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My husband will be working in Plainsboro and for the time being I will stay home with our kids, entering Kindergarten and 3rd. Looking for towns that meet our criteria, especially with respect to the "feel." Can anyone tell us the "vibe" of the towns of Plainsboro and surrounding (whatever would have a reasonable commute) - and which would meet the following criteria:
1. Excellent schools for elementary, middle and high (with one very high IQ but profoundly dyslexic child, need schools with a reputation for caring about individual kids and devoting resources to special ed)
2. Socially diverse (ethnic, religious), and inclusive; not too wealthy/ exclusive (e.g. teens don't drive Range Rovers and rent beach mansions for parties - some experience in LA with that and wish to avoid)
3. Kids (and adults) seem generally laid back, kind to each other and are willing to welcome newcomers
4. Actual neighborhood feel (love that our kids can ride their scooters around our neighborhood and knock on all of the doors to see who can come out to play)
5. Either liberal or mixed politics of inhabitants (not too conservative - just because we'll be happier that way)
6. Not a must, but bonus points for kids' activities: which of the towns have a park district that offers art classes/sports, AYSO in that town and/or have gymnastics studios with teams nearby?
7. Home budget absolute max $800-900K, preferably less.
Please don't read anything into these questions other than our own personal preferences. Many of these are things realtors won't discuss (e.g. ethnic diversity), and finding the community with which we'll mesh well and teaching our own values to our kids are much more important to us than the home itself. Looks like there are lots of good schools, but hoping this will be our LAST move so want to find the right place going all the way through high school, if possible. All thoughts appreciated on any of the above points. Thanks in advance for your help!
West Windsor-Plainsboro, Princeton and Pennington have excellent schools and are close to Plainsboro. I am not familiar with the special ed. programs in each of the districts but suggest you call the districts and speak with the special ed, depts. Here is Princetons- Princeton Public Schools - Special Education
Princeton has a great downtown with shops and restaurants, West Windsor has no downtown but a community pool, Plainsboro has a new "town centre" a mix of homes, shops and small cafes. Pennington has no real downtown is furthest away and I think the least diverse of all 4 towns.
All of the schools offer languages, sports, music programs, arts etc. There are numerous kids activities in all of the towns as well.
Oh I forgot about Cranbury, a lovely little town, great Main St and a very close knit community. The kids go to the local elementary school and then are bussed into Princeton HS. Cranbury has a lot of kid activities and a community pool as well. From observation only, it does not appear to be very diverse.
My husband will be working in Plainsboro and for the time being I will stay home with our kids, entering Kindergarten and 3rd. Looking for towns that meet our criteria, especially with respect to the "feel." Can anyone tell us the "vibe" of the towns of Plainsboro and surrounding (whatever would have a reasonable commute) - and which would meet the following criteria:
1. Excellent schools for elementary, middle and high (with one very high IQ but profoundly dyslexic child, need schools with a reputation for caring about individual kids and devoting resources to special ed)
2. Socially diverse (ethnic, religious), and inclusive; not too wealthy/ exclusive (e.g. teens don't drive Range Rovers and rent beach mansions for parties - some experience in LA with that and wish to avoid)
3. Kids (and adults) seem generally laid back, kind to each other and are willing to welcome newcomers
4. Actual neighborhood feel (love that our kids can ride their scooters around our neighborhood and knock on all of the doors to see who can come out to play)
5. Either liberal or mixed politics of inhabitants (not too conservative - just because we'll be happier that way)
6. Not a must, but bonus points for kids' activities: which of the towns have a park district that offers art classes/sports, AYSO in that town and/or have gymnastics studios with teams nearby?
7. Home budget absolute max $800-900K, preferably less.
Please don't read anything into these questions other than our own personal preferences. Many of these are things realtors won't discuss (e.g. ethnic diversity), and finding the community with which we'll mesh well and teaching our own values to our kids are much more important to us than the home itself. Looks like there are lots of good schools, but hoping this will be our LAST move so want to find the right place going all the way through high school, if possible. All thoughts appreciated on any of the above points. Thanks in advance for your help!
Agree that the West Windsor - Plainsboro school district should work for you. Years ago they gave good special services to our son.
How lucky that you can live in a nice town close to your hubby's workplace.
Keep in mind that the mailing addresses of many places do not match up with the school district.
For example, a large part of West Windsor has a Princeton mailing address, but the school district is West Windsor.
Once you decide which school district you want than be sure to call the school district to verify that your address is indeed within the district. It is not always clear from your address.
Verify the school district before signing a lease on your new apartment.
It's a good area with lots of activities for both adults & children.
Thank you for your help! The towns in your responses are ones I've come up with doing research on greatschoools so this is great confirmation.
Sonofagunk, thanks for your concern, I guess? I grew up in NJ (though not anywhere near Plainsboro), and I feel confident that we'll find the right neighborhood for us. Every time I've had to move I've done lots of research and it always pays off.
foodyum, I lived in Brentwood before we had kids, then we were north of LA in the suburbs which met all of above criteria . Schools were probably not as good as NJ's, but we were in a great district, for CA. Not a fun commute though, at all.
Have you decided on a town? We are also moving to Central Jersey and have a very similar criteria list as yours. We are having a hard time deciding between Cranbury, Montgomery and maybe Princeton. We have 2 kids, ages 8 and 4. I love that Cranbury has a k-8 school, but I worry that it might be too small and I'll be in the car non-step schlepping them to extracurricular activities. Montgomery seems to be closer to Princeton (at least Skillman), so might be easier for extracurricular activities. We love Princeton's downtown, but not sure that is more of a priority that getting a house with more property. I'd love to hear others' thoughts or opinions. Thanks!
We were in the same position several years ago. Montgomery wasn't a consideration for a couple of reasons, too far from the train and not nearly as populated as it is today.
We looked in Cranbury but weren't thrilied with the HS bus ride into Princeton and like you not keen on the after school trips into Princeton.
Princeton was in the running for a very short period of time. The housing costs were the deal breaker there.
We ended up in West Windsor. It is a pretty boring suburban town but the school district is good and the train is within walking distance.
Good luck with your search!
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. Schools were probably not as good as NJ's, but we were in a great district, for CA. Not a fun commute though, at all.
