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I'm looking for recommendations for where to buy a house in NJ that is commutable to NYC by either bus or train. We currently rent in Jersey City and love it, but want to buy a single family home for more space, etc. We ideally don't want to be too far from our parents (who live in the Yardville NJ area) as they help with babysitting for us, but we also want the following:
- access to good schools/school district is important
- we have a shore house near LBI that we spend a lot of time at during the weekends so it'd be great if that's not too far as well
- close to major highways so that there are options for travel/commuting time
Any thoughts/recommendations are so greatly appreciated! Every website out there has rankings that conflict with each other in terms of best towns to live in NJ. I'd rather hear from the locals that know it best!
I'm looking for recommendations for where to buy a house in NJ that is commutable to NYC by either bus or train. We currently rent in Jersey City and love it, but want to buy a single family home for more space, etc. We ideally don't want to be too far from our parents (who live in the Yardville NJ area) as they help with babysitting for us, but we also want the following:
- access to good schools/school district is important
- we have a shore house near LBI that we spend a lot of time at during the weekends so it'd be great if that's not too far as well
- close to major highways so that there are options for travel/commuting time
Any thoughts/recommendations are so greatly appreciated! Every website out there has rankings that conflict with each other in terms of best towns to live in NJ. I'd rather hear from the locals that know it best!
Thanks in advance.
"Yardville" can be a moving target depending on who you're talking to. I grew up in Groveville, which by my definition is east of Route 130. Everything west of that is Yardville until you get to 195. Groveville, AFAIK (my parents still live there but I don't) is still located within the Steinert/Reynolds school district which is the most desirable in Hamilton Township. I also grew up going to LBI every summer and we would go through Allentown and get on Route 539, take it all the way through the pines to Route 72 and never hit any traffic until just before the bridge when we merged with all of the people getting off the Parkway The Trenton and Hamilton train stations aren't that bad of a commute from Groveville, but I don't think you'd want to go any further east/south than that.
Thanks. I'm not sure that we want to move to the Hamilton area per se, but would like to live in a town that doesn't take one hour + to get there since our parents both live in that vicinity and they help us with babysitting! So basically, we need to be able to (relatively easily) get to NYC for work, Hamilton Square/Yardville NJ for family, and LBI for our shore house! Any advice on towns that offer this as well as a good school district for our little one is appreciated!!!
Thanks. I'm not sure that we want to move to the Hamilton area per se, but would like to live in a town that doesn't take one hour + to get there since our parents both live in that vicinity and they help us with babysitting! So basically, we need to be able to (relatively easily) get to NYC for work, Hamilton Square/Yardville NJ for family, and LBI for our shore house! Any advice on towns that offer this as well as a good school district for our little one is appreciated!!!
In that case your best bet is somewhere along the Route 1 corridor (West Windsor, Brunswicks, etc...) because anywhere else and you'll be too far from the train to NYC and too far from Hamilton. Way too crowded for me, but if you like Jersey City South Brunswick will seem like the Boondocks.
If you are planning on having good schools as a criteria as well, perhaps Princeton, Plainsboro, West Windsor might be possibilities. If you want closer to the Shore, Holmdel has an excellent school system. Not too many of these places are comparable to JC though! I am not sure I could acclimatize to almost semi-rural life in any of these places after the hurly burly of JC. New Brunswick though has some urban feel to it, as another option.
Do you know anything about North Brunswick or Hightstown in terms of nice areas to live with a little kids, while still making the trek to NYC? Thanks!
Do you know anything about North Brunswick or Hightstown in terms of nice areas to live with a little kids, while still making the trek to NYC? Thanks!
Both are great towns for kids but only North Brunswick has easy access to the Northeast Corridor Line. Hightstown is right on the Turnpike if you're willing to drive every day though. Keep in mind that Hightstown is a very small Borough-it is surrounded by the much larger East Windsor Township, which is also very nice, but they are separate towns.
Hightstown and East Windsor share a Middle School and the High School.
If schools are really important check out West Windsor/Plainsboro and Robbinsville, schools are better in those districts.
As mentioned WW has the train station.
Mercer/monmouth county is going to make commute to NYC very long. I grew up in Westfield, NJ. So so beautiful and yes now pricey, but union county is nice, cranford, summit, all walkable towns which I dearly miss. 90min to lbi usually. We had a house in barnegat light nj, also remorsing that loss, family decided to sell. Not sure how often you are commuting to yardville but route 78 zips west to pa in under an hour from union county. Summit would put you right at route 78 entrance.
good luck, oh yeah westfield schools are awesome, so is summit and cranford.Oh also look into berkely heights and basking ridge also near 78 and still under hour to city.
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The Trenton and Hamilton train stations aren't that bad of a commute from Groveville, but I don't think you'd want to go any further east/south than that.
