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We're moving back to north Jersey following my husband's transfer to Basking Ridge (I'm from Montclair; husband is from East Brunswick) and are considering the following towns: Basking Ridge, Bernardsville, Bedminster, Mendham, Morristown, Summit, and Berkeley Heights.
Any thoughts? (esp. regarding schools, safety, diversity, access to cultural events).
They are all really great towns- just depends what you are looking for. We currently live in Morris Township, and we feed into the Morristown school system for High School. I'd say Morristown is your closest comparison to Montclair on the points you mentioned. Morristown is a pretty diverse community (Morris Twp less so); the schools are good. The highschool is a point of debate between my husband and myself, as we have a one-year-old, so many years away from that, but still a consideration if we want to stay in our n'hood, which we love. Academically, MHS is very good, especially if your child is in the honors program. I've heard there are crime issues (gangs, etc.)- the main concern for us; and it's very diverse, which we view as a positive. The town itself is very nice- great shopping, theater, restaurants, etc. There is a lot to do (movies on the Green, art shows).
As far as the other towns go, they tend to be a little more homogenious. They are very nice communities, the schools are strong, the crime is low (although there is a drug problem in EVERY school- just depends how fancy the drugs are ), some cute downtowns but for true culture, you'll have to travel. One small exception is that Summit's downtown is a little bigger than the other towns. What's great about all the towns you mention is that they all (except Mendham) have a train station, so it's very easy to access NYC.
Partly related to all the strengths of these towns, they are all very expensive, but then again, if you're from Montclair, you know what I'm talking about!
If you have kids the schools might be important to you. Basking Ridge has a top rated school system. Any of the towns you mentioned are nice, Morristown has a lot of beautiful older mansion type homes, but Morristown has some gang violence as well, if you are looking for diversity in terms of ethnic groups, Summit and Morristown fit the bill. I don't know about crime in Summit, although I think that it is somewhat susceptible since it is near a major highway, same as Basking Ridge. You can get the crime statistics online for each town. Summit has a diverse price range in homes, some huge mansions, well over 2M as well as those homes priced lower but you are looking at an area in NJ where home prices are high - expect to pay 1M for a 4-5 bedroom 3+ bath home, Morristown may be a bit less. Summit has a very good school system too. It has a nice town where you have a variety of shopping and has a large parking area for the train to NYC. Out of all the choices, I think Morristown and Summit have the old fashioned type of downtown shopping as opposed to strip mall type shopping which you are more likely to find in the other areas. Summit's location is attractive because you are close to a major shopping mall (minutes away). Most of the towns have YMCAs and health clubs...most have at least one major grocery store. If you check with the chamber of commerce in each town you can get an idea of what they have to offer. Morristown, Berkeley Heights and Summit all have a movie theatre in town.
Yeah Morristown High School is a dump. Its only good for getting your children acclimated to the racial hostility and knife fights between the Columbians and Black kids.
Beyond the schooling system, the town of Morristown is quite nice. All of the other towns that you mentioned are all rich upper-crust areas where you wont have to worry about things like crime, violence, and bad public schools.
Does anyone know anything about union township(not union city)? I have found an apartment there that seems affordable, but do not know anything about the city. It is close to public transportation to NYC, just want to know what it is like suburban or urban, is it safe, as a whole. I do not have any children, and want to be close enough to Manhattan to enjoy, plus will be working in Manhattan. Please help. It seems so overwhelming up there compared to down in the south(Florida), here every city has good and bad places to live.
There's nothing really wrong with Union, but I don't think there's anything really great about it either. It looks like a typical suburban neighborhood. Route 22 can be a pain with all the traffic.
You're going to have to transfer trains in Newark to get to Manhattan, though.
Actually, if I'm not mistaken, you said in another thread that you're looking to not have a car. Union is probably not an easy place to live without one. I would go so far as to say it would make your life extremely difficult to live without one unless you live in Hoboken.
Hoboken is good...if you're loaded with cash and beer.
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), some cute downtowns but for true culture, you'll have to travel. One small exception is that Summit's downtown is a little bigger than the other towns. What's great about all the towns you mention is that they all (except Mendham) have a train station, so it's very easy to access NYC.
Union Township
