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Move to Princeton.
It is a relatively old town (1700's) and is a real town. Montgomery is a township that was primarily agricultural but now has a great school rep due to the influence of surrounding districts, it has no town.
Although it is a trek to NYC and Philly (both about 1 hour away) it offers a lot of its own cultural adventures. Princeton Symphony Orchestra, Promusica and McCarter Theatre to name a couple. It is also very close to Kelsey Theatre in West Windsor, Philly Jazz Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra and the Capital Philharmonic of NJ in Trenton.
The Grounds for Sculpture in nearby Hamilton NJ (one of my favourites).
Live as close (walkable) to town as you can afford and enjoy the numerous pocket parks in the neighbourhood, the local shops, library and town events.
Take advantage of the FreeB bus to get around town and to the dinky station for trips to the Princeton Junction station (NE extension to Philly and NYC).
Yup! Princeton.
Thank you for pinning down exactly the lifestyle we are looking for in our move! Although a place like Westchester has great schools and an easier commute to New York City, it seems like Princeton would offer us world class culture right at our doorstep and that is so incredibly appealing. The walkability factor within the Princeton school district vs. Montgomery is also a huge deal - both for us and for relatives who are visiting. Thank you for all those recommendations which we will be excited to check out! And thanks again for really hitting the nail on the head for us.
Lots of artistic types live in and around New Hope and Bucks County. New Hope is very touristy and very crowded. Lambertville is also artsy but not as crowded.
A lot of the inhabitants around Princeton are employed in the many research facilities nearby and are not artsy. But their children tend to make local schools very competitive.
Thanks for your reply. We ended up in Sag Harbor purely by chance after having lived in LA for ten years and wanting to move back to the East Coast and dreaming of a more wholesome, small town lifestyle....which we have found in Sag Harbor. Unfortunately, as our kids are getting older we are finding the school is not challenging enough. Also, we feel too isolated out here....too far from NYC, too far from the airport. (Family is in UK.) Sag Harbor is a beautiful place but from a cultural standpoint we are looking for a place that has more going on nearby and year round.
Private schools are just out of our reach, financially.
We feel confident that the Princeton area has what we are looking for - world class classical musicians who come through, etc., easy drive to NYC on weekends to visit museums, etc.
Princeton area is a college town. All activities in the core town of Princeton will be student related. The only other creative types you will find will probably be affiliated with the University. Are you OK with that?
The drive to NYC is going to be brutal as weather gets warmer and the traffic gets worse. You can take the train but you will have to either drive to Princeton Junction or take another train there (Dinky). Train only will probably take anywhere between 70 - 90 minutes. But at least you are not stuck in horrible traffic.
Quote:
Originally Posted by birdiebird
We just need to figure out if either of those school districts - Princeton or Montgomery - would be a good fit ?
I think both are very good with minor differences.
Princeton area is a college town. All activities in the core town of Princeton will be student related. The only other creative types you will find will probably be affiliated with the University. Are you OK with that?
The drive to NYC is going to be brutal as weather gets warmer and the traffic gets worse. You can take the train but you will have to either drive to Princeton Junction or take another train there (Dinky). Train only will probably take anywhere between 70 - 90 minutes. But at least you are not stuck in horrible traffic.
I think both are very good with minor differences.
Disagree. There are tons of "creative types" not affiliated with the university. The McCarter Center is a renowned venue that attracts a broad cross section of well known performers. A friend of mine ushers there so she can see performances for free. There is also an active visual arts community, and the Grounds for Sculpture museum. Nearby there are top notch theater communities that others have mentioned.
The train to NYC is a piece of cake compared to driving and both stations are nearby and easy to get to. There are trains that are only 60 minutes, but as long as you can avoid the "milk" trains, it goes by pretty quickly. And lastly, the Jersey Shore (not the one you saw on tv), is only an hour away and beautiful and your kids will love it. Just try to go during the week during the summer, not the weekends . During the winter we have it to ourselves .
Disagree. There are tons of "creative types" not affiliated with the university. The McCarter Center is a renowned venue that attracts a broad cross section of well known performers. A friend of mine ushers there so she can see performances for free. There is also an active visual arts community, and the Grounds for Sculpture museum. Nearby there are top notch theater communities that others have mentioned.
The train to NYC is a piece of cake compared to driving and both stations are nearby and easy to get to. There are trains that are only 60 minutes, but as long as you can avoid the "milk" trains, it goes by pretty quickly. And lastly, the Jersey Shore (not the one you saw on tv), is only an hour away and beautiful and your kids will love it. Just try to go during the week during the summer, not the weekends . During the winter we have it to ourselves .
Thank you for all of these responses.
To be honest I was actually blown away by some of the names of the classical musicians who were performing in town the weekend we happened to be visiting. If those performers are drawn to this town because of the prestige of the University, then I can only see that as a good thing! It would also of course imply there's an audience for it.
I think, naively perhaps, that we are not afraid of traffic?? Having lived in LA, and then in the Hamptons, we have experienced our fair share of it. Regardless however, as neither my husband nor I would need to commute to NYC on a regular basis, it's kind of a moot point. When we do want to go we can take off peak trains - the fact that there are trains so close to hand sounds amazing. And when we go in as a family, we can drive to the city early on a Sunday morning - our favorite thing to do. So the commuting to the city aspect I'm not even going to think about because it wouldn't be too relevant to our every day existence.
I do look forward to seeing the beaches there and am gratified to hear they are an hour away.
To be honest I was actually blown away by some of the names of the classical musicians who were performing in town the weekend we happened to be visiting. If those performers are drawn to this town because of the prestige of the University, then I can only see that as a good thing! It would also of course imply there's an audience for it.
I think, naively perhaps, that we are not afraid of traffic?? Having lived in LA, and then in the Hamptons, we have experienced our fair share of it. Regardless however, as neither my husband nor I would need to commute to NYC on a regular basis, it's kind of a moot point. When we do want to go we can take off peak trains - the fact that there are trains so close to hand sounds amazing. And when we go in as a family, we can drive to the city early on a Sunday morning - our favorite thing to do. So the commuting to the city aspect I'm not even going to think about because it wouldn't be too relevant to our every day existence.
I do look forward to seeing the beaches there and am gratified to hear they are an hour away.
Princeton area is a college town. All activities in the core town of Princeton will be student related. The only other creative types you will find will probably be affiliated with the University.
That is simply not accurate.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hannah5555
Disagree. There are tons of "creative types" not affiliated with the university. The McCarter Center is a renowned venue that attracts a broad cross section of well known performers. A friend of mine ushers there so she can see performances for free. There is also an active visual arts community, and the Grounds for Sculpture museum. Nearby there are top notch theater communities that others have mentioned.
Exactly!
Additionally, the Princeton Public Library runs a lot of educational and cultural programs.
Such a great children's book festival too, we come down for it every year.
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. During the winter we have it to ourselves 
.
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