Moving to New Jersey
 

Hi all,
I am relocating to New Jersey at the end of May and would appreciate information about the best places (meaning safest with good school districts) to live. The place where my husband will be working is in Princeton but seems like that area is very unaffordable. We've been told to avoid Trenton but that's pretty much all the information we have. I have 2 kids (4 and 6 years old) so we will be looking into a public elementary school and a good preschool (probably one of the church programs). Can anyone recommend something? Thanks in advance.

North of Princeton is Montgomery Township, which I understand has a very good school district. The area has been growing quickly so I'm not sure what the housing costs are these days. Also, to the south is West Windsor, which also bears looking into. How far is your husband willing to travel for his job? These days many people are commuting from PA because of escalating housing costs. You might also want to explore that option.

Just as a heads up, I don't know where you are relocating from, but steel yourself for the traffic. NJ is densely populated and the traffic can be a nightmare at rush hour.

Good luck in your search.

We know a few people that live in the Pennington/Hopewell area....really nice and great schools. A little less expensive than Princeton and very close.

Montgomery and West Windsor have excellent school districts but they are quite pricey. The town north of Montgomery is Hillsborough which has a good school district and is a bit more affordable. It's more diverse in terms of ethnicities and somewhat socio-economic level. Depending where in Princeton, it's about a 20-35 minute commute. Bucks County PA, as mentioned, is also nice.

I live in Hopewell. The schools are excellent and you can find a house under $350,000 if you are very patient and very diligent.

I want to mention Hamilton Township for you to investigate. Mind you I always thought that Hamilton was too suburban and not that attractive...BUT everyone I know who lives in Hamilton raves about the wide variety of churches, parks, programs for families, programs for seniors and most of all the programs & activities for children. In addition, Hamilton has dozens of neighborhoods with so many housing choices in so many price ranges it might be a good place to start. You just have to be careful not to get too close to Trenton. Also, Hamilton has a train station on the Northeast corridor which makes travel more tolerable.

Maybe someone from Hamilton can offer more help.

remember "Bloom where you're Planted"

Welcome to New Jersey and good luck. Unfortunately, there is no one good place to live around here. We actually live in a lovely part of Trenton, which is perfectly safe and where you can't beat the housing prices for the beautiful older homes. The down side is you really can't use the school system, so you have to factor in the cost of private school (though then you can pick whatever school is best for your children, which we have found invaluable).

Assuming you really do want to go the public school route, the previous posters mentioned some good school districts, but the characters of the towns are quite different. West Windsor and Plainsboro, east of Route 1 and Princeton, are my idea of suburban sprawl hell, but lots of people like them. Montgomery is also largely newly developed, and prices are going through the roof, as are their property taxes. (Actually, be sure to factor in property taxes; you may be amazed how high some of them are.) Hopewell and Pennington, to the west, have small town centers, but they, too, are struggling with rampant development. If you go a little south, to Ewing, the housing gets less expensive, but the schools aren't as good. Lawrence (south of Princeton) is somewhere in between. As for Bucks County, Pennsylvania, here, too, it's a mix of older towns, some quite nice, surrounded by former agricultural land that's getting plowed under and turned into cookie-cutter housing developments. Towns like Yardley and Newtown are nice (or the areas on either side of the bridge at Washington Crossing), but commuting over the river every day is getting worse and worse. We're in the midst of a flood still today, and it's been a nightmare. Getting back from my daughters' schools in Pennsylvania, a drive that in regular traffic takes 15-20 minutes, took nearly 2 hours yesterday. Any time something goes the least bit wrong, the bridges act as bottlenecks.

Also, where in Princeton will your husband be working? Tons of work places call themselves Princeton when they're not really in Princeton. That might help you figure out which side of Princeton to live. But the real question is what kind of environment do you feel most comfortable in? East of Route 1 is pretty flat. West and north is more gentle rolling hills. Do you like small towns, rural areas, developed suburbs with bustling big-box shopping corridors, a chi-chi college town (Princeton)?

Good luck.

NJ has some fantastic public school districts. In fact, some of the best in the nation. What is also has is mandated school district report cards which will allow you to compare districts based on a number of criteria.

