Best townships for $350k townhouse - Somerset, Middlesex and Mercer counties

[Bored of Education]

Originally Posted by authrd

Hello All,

This being my first post, I did not want to waste anyone's time by asking any question without at least some research on my part. So, I have gone through each and every relevant post on this forum for the last couple of days.

I am looking to buy a townhouse (2BD,2Bath with a den or a loft or even a 3BD if the price is right). Looking at something under $350K. I work in Plainsboro, NJ and my wife works in Manhattan. So commute to NYC becomes important.

The MJMonthly article about best towns did help but getting insight from people who have actually lived in the areas I am considering would go a long way

So here it is:

I am considering Somerset, Middlesex and Mercer counties and the following townships:

Franklin Park (somerset), Lawrenceville, East Windsor, Hillsborough, East Brunswick, South Brunswick, Monroe, Hopewell, Sayreville, Rocky Hill, Bridgewater, Edison, Woodbridge.

If you were buying your first home, which of these areas would you recommend?

Thanks in advance!!!

Try Edison. Both Edison and Metropark train stations are good for commuting into NYC. Edison is a safe place and has a wide vareity of Townhouses/Condos to choose from. You would be doing a reverse commute on Rt1, so getting to Plainsboro wont be too bad....Woodbridge is also decent, but it might be too long of a commute for you.

[Slau]

Originally Posted by jerseyj

Hamilton Township is divided into three High School districts, Steinert HS-rated the highest at 5 (on Greatschools.com), Nottingham HS rated a 3 and Hamilton West a 2.
I don't know what HS district your new Ryan Home is in but the area around the Hamilton Station is nice and fairly safe.

Thank you. The HS is Nottingham High.

My kid will start elementary school at Mercerville elementary. I hope the High school get better by the time he is ready for HS :-)

[jerseyj]

Mercerville Elementary School is a solid little school with good stats. Nottingham HS has been a formidable presence, in this highly competitive area, for years.
I suspect it will only get better given the current school administration.

[imhereinnj]

Many of my friends mentioned that the Monroe school district was great..but according to the NJ state report cards, the schools do not measure up to neighboring towns such as Marlboro, and E Brunswick! I also was told that the Blue ribbon program ended years ago. Is this an issue where realtors are hyping the town up, or am I missing something??? Also..does anyone have more information on the landfill that was once utilized in this town???

[jerseyj]

Remediation took place for that superfund site and No Further Action was declared and signed 4/23/93. The site was deleted from the National Priorities List on 2/3/94 and site reviews in 2000 and 2005 determined that the remedy was still protective.
http://www.epa.gov/Region2/superfund/npl/0200570c.pdf