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Relocating from upstate New York; considering Sayreville, Howell, Freehold, Manlapan, East Brunswick, best school districts, music programs, lowest cost of living
I recently posted about relocating for a job in Woodbridge and after reading and talking to people we have narrowed our search to the following towns
Here are some of the towns we are thinking about…
Sayreville, Howell, Freehold, Marlboro, Manlapan, East Brunswick.
Our biggest concern is the school district. We are moving from one of the top districts in upstate NY and are looking to find a similar district in NJ.
Our second concern is the cost of housing. Since it is about 300% more for houses in NJ we are trying to be realistic about what we can afford. (Imagine a 4 br colonial with almost 3,000 sq ft. is only about 260K where I live now and it's one of the "expensive" areas here)
We would like some opinons about the affordability of homes in the school districts mentioned above. As well as the quality of the schools and their programs. Music is one area we need info on as our daughter who will enter High School is involved in vocal music as well as band. Thanks!
What is your budget, and what kind of home will you be looking for?
Previously, I filled you in about Sayreville, so I won't repeat myself.
As far as your list goes, East Brunswick and Marlboro are the best districts in general. That said, great kids with engaged parents will do well in any of those districts. There is so much said about "great," "good," "okay, and "bad" schools on this board, as well as anywhere in NJ. At the end of the day, students can get a great education in any of those districts--it is all in what the kids make of their experience.
EB and Marlboro are more affluent, so in general, the parents in those districts are more educated and more likely to equip their children with all the extra tools to help them in their educational careers (ie., SAT prep courses, tutoring, private lessons, etc...).
EB and Marlboro, while more competetive academically, also have children a little more focused on keeping up with their classmates in terms of material goods. That is also something to consider.
In terms of college acceptances and the like, I would assume EB and Marlboro have more kids accepted at top tier schools for the reasons I described above. Sayreville kids also have gotten into schools like Yale, Princeton, Cornell, and U Penn in the last few years.
Sayreville and Howell would be the most affordable of those places. Your taxes would be considerably less, so really it kind of depends on what you want.
So, if you can afford Marlboro or EB, those are your best options. If not, that is completely, positively fine, and you should not be uncomfortable about that.
Full disclosure: We live in Sayreville, where I taught for 5 years. We are moving to Marlboro next spring into a substantially more expensive house where our taxes will more than double from what we pay now. It really comes down to the best decision for each individual family, and it isn't always an easy one.
Last edited by juliann1977; 08-20-2007 at 05:43 AM..
I live in Freehold Boro. The boro is surrounded by the township. The boro has a downtown, the township doesn't. The twsp is considered nicer, and is more pricier. there are some really nice sections of the borough, especially is you like older homes.
If you want to really compare affordability check out the Monmouth County MLS: Monmouth County Association of Realtors (Sayreville and East Brunswick are Middlesex County and you'd do better to check them out through realtor.com. I find momls.com has more pics).
Both schools are part of the Freehold Regional School District which comprises 6 high schools: the borough, the township, Colts Neck, Howell, Manalapan and Marlboro.
As to academics, etc, according to NJ Monthly Magazine, Marlboro is rated the highest ,then the boro, manalapan, Colts Neck, the Twsp, and lastly Howell. NJ Monthly
I live in Freehold Boro. The boro is surrounded by the township. The boro has a downtown, the township doesn't. The twsp is considered nicer, and is more pricier. there are some really nice sections of the borough, especially is you like older homes.
If you want to really compare affordability check out the Monmouth County MLS: Monmouth County Association of Realtors (Sayreville and East Brunswick are Middlesex County and you'd do better to check them out through realtor.com. I find momls.com has more pics).
Both schools are part of the Freehold Regional School District which comprises 6 high schools: the borough, the township, Colts Neck, Howell, Manalapan and Marlboro.
As to academics, etc, according to NJ Monthly Magazine, Marlboro is rated the highest ,then the boro, manalapan, Colts Neck, the Twsp, and lastly Howell. NJ Monthly
The Boro is rated high because it houses the Med Science School. The demograpics of those that are not in that program are quite different in the Boro. Every school in the Freehold Township HS district has a specialty.If you qualify for that specialty you can go to a different HS in the district.
Manalapan is Science. Howell is Theater and the Arts.
Marlboro and Manalapan are very close in "Who lives there" . Realtors usually will take you to both if you ask for one.
Make sure the house has Gas Heat or has the proper papers. Also make sure that if they say it was always gas, make sure thats true. State Farm had some people who bought a house in Marlboro that they said was always Gas, well it wasn't, and guess what, A huge Leak, that was not covered because they insured a house with Gas heat and not one with oil. It was a $200,000 plus job.The former owners ran off to India, so could not be reached.
I had a house with such a leak but it was always oil so State Farm paid my claim, and the DEP approved the work done and new Above ground RothTank.Mommouth Hights in Marboro, Oil, in Manalapan, Gas but I saw some traditionaly gas developments on the DEP list.
Diane
The Boro is rated high because it houses the Med Science School. The demograpics of those that are not in that program are quite different in the Boro. Every school in the Freehold Township HS district has a specialty.If you qualify for that specialty you can go to a different HS in the district.
Manalapan is Science. Howell is Theater and the Arts.
Marlboro and Manalapan are very close in "Who lives there" . Realtors usually will take you to both if you ask for one.
Make sure the house has Gas Heat or has the proper papers. Also make sure that if they say it was always gas, make sure thats true. State Farm had some people who bought a house in Marlboro that they said was always Gas, well it wasn't, and guess what, A huge Leak, that was not covered because they insured a house with Gas heat and not one with oil. It was a $200,000 plus job.The former owners ran off to India, so could not be reached.
I had a house with such a leak but it was always oil so State Farm paid my claim, and the DEP approved the work done and new Above ground RothTank.Mommouth Hights in Marboro, Oil, in Manalapan, Gas but I saw some traditionaly gas developments on the DEP list.
Diane
Diane, I have heard people say this before about the Boro HS. I wonder how big is the department (student-wise) and how many kids decide to utilize these programs from other areas (that is, kids who would not normally go to FB HS if it were not for this program). People make it out that Freehold Boro HS would be nothing without kids from other towns getting into the medical program. Do you have any statistics, or other information on who goes where, etc (not just for FB, but for the entire regional system)? It would be interesting to learn.
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Thanks