Here is a link to the states website.

http://education.state.nj.us/rc/index.html

If possible, you might want to see if you can get a copy of the recent special section of the Newark Star Ledger as that provided a nice concise guide to every school in the state. (New Jersey Magazine published a similar list last year and ranked the top 100 or so High Schools in the state.)

When we were looking for a house, I was able to look at each town and compare how well students did on state mandated tests and SAT exams, the level of funding for each school, the education of the teachers, and average class sizes.

As we have young children, for us a great school district was paramount. At a minimum we wanted a district that was clearly in the top 10% of the state. For that you will pay a premium on housing costs.

Like most of us, I guess what you are likely trying to balance is great school district and housing cost. The problem is that towns which are commutable to NYC that have great districts, will have very, very expensive home prices.

Areas like Bernardsville, 30 miles north of Princeton, or Colt's Neck, 30 miles southeast, have top notch schools and home prices averaging well over $600,000.

As a broad starting point, you might want to look at websites for Prudential Realty and Weichert as you'll be able to get a sense of cost and what you get for your money around the state.

Pru's website is www.prunj.com. You can search every home listed in the state by cost criteria, which could be a great starting point.

Thanks for all the responses. It really helps to have an idea of where to start. The company pays for a house hunting trip and we will be going to New Jersey on Saturday to try to find a house in 7 days. It seems to me like an impossible mission but I hope there is something good available. We are relocating from Texas and the houses here are so big and affordable. I am really curious about the homes in New Jersey. Thanks again.

Parts of NJ were under water from the recent heavy rains. When you house hunt, watch for telltale signs of flooding and avoid those areas.
I know of recent Texas transplants who moved to Pennsylvania. You may have some sticker shock compared to what you had in Texas, so be forewarned.

I also live in Yardley, PA - I think both housing prices and real estate taxes are considerably more reasonable than comparable housing in NJ.

As was mentioned above, we have a blend of new construction and older neighborhoods with more character.

It's about a 15-20 minute commute to Princeton, depending on where you are going. I commute on route 1, which I find to be better than 95.

Our kids went to the preschool at St. Andrews in Yardley and we were very happy with that. I would say that the elementary schools in Yardley are very good. At the high school level, it's somewhat more mixed - Pennsbury High pulls from several towns.

Let me know if you have any specific questions.

Thank you all,

I am starting to think that the best thing to do is to conmute from Pennsylvania. Usually my husband likes living very close by work but he says he would be willing to have a longer conmute if it is under 30 minutes. The location of the company is Princeton Junction. Is that far from Bucks County PA or Yardley?
MIG would you mind giving me the phone number or address of the school at St. Andrews where your kids went? maybe I can go there next week while we are looking for a house.

The St. Andrew website is www.standrews-nurseryschool.com. Lots of our friends also used the preschool at Woodsite Presbyterian and were also happy with that

Princeton Junction is about 15 or 16 miles from Yardley and a little more from Newtown. This commute does get pretty congested during peak rush hour (as does most of central New Jersey), but its doable in 1/2 hour. As I mentioned, I think route 1 is a better choice than 95 from some parts of Yardley.

In case you are interested, I can recommend Mary Lear with Prudential Fox & Roach as a real estate agent in Yardley. She really knows what's on the market and will listen closely to what you are looking for - 215-493-1891 or [email protected].

Just FYI, Princeton Jct. is also known as West Windsor. (I know it is confusing - one is the town, one is the township, or some such nonsense.) The West Windsor-Plainsboro public schools are some of the best in the state. (I grew up in WW and went to the public elementary schools. Although I actually attended private prep school for my secondary education, it is certainly not an area where you "need" to go to private school.) It is very convenient to the city (the NJ Transit actually stops in Princeton Jct., not Princeton). That said, housing prices and taxes are VERY high, and it definitely has a "suburban sprawl" feel.

Here's another suggestion--South Brunswick, just north of Princeton. Great school system and lots of activities (and reasonably priced) for children. Lower taxes than most neighboring towns and you can find many an affordable house. I've lived here for 12 years, and have no intention of moving anytime soon.

