Robbinsville, NJ - Help with the area (Trenton, Princeton: transplants, crime)
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Hello,
My husband and I ( and young child) currently reside in Manhattan and are looking to move to NYC because it it time! We really would like new construction and decent land and proximity to central jersey (family in suburban Philadelphia) and proximity to NJ Transit for commuting.
We have seen a number of listings in Robbinsville, NJ and it seems you can get a lot of house/land for the money. There does not seem to be that much available information on Robbinsville. What is the make-up? Is it mostly familes, young or old, NYC transplants? How are the schools? We have been down there twice and seems like there are not a ton of restaurants in the area but we may be missing them. We like the central location, proximity to NY, Philadelpia, the shore, Princeton. I just feel like there must be some catch with this town! We have looked in West Windsor, Plainsboro but to be honest did not like that area for many reasons, the homes, land you get and didn't really seem like we would be that happy there. We have thought about the pros and cons of buying something smaller and older in Princeton town since it is such an established town but its so tempting when you see some of the new construction in Robbinsville.
Any help at all would be so greatly appreciated!!
I grew up in Plainsboro, went to school in West Windsor, and now live in Robbinsville. I'm 36 and have lived here for the past 12 years (I have family in the city BTW). Robbinsville is an excellent place to live with many pluses. It's central to everything. About an hour to the city, 45 minutes to Philly, and 15 minutes to Princeton. The schools are excellent and there's no crime to speak of. The area is has a mix of all ages but it's mostly young families which is the case for a lot of towns in the area. The "town center" development is just in its infancy and the plan is to design an are where people can live, shop and eat while walking around instead of having to drive everywhere.
In terms of food there are loads of choices from national chains to locally owned establishments. If there was one negative to living here I'd say it's the property taxes. Check out [url=http://www.robbinsvilleweb.com]RobbinsvilleWeb[/url] to see what's going on in the town. Feel free to ask me any questions you have about the town.
Hello,
My husband and I ( and young child) currently reside in Manhattan and are looking to move to NYC because it it time! We really would like new construction and decent land and proximity to central jersey (family in suburban Philadelphia) and proximity to NJ Transit for commuting.
We have seen a number of listings in Robbinsville, NJ and it seems you can get a lot of house/land for the money. There does not seem to be that much available information on Robbinsville. What is the make-up? Is it mostly familes, young or old, NYC transplants? How are the schools? We have been down there twice and seems like there are not a ton of restaurants in the area but we may be missing them. We like the central location, proximity to NY, Philadelpia, the shore, Princeton. I just feel like there must be some catch with this town! We have looked in West Windsor, Plainsboro but to be honest did not like that area for many reasons, the homes, land you get and didn't really seem like we would be that happy there. We have thought about the pros and cons of buying something smaller and older in Princeton town since it is such an established town but its so tempting when you see some of the new construction in Robbinsville.
Any help at all would be so greatly appreciated!!
Robbinsville is a lovely town. It's a "new" town, meaning a lot of building has gone on in the past ten years. It has a brand new high school which is really nice. There is no catch; it's a bit cheaper due to location. The schools are very good, and as I mentioned, the HS is a huge draw. It's not WWP schools, but so what. They are good schools. There is a space crunch at the elementary level right now, so they might need to build a school soon for that if they haven't started already. Everyone I've ever met from there is super nice, basically ALL newcomers, mostly young people and families, so you will fit right in! There is tons of stuff to do, places to go, restaurants, either in town or nearby in Hamilton, Princeton, etc. A super easy commute across 195 to the shore too, which is great. I loved the Town Center part but there are other nice neighborhoods too if you want more land.
If you need a realtor, try Desiree Daniels and her team at Re-Max Tri-County. I have bought and sold quite a few homes and she was the best realtor ever. And I had some real duds. She knows Robbinsville inside and out too.
Thanks so much for the quick responses, that information and website are very helpful. A couple of follow-up questions. We saw the Town Center both times that we were down there and were surprised that we didn't see anyone at all outside in these communities and it was a nice day. Usually when you see people out you can get an idea of the people who live there and it seemed a bit like a ghost town. Are the majority of places occupied in the Town Center area, has there been a lot of people needing to move out due to the economy? We are not looking in that area, we are looking primarily in the new homes being built on a lot of land. I do seem to come across this overcrowding of the elementary school a lot, and I assume taxes will go hand in hand with that which I guess I need to research more as I look to have a property with a nice amount of land. Is it true there are currently trailer classrooms to accommodate children? Is there a community pool/tennis courts or do people go to neighboring towns? Do a large portion of the residents commute to Manhattan or work locally?
Thanks so much for all the help!
My wife & I moved to Robbinsville from NYC nearly 4 years ago. We do like it quite a bit, I don't think there's really any "catch", other than the high taxes someone else mentioned. They aren't THAT bad, but they are high and I think the concern is they will only go higher. But compared to other towns in Mercer County, this would be my first choice in terms of what you get for the money and all other factors. We like that it still really has a rural feel to it but there is plenty to do. There aren't a ton of restaurants, unless you are ok with chains (we've learned to love them!), but in Washington Town Center there are a few notable places that will remind you of New York (Delorenzo's Pizza, primarily). Shopping is really good, Hamilton Marketplace is just 10 minutes away and has every store you will ever need. And they are just opening more retail a few minutes down the road from that.
