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West Windsor or Princeton would be the best fit and have the most offer. The most superior homes are also located here. The best schools public and private are also located here.
Plainsboro IMO is gross and the commute to Hamilton will be annoying especially during peak times.
Cranbury is beautiful and their students attend Princeton High School, but it is a bit remote. Also can be an annoying commute during peak times.
Robbinsville is the closest to Hamilton. As I resident I can tell you it is a close knit community: Many little small town events, all kids go to the same schools, small "downtown" area (nothing compared to princeton tho) and very safe. Socio economic wise it's more of a junior west windsor.
Hamilton I strongly advise against moving there. The town and schools overall are just a step above Trenton and well below the towns named above.
Last edited by rvillenj; 09-21-2011 at 01:19 PM..
Reason: Spelling
Princeton Junction parking lot fills up by about 6:45 am, unless you have a permit. According to West Windsor Parking Authority website, the wait for permits is still being measured in years (4 to 8 years, to be exact). If you don't mind an early commute, West Windsor is probably the best school system in Mercer County, and you should be able to find a house in your price range without a problem. Most places in WW are within 30 minutes of most places in Hamilton, but you're talking about very large townships, so from the farthest points in either, it might be as much as 45 minutes during rush hour.
It pains me to say it, but if I had kids, I wouldn't live in Hamilton. The best schools in the town are mediocre, and the worst are pretty bad. Robbinsville is nicer, but there was a tremendous amount of development in the 1990s and early 2000s that caused the need to build a lot of schools and sent taxes up a lot. Might be a "tax revolt" in the making. On the plus side, a lot of people are new to the area, so it might be easier to become part of the town.
Princeton's schools have a reputation for greatness and the town spends a lot of money on them. But take a close look at the school's statistics; a fair number of the children of more affluent families in town go to private school. Princeton High was ranked #44 in the latest NJ Monthly magazine high school survey (2010), down from #6 in 2008. That's a big drop in 2 years. Both West Windsor-Plainsboro high schools and Hopewell Valley High (Pennington) ranked ahead of Princeton.
I get onto 295 in the morning at the Hamilton train station exit and drive through Pennington on my way to work. It takes me about 20 minutes to get from home to the north side of Pennington, so that might be more "doable" than you think.
Rville -- I don't disagree with your comment about Hamilton's schools. But to say that the "town ... overall is just a step above Trenton" is kind of ironic coming from someone who lives in a town that BORDERS part of Hamilton. Hamilton is a HUGE community -- one of the 10 biggest in the state. As such, it's far more diverse than most suburban/rural towns, including Robbinsville. There are some neighborhoods that are not nice, but others (e.g., Chesterfield) with plenty of McMansions to match with those in R'ville. Like I said, if I had kids, I wouldn't live here, but to say it's "just a step above Trenton" is ridiculous.
Last edited by jm1031; 09-21-2011 at 05:38 PM..
Reason: typos
Jim1031- yes the McMansions in Chesterfield which is not part of Hamilton are quite lovely. You're right Hamilton is two steps above Trenton instead and one step above Ewing. And I mean in the area the op is interested in not the entire state.
You're right -- I meant Crosswicks (at least, what we called Crosswicks when I was a kid) ... the part of Hamilton that is east of 130 and south of Robbinsville. To put it another way, the part of Hamilton that's in the 08691 zip code.
Princeton Junction parking lot fills up by about 6:45 am, unless you have a permit. According to West Windsor Parking Authority website, the wait for permits is still being measured in years (4 to 8 years, to be exact). If you don't mind an early commute, West Windsor is probably the best school system in Mercer County, and you should be able to find a house in your price range without a problem. Most places in WW are within 30 minutes of most places in Hamilton, but you're talking about very large townships, so from the farthest points in either, it might be as much as 45 minutes during rush hour.
It pains me to say it, but if I had kids, I wouldn't live in Hamilton. The best schools in the town are mediocre, and the worst are pretty bad. Robbinsville is nicer, but there was a tremendous amount of development in the 1990s and early 2000s that caused the need to build a lot of schools and sent taxes up a lot. Might be a "tax revolt" in the making. On the plus side, a lot of people are new to the area, so it might be easier to become part of the town.
Princeton's schools have a reputation for greatness and the town spends a lot of money on them. But take a close look at the school's statistics; a fair number of the children of more affluent families in town go to private school. Princeton High was ranked #44 in the latest NJ Monthly magazine high school survey (2010), down from #6 in 2008. That's a big drop in 2 years. Both West Windsor-Plainsboro high schools and Hopewell Valley High (Pennington) ranked ahead of Princeton.
I get onto 295 in the morning at the Hamilton train station exit and drive through Pennington on my way to work. It takes me about 20 minutes to get from home to the north side of Pennington, so that might be more "doable" than you think.
Rville -- I don't disagree with your comment about Hamilton's schools. But to say that the "town ... overall is just a step above Trenton" is kind of ironic coming from someone who lives in a town that BORDERS part of Hamilton. Hamilton is a HUGE community -- one of the 10 biggest in the state. As such, it's far more diverse than most suburban/rural towns, including Robbinsville. There are some neighborhoods that are not nice, but others (e.g., Chesterfield) with plenty of McMansions to match with those in R'ville. Like I said, if I had kids, I wouldn't live here, but to say it's "just a step above Trenton" is ridiculous.
Good post
There are pros and cons to every town and the OP just needs to find the one that fits his family.
With his budget and schools on the priority list, there are some very doable towns.
What I've heard about Hamilton is "the farther away from Trenton, the better it is". Hamilton (besides Princeton) is really the only part of Mercer County I've visited.
Robbinsville might be a good option. The closeness to Hamilton is appealing. I've heard that the area is getting better every year.
If it comes down to West Windsor and Princeton, it's going to be a very tough decision.
Do I want an area I kind of like with more convenience [West Windsor] or an area I really like with less convenience [Princeton]?
Princeton might be the 'better fit' overall.
Now only if I had enough money to buy a house in Ewing,
Last edited by CoolaTroopa; 09-21-2011 at 07:37 PM..
Thanks for all your help- we're probably going to go with Princeton.
We really like the area- especially Palmer Square.
From my understanding, Princeton schools are about the same in quality as WW schools.
Thanks for all your help- we're probably going to go with Princeton.
We really like the area- especially Palmer Square.
From my understanding, Princeton schools are about the same in quality as WW schools.
Princeton schools consistantly out rank WW-P by most rankings....well except for the NJ Monthly 2010 oversight. Either district is good.
Enjoy - there's definitely a lot to love about Princeton. If we ever win the lottery or one of us gets a job running a hedge fund, I'd love to live there. The town has a great feeling and it's fun just to walk around. Try PJs for pancakes early Sunday morning, and Mediterra is one of our favorite restaurants.
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