Considering moving to Hillsborough, NJ (East Brunswick, Somerset: for sale, townhouse, neighborhood)
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We live in South Brunswick and are looking to buy our first home. Our budget is 300K and we were looking around in SB for a townhouse. Very limited options here. We need a good schooling district for our 5 year old. Our friends suggested Hillsborough Twp. We looked around the area this weekend and the prices are comparatively cheaper and have more options that fit our budget. We looked at other areas.. Montgomery, West Windsor, East Brunswick, Princeton - the schooling districts are good but beyond our budget.
I have few questions:
1. The elementary and middle school ratings are very good - any views on that?
2. How safe is the neighborhood..
3. Any particular areas I should avoid
4. Why are the property prices lower even though the Schooling district is very good
5. What about Flooding in the area?
Would greatly appreciate any inputs to help us make an informed decision.
School system is very good, Hillsborough is a large community geographically
I think you could say, the township is in a multi - year transition from farms to farms being sold and housing developments being built. Parts are kind of rural, parts are more suburban
Hillsborough is general is a very safe community, but as I said, it's very large, with many different area
One negative is, pretty much only one major highway, 206.
This road becomes a nightmare, stop and go, rush hour and other times
Flooding is usually not an issue, but you have to look at specific areas. and it's what do you consider "flooding", 2 feet deep flooding homes or just water on the road for a day.
Question for the OP - why don't you want to stay in South Brunswick? I've heard that the schools in SB are very comparable to Hillsborough. And one thing I can tell you for sure, when the roads are flooded, HB becomes an ISLAND. You really can't get in/out. And there are a few bridges that when they close you can literally spend an hour getting out of town. My friend moved there recently and regrets it because of the horrendous commute during flooding or bridge repair. If you are commuting back towards Middlesex county you REALLY need to think about this. The commute to Mercer or Hunterdon wn't be as bad. But Middlesex Cty and other parts of Somerset (like the 202/22 area) can be ROUGH.
@NJ Person - Thank you for your views. We would love to stay in South Brunswick but the home prices in Hillsborough are comparatively lower than South Brunswick and we get more options. A good schooling district and lower property rates are the primary reasons why we are considering the move.
i live one town over Hillsborough but what others said is true whenever we have major rain/flooding, the town especially those near 206 is a nightmare to get in/out. So i say it really depends WHERE you commute for work, that goes for your wife too if she works.
since i live in Branchburg, which is one town from Hillsboroughover via back roads to amwell and river roads, i have more options to get in/out of my area. Maybe look into townhomes for sale to buy here in BBurg, or Bridgewater? which is a big town and has several townhome developments. School district in Bridgewater is good too.
@NJ Person - Thank you for your views. We would love to stay in South Brunswick but the home prices in Hillsborough are comparatively lower than South Brunswick and we get more options. A good schooling district and lower property rates are the primary reasons why we are considering the move.
Depending on where you are commuting to - if you are commuting towards the S Brunswick area - definitely try to stay on the side of Hillsborough that was formerly known as the Belle Mead section. Its the area off of River Road and is connected to the Belle Mead section of Montgomery. Some of the main roads in the area are Townshipline Rd, Amsterdam Rd, Woods Rd, Hillsborough Rd, Willow Rd - there are brand new homes and homes from the 1960's - some on larger one acre lots. So you'll see a range of prices. Its a great section of Hillsborough and even though you'll still be stuck in traffic when the bridges are closed, you'll be getting into it at the "front of the line". You can pretty much avoid Rte 206 entirely if you want to.
I didn't have time to mention this in my previous reply but just wanted to point out a couple of things about the HB schools in case you don't already know:
- there is only half-day Kindergarten; there is some sort of enrichment program some parents pay for, but its $6000 per year.
- none of the elementary schools have air conditioning; not even Amsterdam - the newest elementary school. There have been days where they had to cancel school b/c of the HEAT.
- the High School is OLD and very out-of-date. It certainly does not impact the quality of the education, but compared to South Brunswick, Montgomery, etc its not on the same scale.
I am thinking the taxes may be a little lower b/c there has not been a new HS built in a very long time and because the Kindergarten is not a Full Day program.
I didn't have time to mention this in my previous reply but just wanted to point out a couple of things about the HB schools in case you don't already know:
- there is only half-day Kindergarten; there is some sort of enrichment program some parents pay for, but its $6000 per year.
- none of the elementary schools have air conditioning; not even Amsterdam - the newest elementary school. There have been days where they had to cancel school b/c of the HEAT.
- the High School is OLD and very out-of-date. It certainly does not impact the quality of the education, but compared to South Brunswick, Montgomery, etc its not on the same scale.
I am thinking the taxes may be a little lower b/c there has not been a new HS built in a very long time and because the Kindergarten is not a Full Day program.
Why are you trying to discourage this person from moving to Hillsborough? Who cares if the highschool is outdated as you say.... It obviously did not prevent the students from getting higher average SAT scores than South Brunswick now did it?!?!?
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