Schools are a "problem" at this point, specifically crowding. Yes, they do use trailers at the elementary school. That concerns us but they are looking to deal with it and they've already started talking about the need to build more schools. The Middle School is only 10 years old (I think, might be 20) and the high school is only 5 years old. So that should tell you how much this town has grown in a short period of time. These are new schools and they already need to build more.
Washington Town Center is consistently a ghost town, it is very odd. We have never understood why. I'm almost sure it has nothing to do with the economy. You just don't see people walking around there, which is a bummer as that was the whole idea behind it. I would avoid it. Cubberly Meadows may be one of the developments you are considering based on what you described. There was an article in the Trenton Times recently where the developer basically admitted that it has been a huge challenge to sell the units and it's going much slower than planned. Take that as you will--you may be able to get a deal but you may also find that it doesn't turn out as they expected. There are other developments to consider as well.
I'm not sure if most people commute to NYC, but I can tell you that it isn't a bad commute. Hamilton Train station is the nearest station and parking isn't a problem unlike other stations in the area. Realistically, you're looking at a 90 minute commute door to door, and that depends on where in NYC you are going to ultimately need to go.
Good luck and feel free to post any follow up questions here.
My wife & I moved to Robbinsville from NYC nearly 4 years ago. We do like it quite a bit, I don't think there's really any "catch", other than the high taxes someone else mentioned. They aren't THAT bad, but they are high and I think the concern is they will only go higher. But compared to other towns in Mercer County, this would be my first choice in terms of what you get for the money and all other factors. We like that it still really has a rural feel to it but there is plenty to do. There aren't a ton of restaurants, unless you are ok with chains (we've learned to love them!), but in Washington Town Center there are a few notable places that will remind you of New York (Delorenzo's Pizza, primarily). Shopping is really good, Hamilton Marketplace is just 10 minutes away and has every store you will ever need. And they are just opening more retail a few minutes down the road from that.
Schools are a "problem" at this point, specifically crowding. Yes, they do use trailers at the elementary school. That concerns us but they are looking to deal with it and they've already started talking about the need to build more schools. The Middle School is only 10 years old (I think, might be 20) and the high school is only 5 years old. So that should tell you how much this town has grown in a short period of time. These are new schools and they already need to build more.
Washington Town Center is consistently a ghost town, it is very odd. We have never understood why. I'm almost sure it has nothing to do with the economy. You just don't see people walking around there, which is a bummer as that was the whole idea behind it. I would avoid it. Cubberly Meadows may be one of the developments you are considering based on what you described. There was an article in the Trenton Times recently where the developer basically admitted that it has been a huge challenge to sell the units and it's going much slower than planned. Take that as you will--you may be able to get a deal but you may also find that it doesn't turn out as they expected. There are other developments to consider as well.
I'm not sure if most people commute to NYC, but I can tell you that it isn't a bad commute. Hamilton Train station is the nearest station and parking isn't a problem unlike other stations in the area. Realistically, you're looking at a 90 minute commute door to door, and that depends on where in NYC you are going to ultimately need to go.
Good luck and feel free to post any follow up questions here.
This post is right on. I have a friend in Robbinsville, you get good house for the money with taxes a bit high but not outrageous , overcrowding in the schools, new HS, good location but not much to do in the immediate area. It is essentially your typical sprawling NJ town. There has been a lot of building of strip malls on Rt 130 near Robbinsville.
Last edited by MoorestownResident; 06-29-2009 at 07:04 AM..
They are mostly occupied. I know people who live in TC who really like it, but it's not necessarily for the shops, but rather for their neighbors, lots of kids around, etc. If you are looking for more land and a decent-sized house, another option is the Saran Woods neighborhood which is lovely.
I don't think the taxes are that bad. Maybe they are worse than they were in the past, but they are not any worse than most other towns in NJ. They are having space crunch issues in the schools, but that wouldn't deter me.
Hello,
My husband and I ( and young child) currently reside in Manhattan and are looking to move to NYC because it it time! We really would like new construction and decent land and proximity to central jersey (family in suburban Philadelphia) and proximity to NJ Transit for commuting.
We have seen a number of listings in Robbinsville, NJ and it seems you can get a lot of house/land for the money. There does not seem to be that much available information on Robbinsville. What is the make-up? Is it mostly familes, young or old, NYC transplants? How are the schools? We have been down there twice and seems like there are not a ton of restaurants in the area but we may be missing them. We like the central location, proximity to NY, Philadelpia, the shore, Princeton. I just feel like there must be some catch with this town! We have looked in West Windsor, Plainsboro but to be honest did not like that area for many reasons, the homes, land you get and didn't really seem like we would be that happy there. We have thought about the pros and cons of buying something smaller and older in Princeton town since it is such an established town but its so tempting when you see some of the new construction in Robbinsville.
Any help at all would be so greatly appreciated!!
Hello,
We have looked in Princeton junction as well. My co workker lives in Princeton Junction and has advised me they have the best school system. What you pay for is the public school system. But they are not building newer homes. Robbinsville is a smaller town. Not the same school system.
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