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I lived in Metuchen for 6 years (84-90) and still live nearby. Overall, as a family town, it's good, and kids can walk around and go into town, etc. But as someone said, it really feels like the center of a wheel; commuting traffic non-stop cutting through town. I felt like that detracted from a sense of community. The downtown looks nice, but in the end, there's not a lot to do, so it's definitely not a town for singles. But with kids, it's pretty nice. Have you thought about Cranford? Also a good family town and not crazy expensive. Have a relative in Marlboro and she and her husband spend all their time driving their kids to endless over-priced activities and to buy designer clothes. Good luck.
I lived in Metuchen for 6 years (84-90) and still live nearby. Overall, as a family town, it's good, and kids can walk around and go into town, etc. But as someone said, it really feels like the center of a wheel; commuting traffic non-stop cutting through town. I felt like that detracted from a sense of community. The downtown looks nice, but in the end, there's not a lot to do, so it's definitely not a town for singles. But with kids, it's pretty nice. Have you thought about Cranford? Also a good family town and not crazy expensive. Have a relative in Marlboro and she and her husband spend all their time driving their kids to endless over-priced activities and to buy designer clothes. Good luck.
Yeah I definitely won't be returning to that area. FWIW, I'd recommend North or South Brunswick. I may be biased since this is where I live now and am happiest here out of all the places I've lived. You have instant access to route 1, 130 and 27 with 18 and 287 very close by as well. It is below the river but not too far away. Schools have a good rep and it's quieter and much less crowded than Edison/Metuchen.
Only problem with South Brunswick is that kids may feel some pressure if they're not the "right" ethnicity in school. I know a family who moved to SB that loves the town, but their daughter had a rough time in school being non-Indian.
Everyone has their own opinion... however, I do not personally enjoy Middlesex County, mostly due to its congestion with Route 1, Route 18, and most of New Brunswick. These really are the three most different towns in NJ, so it really depends on what you are looking at.
The home/rental prices in Metuchen and Marlboro are probably at opposite ends. My grandmother has lived in Metuchen since I was born - it's not a bad area, pretty quiet, but she lives right off of Route 1, which is terrible. Pros (depending on who you are) are that you are convenient to both Menlo Park and Woodbridge Malls. However, again, you have all that traffic. Roads in Middlesex also seem to lack what is commonly known as paving. Cannot find a road in Middlesex county that does not chew up my tires.
I have an aunt and uncle who live in Marlboro. Very expensive. All I really know about that.
Belmar - it's belmar. Overrun with Staten Island shore-bound kids. I know people live there year round, but for me, I would not want to camp out in the middle of all the bars. Paying a premium for shorefront and not really getting bang for your buck.
You may want to check out Somerset County or other locations in Monmouth depending on what you are looking for. Monmouth will be a little cheaper overall (except shore towns), but Somerset is convenient to 287... and has a lot of company headquarters. It also used to be #1 county in NJ for highest median household income (now replaced by Hunterdon I think), but you can find some reasonable housing in places like Hillsborough and Bridgewater.
Only problem with South Brunswick is that kids may feel some pressure if they're not the "right" ethnicity in school. I know a family who moved to SB that loves the town, but their daughter had a rough time in school being non-Indian.
Well you could argue that some may feel out of place in Marlboro (or Manalapan which is where I grew up) being non-Jewish. Not anti-semitic (have an uncle who is Jewish, from Cherry Hill), but I grew up in Manalapan and dealt with a similar thing. Some Indians there too (a handfull or less) and many I work with now who in my experience are not like that at all.
For the record, South Brunswick is 18% Asian and North Brunswick is 14%. Significantly less than Edison which is close to 30%. Depending on how much of these is Oriental and how much is Indian I really don't know. I'm in North Brunswick and I can say I see lots of both, but more Oriental than Indian based on people I see outside, at the store etc. Both towns are over 30% minority though (including all ethnicities aside from white) so it seems like a pretty good mix overall. Know people who went through both school systems and said that it's very mixed. Diversity isn't a major concern of mine, but if it is there it is a good thing.