I live in Titusville and it's a very nice place to reside. It's actually the part of Hopewell Township that's located in the western section along the Delaware River and includes the Washington Crossing area and park where Washington came over from PA. It's about 9 miles north of Trenton and 5 miles south of Lambertville, a nice town of shops and restaurants. Schools are very good and new building developments are seriously restricted (not sure what type of housing you are seeking i.e., new/older, but some of the other towns mentioned here in NJ and PA are seriously over developed which adds to the traffic problems, also mentioned here.) Still lots of farms and open areas and rural but not far from 95 and turnpike so it's within an hour of both NY and Philly. You wouldn't go wrong here.

My sister recently sold her home in Somerset, New Jersey and bought one in Hopewell. She's moving because she was very unhappy with the schools (especially the middle school). The main reason she is moving to Hopewell is for the schools.

Good luck!

Thank you guys for all the information. You can not imagine how much it helps to know what the good areas are and not go completely in the dark. I talked to the realtor the company recommended us today and she is scheduling some appointments to see houses on Sunday. She also sent me an email with 193 listings. All the listings are in Hamilton, Ewing, and E. Windsor though. I will have to ask her for listings of the other areas. Thanks again. I really appreciate all the help.

I suspect that you received listings for those 3 communities because they have homes at your price point. I think it is fair to say that those towns are more affordable than the surrounding communities. However, the schools might be an issue for you. BE careful & do your homework.

Maybe you should consider renting for a year until you get a feel for the area?!

YOu are being provided a ton of info and I am certain you have a good idea about what is what in NJ now. Growing up in North Jersey and now residing in S. Jersey Medford Township I am partial to South Jersey believe it or not!
Alot of the areas people told you about are great. Consider Hunterdon County though. Its a bit more rural and farmlike yet close to princeton and all that area has to offer. I specifically like Hopewell Twp. We know people that live there and they have little ones not school age yet but are there for that reason.
Good luck.

Hey Screen name. You mentioned before that it was possible to get a house in Hopewell for under $350,000. Is that average? the reason I am asking is because the range of prices the realtor sent me is from $350,000 to $450,000 so I am wondering if there is nothing else in the market right now or if I am asking for too much for the price. I told her I would like a single home, 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a basement. Do you think a townhome would be more reasonable? This probably sounds silly but I have no idea what the houses are like in New Jersey. Thanks in advance.

I think a 4 bedroom will be over $400,000. But to give you an idea of what is on the market, go to "realtor.com"...just put in a town name and price range this will give you a good idea of what is available.

Try Pennington first. Then search in Hopewell, Ewing, Hamilton, South Brunswick.

Hi - I lived in Flemington in Hunterdon County, NJ for 2 years, then moved down to Lower Makefield Township in Bucks County, PA for 2 years - and loved both areas. When I lived in PA, I did the commute over the Delaware for work, and learned quickly that I simply had to leave for work early to miss the traffic.

In any event, I will agree with many posters here - Southern Hunterdon and Upper Mercer Counties are decent - eg Hopewell, Pennington, Titusville, as is the area of Bucks County in and around Yardley. I also think that area in PA is nice for NJ commuters as you have a few choices for bridges to cross - Scudders' Falls on I-95 or Rte 1 if needed. That said, for me personally I would not want to commute on Rte 1 everyday (and did not have to do so when I was commuting) so would also agree with the suggestions for West Windsor/Plainsboro or perhaps in the direction of Cranbury, which is also a cute town. This way, his commute would be mostly on local roads.

For what you are looking for in a house, you might need to consider townhomes. In most of these areas, a single family home of the size you describe that doesn't require complete renovation will run at least $400,000 - - - whereas a townhome of that size you could probably get for sommewhat less.

Good luck!

If your husband has no problem driving about 1 hour to work, I'll suggest Cherry Hill. We have the best schools, are 15 minutes from Philadelphia, one hour from Atlantic City and 1 1/2 hours from NYC. It would be an easy commute from here now that I295 is finally completed. Our neighbors just sold a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, fron to back slipt level with about 1800 sq. ft for around $250,000.

Housing is less down south of Princeton than in that area and north. Princeton and north is the bedroom of NYC where salaries are really high.

Below Trenton is Florence and Burlington. The area is iffy at best. After that you'll come to Moorestown-old money-and Mt. Laurel-neuvo riche. Very upscale and good schools. More expensive than Cherry Hill, but that's relative.

Good luck with the move. Our state has a lot of good vacation areas, lots of diversity, lots of shoreline, casinos, change of seasons, and overall good, I think.