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Me and my wife are looking to buy a house (I work in downtown Manhattan) so we are looking for something that would be close to NYC (currently live in Journal Square, NJ) - basically looking for a 2-3 bedroom apt or condo.
Does anyone know of any good cities/towns that would fit the bill - someone suggested Society Hill.
The person that recommended Society Hill was right on. The reason Society Hill is so nice is that it sits within walking distance of the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and School of Pharmacy. The location sits on the edge of the Princeton area and you know how nice that is. The area is quiet and the condos are mostly inhabited by professional students - future doctors and pharmasists.
The NJ Turnpike and Garden State parkway are less than 5 mins drive. Route 18 is even closer. It is the perfect commuters condo. You can be in NYC in about 30 minutes with normal traffic.
Of course, the price reflects the location as does most other perfect locations. You'll find an average 2 BR, 2 Bath Condo goes for about $265,000 for the penthouse.
Four years ago I purchased one of these and I am renting to two Medical School Students. It's a great income property and a Tax Write Off too!
Unfortunately, my Condo is not yet for sale. I plan to refurb it when the students graduate in May. I'm upgrading the kitchen and both baths. I plan to install new appliances and then put it up for sale. Mine is the penthouse variety and will sell for around $265,000.
The address is 20 Canterbury Court, Piscatawy, NJ. If you can wait till May this just might be the place you're looking for.
If it doesn't sell by the end of June I will rent to two brand new Medical School students. If that happens then the condo will not be sale for the next four years. I will not kick students out just to sell the place. I'll wait until they graduate.
So, every four years my Condo will go up for sale for about a two month period. Timing is everything......
Sorry, but that is NOT within 30 minutes of NYC on a weekday. And you'll need to take the train if you want to maintain your sanity. Anywhere along the Northeast corridor line of New Jersey Transit would probably be fine, but understand that parking at train stations is an issue - many have a waiting list for a permit that is years long.
Hoboken, Edgewater, and others are options but prepare to pay the bill to live there. Many 2 bedrooms start at $600,000 and often a lot more up to $2,000,000.
My guess is the OP meant Society Hill in Jersey City given that he lives in Journal Square (another area of JC).
It's a decent area, the OP should take a look at it. It's a gated community so inside the gates it's quite safe. Outside the area is okay, although maybe not the best. The surrounding area is probably not all that different from Journal Square in that sense.
The big difference will be transit. You will have to take a bus to get to the PATH, and you're not really all that close to the light rail. It's not a terrible commute but it may be a bit more than 30 minutes given that it's about 15-20 minutes from JSQ to the WTC PATH and you'd have to transfer from a bus.
Do a search for Society Hill on this board too, as there are some other posts about it.
The person that recommended Society Hill was right on. The reason Society Hill is so nice is that it sits within walking distance of the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and School of Pharmacy.
Careful. Society Hill exists in more than just one place.
I've sold several condos & townhouses in Society Hill at Bernards Township, which is nowhere near RWJ or Princeton. It's up in northern Somerset County. Still quite commutable to NYC, by the way.
Society Hill is the name given by the builder Hovnanian to a particular type of condo development. They are all pretty much the same. Mostly townhomes. Depending on teh amount of space available, there might be anywhere from 4 to 12 buildings in the development. Each building will usually have 8 units in it, all 2 stories. They go in a row, so each unit has the entire front to back. No windows on the sides, unless you have an end unit. Additionally, most ofthese developments will also have a building or two of smaller condoe. These buildings tend to be two or three floors of apartment style units. Each is one floor, witht he top units being the most desirable for the fact that there's no one above you and you usually get skylights. Characteristic of these Society Hill developments is the lack of both garages & basements, at least in all the ones I have seen. Certainly it's possible that Hovnanian changed that up in other places.
Depends on the price range....
check out Rutherford...limited condos but great town.
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Society Hill Condo
Gated condo-20 min. from NYC
