nassau St. (Rt 27-the main street) it was 600,000 and the taxes were over 11,000.
There is a small "dinky" train that runs from Princeton to the Princeton Jct. train station (access to NYC and Phila).
It is a lovely town with loads of pedestrian traffic (students and locals) and close to all the huge shopping opportunities along the Rt 1 corridor.

[LittleMissSunshine]

If you have the money to live in Princeton, go for it!

I love it. My SO lives in the area and I love to eat and shop in Princeton on weekends. The town has a really nice center on Nassau Street. It has a nice old school charm. The area is very rich with history and even thought a lot of the mansions around there cost a pretty penny, most are very historic and wonderful to look at, not like the mcmansions you see elsewhere.

[Viralmd]

I'm surprised! You live an hour away from Princeton and haven't ever been there? I live there for a year and a half and really liked it, as much as I can like any place that isn't NYC. I had a nice townhouse that was HUGE and very convenient. The taxes are fairly high, but it's a nice town with a lot of amenities and the University makes cultural events a weekly thing.

[rcovph]

Princeton is a beautiful area withou a doubt. The downtown is quaint with alot of shops and resturants. It is without a doubt one of the more "prestigious" areas to live. he school are excellent. Homes in Princeton proper are old money {AOLT OF MONEY}. Property taxes are extremly high, but then so is most of NJ.In Princeton itself you are without a doubt looking at over a million for a say 4 bedroom 2 1/2 bath anf taxes in the 20,000 Range. The other thing to look at there is only route 206 in and out of Princeton which gets very congested. good luck

[sj3]

you do have to watch some areas though. There are some areas in princeton that are not as safe and nice.