Are there any areas in NJ that would allow for a reasonable commute to Summit and Trenton? (Edison: condo)

[jog1151]

This is the $64 question???

My fiancee and I are moving in together.

Unfortunately we work in very opposite locations.

We are willing to share the commute somewhere between Trenton and Summit, NJ

We are looking for a 2/3 BR Townhouse or Condo
Max would be 350k
Safe area is a huge priority
Reasonable property taxes (if such a thing exists in NJ)

We have stared at the NJ map and have come up blank.

Truthfully we would love to be down the shore, but we're wondering what type of commute either would have to face.
Are there any good/safe locations between Summit and Trenton?

If you can solve this mystery you are good!

[BobKovacs]

Can you take the train to Trenton, or is the job too far from the station? That would open up more possibilities than if you both have to drive.

[luckyshoes]

Originally Posted by jog1151

This is the $64 question???
We are looking for a 2/3 BR Townhouse or Condo
Max would be 350k
Safe area is a huge priority
Reasonable property taxes (if such a thing exists in NJ)

Easy. East Brunswick. And relatively speaking, it's not so far from the shore either!

[captne76]

There is lots of acreage and town half way between the two, and the commute would not be that long either way. For instance somewhere in or between Flemington and Somerville.

[jog1151]

Originally Posted by BobKovacs

Can you take the train to Trenton, or is the job too far from the station? That would open up more possibilities than if you both have to drive.

Unfortunately the train is not an option.

[ru848789]

Originally Posted by jog1151

This is the $64 question???

My fiancee and I are moving in together.

Unfortunately we work in very opposite locations.

We are willing to share the commute somewhere between Trenton and Summit, NJ

We are looking for a 2/3 BR Townhouse or Condo
Max would be 350k
Safe area is a huge priority
Reasonable property taxes (if such a thing exists in NJ)

We have stared at the NJ map and have come up blank.

Truthfully we would love to be down the shore, but we're wondering what type of commute either would have to face.
Are there any good/safe locations between Summit and Trenton?

If you can solve this mystery you are good!

Well, if you want a reasonable commute to both Summit and Trenton and want to be reasonably close to the Jersey Shore, you probably should look in Eastern Middlesex County, in a town like Metuchen, Edison, East Brunswick or Woodbridge. Metuchen is probably the "nicest" town out of those (at least from the point of view of having a really nice downtown and feeling more like a community than a series of strip malls) and it's also probably the easiest location to commute from. It's about 35 minutes to Summit (Parkway is 5 minutes from my house in Metuchen) and about 45 minutes to Trenton (Route 1 is 2 minutes from my house and the NJTPK is less than 5 minutes from my house), plus it's only about 40 minutes to Sandy Hook, Sea Bright and other northern Monmouth County beaches. Anywhere really close to the shore is going to mean 60+ minute commutes to both Summit and Trenton.

[jog1151]

OK....back to the drawing board.

Edison/Metuchen is about an hour ride to Trenton....With traffic the commute can be 1 1/2 hours. The traffic on Route 1 is horrendous.

Property taxes in East Brunswick are outrageous. A 300k Townhouse/Condo (2BR-2BA) was almost $7,000 (eeeek).

Still looking for an area that would be midway between Trenton and Sumit, that does NOT include Route 1 travel....

Our want list includes

-2BR/2BA Townhouse/Condo
-Safe area
-Budget is 300k to 350k

Does such a location exist???

Keep the suggestions coming!