Everyone has their own opinion... however, I do not personally enjoy Middlesex County, mostly due to its congestion with Route 1, Route 18, and most of New Brunswick. These really are the three most different towns in NJ, so it really depends on what you are looking at.
The home/rental prices in Metuchen and Marlboro are probably at opposite ends. My grandmother has lived in Metuchen since I was born - it's not a bad area, pretty quiet, but she lives right off of Route 1, which is terrible. Pros (depending on who you are) are that you are convenient to both Menlo Park and Woodbridge Malls. However, again, you have all that traffic. Roads in Middlesex also seem to lack what is commonly known as paving. Cannot find a road in Middlesex county that does not chew up my tires.
I have an aunt and uncle who live in Marlboro. Very expensive. All I really know about that.
Belmar - it's belmar. Overrun with Staten Island shore-bound kids. I know people live there year round, but for me, I would not want to camp out in the middle of all the bars. Paying a premium for shorefront and not really getting bang for your buck.
You may want to check out Somerset County or other locations in Monmouth depending on what you are looking for. Monmouth will be a little cheaper overall (except shore towns), but Somerset is convenient to 287... and has a lot of company headquarters. It also used to be #1 county in NJ for highest median household income (now replaced by Hunterdon I think), but you can find some reasonable housing in places like Hillsborough and Bridgewater.
I lived in Monmouth for 15 years, now in Middlesex for the past year and I actually think the roads here are in much better condition than the roads in Monmouth County. The only rough road around here I've driven on is Rt 130. There have been major improvements made to Rt 1 in the past two years, much nicer to drive through the area around Woodbridge and Menlo Pk malls than it used to be. That area is very crowded and you have traffic backing up at lights on the backroads, which is one reason I wasn't too crazy about living in Edison. Where I am now it is a breeze. Only problem with Rt 1 now is the stretch of it through South Brunswick, where it bottlenecks from three lanes down to two, and then widens back up in Plainsboro. SB wants to keep it that way to prevent further development along it, which is kinda silly since NB has it 3 each way with less lights and more interchanges and does not really look that much more developed. Same deal in Plainsboro. IMO Rt 9, esp in Manalapan/Marlboro area is MUCH worse. In fact, the traffic congestion in Monmouth County is probably the worst I've ever seen for an area of such low population density. I can't think of one road there that isn't in desperate need of an upgrade. In Edison you have the notorious light at Plainfield Ave and Lincoln Hwy (Rt 27), there are many more lights like that in Monmouth County like than in Middlesex, in my experience. I'm not talking about how densely populated the area is, but how up to date the roads are to handle the traffic volume. And the roads in Middlesex are in much better shape to handle it, IMO.
Monmouth and Somerset usually battle for most expensive in the state, believe it or not. While both have affordable towns, both have unbelievably expensive towns that bring up the overall rankings. It's actually pretty misleading. For example, Essex might have some very expensive real estate - but it also has Newark, Irvington and East Orange to bring the averages back to Earth. So it works both ways.
Monmouth is pretty expensive in general, however. Most of it is coastal, which is expensive for obvious reasons, and the inland towns are all McMansion territory.
Monmouth and Somerset usually battle for most expensive in the state, believe it or not. While both have affordable towns, both have unbelievably expensive towns that bring up the overall rankings. It's actually pretty misleading. For example, Essex might have some very expensive real estate - but it also has Newark, Irvington and East Orange to bring the averages back to Earth. So it works both ways.
Monmouth is pretty expensive in general, however. Most of it is coastal, which is expensive for obvious reasons, and the inland towns are all McMansion territory.
Naturally yes. I'm a bit more surprised that Essex and Bergen don't compete in that ranking as well. You have more of the two extreme opposites in Essex than in Bergen though. Monmouth can qualify for that too since you have many poor areas as well like Keansburg, Long Branch, Neptune and Asbury Park. It also has many white trash areas too, esp along the Raritan Bay stretch of 35. On an earlier post I was a bit surprised at first to see that Wall has gotten that expensive, but actually now I could see why, seeing that it's close to the shore with instant access to the Parkway and 195. You have easier access to major highways there than in Manalapan and Marlboro and it is closer to better beaches. That's probably what brought up the land value so much there because you also have driving convenience too, unlike other areas around there. The Rt 33-34 circle is another story, when my father drove for Olympic he said that was the most dangerous intersection in the whole state.
