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Princeton is way too far for a daily commute to NYC, especially for both parents in a family. That is no way to spend your lives.
The Short Hills area is a good commute and a short drive to the Newark airport. The public schools are very good. The risk you run, though, especially in the wealthier areas, is that your neighbors may all send their kids to private school, just because they can, and your kids will feel isolated because they won't know the other kids in the neighborhood. Social circles tend to be based on where your kids go to school, and that's where you will make your friends.
Commute to NYC is much shorter from SHort HIlls or Summit or Millburn. If you both work in NYC - dont you want to be able to get home quickly if one of the kids is sick or something?
Agree. A fact to seriously think about.
The trip to / from home & work always ends up being longer than it appears on paper.
Trains are delayed, transfer to NYC subway takes time. Just walking from point A to point B in Manhattan takes time due to the crowding. You may be a fast walker, but in the City there's always a bunch of people that are impossible to pass on the sidewalk when you're in a hurry.
If both of you are working in the City than you'll want to find a trustworthy local person that could pick up your children in an emergency.
I'd recommend the Short Hills area, but both are great choices. It's good you plan to rent first as the two areas are quite different, so you'll have the opportunity to get a feel for each. Millburn, Chatham, and Summit are just so much closer to your offices and the airport. You could have door-to-door commutes in those towns under 1:15 but not from the Princeton area. Also, I don't know about making the train connections to Newark airport, but it's certainly not as convenient as the short car ride from the Short Hills area. You probably can fly directly from Newark to wherever you need to go, but if you cannot, I'd rather be closer to JFK and LaGuardia than Philly.
Definitely agree with what others have said about Princeton being too far for a daily commute. You're probably already aware, but US infrastructure for public transit is nowhere near the level of that in European countries. The NJ Transit train from Princeton area runs on the same tracks as Amtrak trains and delays are quite commonplace. At best, the commute by train would take 1.5h, but realistically speaking, you're looking at upwards of 2h.
Princeton (like any well-off area) has it's share of snobs, but it is definitely more down to earth than a lot of those North Jersey suburbs that you are considering like Short Hills. A lot of towns near Princeton (Lawrence, Hopewell, Robbinsville, etc.) are even less snooty. Then again, you're going to be working in Manhattan, arguably one of the most pretentious places on the planet, so Short Hills will probably seem down to earth by comparison.
Thanks so much everyone. Really useful advice. We have started looking up the websites you have kindly suggested. It seems we should focus on North Jersey to make our lives more manageable.
Would Short Hills, Millburn, Summit and Chatham be similar in terms of socio-economic background, diversity, quality of schools, etc? We are quite keen that our children grow up 'balanced' and not taking things for granted (have seen this in a few London suburbs; hence super cautious) or feeling they can't keep up with the Joneses (e.g. as Kthnry mentions they are out of the club; neighbours' kids go to private schools).
Are there any other suburbs with 1-1:15 hrs of Manhattan we should consider? Really appreciate the counsel.
Kthnry: We liked a few things about Princeton on what we read, heard and assumed! As a university town, we assumed it is likely to be more egalitarian as well as have diverse backgrounds which we are keen in exposing our children to. While far from Mahattan, we read that the fast trains are reasonably reliable. And lastly, we heard it's quite beautiful! Are we completely wrong in our assessment?
Thanks so much everyone. Really useful advice. We have started looking up the websites you have kindly suggested. It seems we should focus on North Jersey to make our lives more manageable.
Would Short Hills, Millburn, Summit and Chatham be similar in terms of socio-economic background, diversity, quality of schools, etc? We are quite keen that our children grow up 'balanced' and not taking things for granted (have seen this in a few London suburbs; hence super cautious) or feeling they can't keep up with the Joneses (e.g. as Kthnry mentions they are out of the club; neighbours' kids go to private schools).
Are there any other suburbs with 1-1:15 hrs of Manhattan we should consider? Really appreciate the counsel.
Many thanks.
The way I look at it personally, Short Hills/Millburn are the snootiest, if you will, of the four you mentioned. Summit is pretty up there, too, and I don't know much about Chatham honestly but it is a very nice town. I live in Union County, btw, where Summit is, and only about 15 minutes from SH/Millburn. There is lots of wealth in Short Hills.
From wiki's page on Short Hills (part of Millburn technically btw), "In 2014, Time magazine named it the "Richest Town in America" with seven in ten household incomes above $150,000 per year, the highest percentage in the United States." It also has probably the snobbiest mall in the state, with stores like Chanel, Louis Vuitton, etc. You will see teenage girls with bandages on their noses at that mall - nose jobs. You will see people carrying their little dogs around with them while shopping. I like the area, but it's definitely a step above Summit and Chatham IMO, even though those towns are both pretty respectable and wealthy in their own right.
Millburn has excellent schools, but honestly most if not all of the wealthier NJ towns do. Millburn, Chatham, and Summit high schools/districts all rank extremely high in state and even national rankings. NJ as a whole has excellent public schools, it is worth noting, so that's a high honor nationally, as well. School-wise, you can't go wrong with any of your considerations. None of the towns have much diversity. You won't find much diversity in the wealthier areas of NJ, btw.
Westfield is also a very popular town, if you're open to other popular suggestions that are sort of similar to your areas of interest. Also pretty wealthy, has somewhat of a snobby reputation to some, also not that diverse. It has a great but often busy downtown shopping and dining area. It's a beautiful and historic town. Westfield is in Union County, south of Summit. It's worth noting though that Westfield is on a different train line that does not always run direct to the city, unlike Summit for one. The areas you're looking at are pretty solid.
Also, no, you're not wrong about your assessment of Princeton. It's not super diverse, but probably a little more so than the other towns. By fast trains, you probably mean express? Those definitely get you places quicker but if I'm not mistaken they don't run all the time, and local trains also run with more stops. Princeton is definitely more of a hike from NYC.
From what you describe, we might have to drop Short Hills / Millburn unless there are pockets in those towns which feel different from the rest (perhaps not). We really want our children to grow up as down to earth people. The value system is really important for us.
We will look at Summit, Chatham and Westfield (thank you for the tip) more closely.
Yes, by fast trains , I meant express trains.
Btw, some of our colleagues and friends also suggested looking at places in NY (Jericho, Scarsdale, Rye, etc) and CT (Greenwich, Stamford, Westport, etc). We decided not to pursue these places given their 'snooty' reputation. They all seem to have pretty good schools too and are by and large within our preferred commute times. Are we making a mistake?
Princeton is probably close to an hour actually from either Princeton Junction or Hamilton
By 1:30 - I meant total commute including time to station, parking, etc.
You are not likely to be 1 hour door-to-door from Princeton unless you live 2 min from the station, leave early getting close parking, and work right near the station in NYC.
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