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Hi my family and I are relocating from Massacusetts to NJ. We have two small boys 6 and 2. We are going to rent. Our budget is 2200.00. We need a three bedroom. We would like a very SAFE family friendly town with good schools. I know a lot about the surrounding towns, like basking ridge, berkely heights, new providence,summit, westfield, etc...but my husband found a townhouse for 2200.00 in Gilette. I can't seem to find much on the internet about the area so I am a little nervous. Does anyone know if Long Hill is a SAFE family friendly town with good schools. I am looking for a wholsome town with a community feel and nice people. Any information would be very helpful. Thank you very much
Gillette is part of Long Hill Township along with Stirling and Millington. It is a nice residential area and there are alot of families in that general area. There is a very cute walkable downtown. When I lived in Stirling there was a pharmarcy, small but good restaurant, hardware store and a bank and some others. I drove through the town a couple of years ago and the restaurant was still there and the downtown was still nice and still thriving. Long Hill Township overall is good place to live and is a safe area.
There is a large grocery store (it used to be a Shop-Rite), other small stores including a cute strip mall) within a 10 minute drive.
I cannot personally comment on the schools but here is a link for you:
Thank you so much for the info. I hope you don't mind but I have a few more questions..Where is the cute walkable downtown? Is that in the stirling area? When you say overall it is a good place to live does that mean there are some bad parts about it?
I think Long Hill is a safe area but the downtown isn't really much of a downtown. It's quite similar to New Providence and Berkeley Heights; there are strip malls and small shopping plazas in the area. You would need to drive to get to most banks and shopping. I would say New Providence has more of a downtown feel in there is a shopping section vs. Long Hill. Watchung HS is good.
There are athletic fields, parks, even a horse stable in Long Hill. You will like it.
The downtown area I was referring to is located in Stirling on Main Ave. which is a very short drive from Gillette (less than 5 minutes without traffic). It is not a strip mall though there are alot on Valley Road which is the main road running through Millington, Stirling, Gillette, Berkeley Heights et al. The restaurant I referred to is called the Stirling Hotel and it still gets great reviews. There is also an Italian restaurant on Main and other businesses. You could easily park your car and just walk the street as it is a really nice & safe area. I think the downtown is about 2 or 3 blocks long.
I personally have not read or heard about any "bad" areas in Gillette. This is not a high crime area by any means and there are many lovely (and expensive) homes in the area. I would try to stay away from Valley Road because of the traffic. Watchung Regional high school has a good reputation. Feel free to PM me with any other questions. I haven't lived in this area for awhile now and as I said I'm not familiar with the Long Hill school district but considering the demographics of Long Hill I don't think you will have any problems and will be quite happy there. The area is hilly with lots of trees and is quite pretty.
Dee, I have lived in the general area you mentioned for quite some time. Of the towns you mentioned I think all have an upside depending on needs. With your two boys, and education being imp't, I would recommend Basking Ridge over the others. There school system was recently rated something like 15 in the nation and 1 in the state (I think that's accurate). IMO your boys can get a good education and athletics etc. at any of the schools/towns you mentionedthough. Feel free to contact me; I am very familiar with all the towns and schools you are contemplating.
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Gilette etc.