Living in North Brunswick, the Somerset town I am most familiar with is obviously Franklin, which has some real rough areas esp in the Somerset portion of town along Hamilton St. Won't comment further on it but I wouldn't live there. Other areas I have seen (driven through) are Hillsborough, Manville and Bridgewater. Hillsborough looks like it's up and coming. Bridgewater is supposed to be very expensive, but it doesn't look that nice. Maybe the area I hit was the low end? The area surrounding Somerville. Manville is a small walkable town, a little insular it seems though. Bedminster area is supposed to be real expensive. Only know it from getting off 287 onto 206/202, seems like boondocks to me. The only other area in Somerset County that I've even heard bad things about is Bound Brook. What is the deal with that area?
Also why is Hunterdon so expensive? That was mentioned too. It seems to be out in the middle of nowhere.
Just to clarify - Somerset typically battles for highest median household income... I think they are in the Top 5 for most expensive homes... but they are not #1 for highest home value - just income. Things shift so much in this state, my data can be outdated by a couple years. Wikipedia (by no means the most accurate place) shows the highest median income counties in the country: Highest-income counties in the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
WITH Somerset County - you have to look at North Somerset. Some of the most expensive towns are located here: Bedminster, Basking Ridge, Bernardsville to name a few. The owner of Mars company - richest woman in NJ - lives in one of these towns, forget which. I live in Branchburg - I live in the more reasonable part of the town - but there are an overload of very expensive houses down Readington Road that are in the millions, easy. Bridgewater/Hillsborough are more middle income. Somerville/Bound Brook/Manville are the lower areas. Parts of Franklin are awful, but parts (you have to travel to the middle of nowhere Franklin) are also very expensive.
Naturally yes. I'm a bit more surprised that Essex and Bergen don't compete in that ranking as well. You have more of the two extreme opposites in Essex than in Bergen though. Monmouth can qualify for that too since you have many poor areas as well like Keansburg, Long Branch, Neptune and Asbury Park. It also has many white trash areas too, esp along the Raritan Bay stretch of 35. On an earlier post I was a bit surprised at first to see that Wall has gotten that expensive, but actually now I could see why, seeing that it's close to the shore with instant access to the Parkway and 195. You have easier access to major highways there than in Manalapan and Marlboro and it is closer to better beaches. That's probably what brought up the land value so much there because you also have driving convenience too, unlike other areas around there. The Rt 33-34 circle is another story, when my father drove for Olympic he said that was the most dangerous intersection in the whole state.
Living in North Brunswick, the Somerset town I am most familiar with is obviously Franklin, which has some real rough areas esp in the Somerset portion of town along Hamilton St. Won't comment further on it but I wouldn't live there. Other areas I have seen (driven through) are Hillsborough, Manville and Bridgewater. Hillsborough looks like it's up and coming. Bridgewater is supposed to be very expensive, but it doesn't look that nice. Maybe the area I hit was the low end? The area surrounding Somerville. Manville is a small walkable town, a little insular it seems though. Bedminster area is supposed to be real expensive. Only know it from getting off 287 onto 206/202, seems like boondocks to me. The only other area in Somerset County that I've even heard bad things about is Bound Brook. What is the deal with that area?
Also why is Hunterdon so expensive? That was mentioned too. It seems to be out in the middle of nowhere.
Only problem with South Brunswick is that kids may feel some pressure if they're not the "right" ethnicity in school. I know a family who moved to SB that loves the town, but their daughter had a rough time in school being non-Indian.
thats what we are trying to get away from. we stick out like a sore thumb in our town. with everybody either being spanish, indian, african american, or white trash. i have no clue why we are still here. we hate it and could afford better. we have always been beach people, but just spending a week in obx has opened my eyes. we arent sure, but are considering a beach town. which one in jersey is good for all year living, without being too far awat from paramus?
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