Recently got a job at a company in Branchburg, NJ, near Somerville.
We’ll be moving pretty quickly so we don’t have much time to research the different areas as much as I’d like. So, what’s the straight dope on the various towns and areas?
Living in PA has been recommended by the folks at the company.
Lots of small towns and beautiful country in Carbon Co., Pa. Good prices on housing, decent property taxes (especially compared to Joisey). Also, lots of people moving in with the same idea.
My mother in law lives in Bridgewater, not far from Branchburg. It’s a nice area. Farmy, woodsy, but surrounded by the major highways. Fairly expensive. Many, many, PA commuters to NJ. NJ property taxes, especially in that area, are ridiculous.
One thing about the area now that I’m thinking about it: I always avoid the Somerville Circle. (Connects 22 and 206). Doubtless you will stumble upon it. It’s improved since they put in traffic lights but it’s still a messy circle. I hates it. Haaaates it!
A cute place to shop nearby is Liberty Village in Flemington (off Rt. 22). High end outlets.
Carson O’Genic,
I think we’ve actually looked at Lehighton (online), but it would probably be too much of a commute every day. What’s your impression of Easton-Allentown-I78 area?
I live in Flemington, just down the road from Liberty Village. It’s actually off Rt 12. Rt 22 is about a half hour away and yup, that Somerville Circle does suck.
We moved here last year and it’s a great place to live but yeah, those property taxes…ouch!
Before we moved here we thought about doing the PA thing but the commute to/from work as well as distance from family would have been too much for us.
I spent some time in Bernardsville, NJ, which doesn’t seem to be too far from the location you’re talking about. It’s right on I287, and looks like it might be 1/2 hour from Branchburg.
I liked it a lot, and it would be fine if you like slow-paced towns that are reasonably affluent. NJ Transit is in the town and will get you to New York, albeit slowly and painfully, if you change trains at, um, Summit? Something to do on your days off, perhaps?
We were able to manage basic needs without using a car - two decent grocery stores were within 10 minutes walk of the house we lived in. There’s eclectic shops as well as more practical ones, but you do have to drive to somewhere like Morristown or Watchung if you need WalMarts or other big box type places.
No idea about taxes/house prices, as we lived with close friends and paid nominal rent. I could probably find out if you were interested, as I’m still in touch with our friends and they still live there.
What kind of price ranges are you looking at here?
And do you prefer rural? Small town with developed downtown area? Suburbia?
Lehighton would definitely be too far.
The Allentown area has a lot of really nice places to live, but again, you’re looking at a pretty big commute.
There are some really pretty rural areas in Hunterdon county. Especially if you like sheep.
For now, $1000/month rent range. 2+ bedroom. Median-income-level living.
My concerns are more about the quality of the public school systems and the level of neighborhood crime than how far I’d have to drive to find a decent sized electronics store or whether I have a selection of restaurants nearby. Provided there’s internet access, we’re probably good.
We’ll probably move somewhere more permanent after we’ve been there for a while and looked around ourselves. In the meantime things like “X area is cheap, but that’s because of the industrial park that smells like burning socks” or “Y has really good schools.” help direct our efforts.
Good luck with the search and welcome to the Garden State.
Here is a good resource for the schools:
What you are looking for is in the Proficiency Percentages columns
You want low **Partial ** and a decent percentage in **Advanced **
You would also like to see School made AYP: **Yes **and not No.
Example High School: Local
SCHOOL: SOMERVILLE HIGH
COUNTY: SOMERSET
DISTRICT: SOMERVILLE BORO
As a comparison here is one of the top schools in NJ:
SCHOOL: HOLMDEL HIGH SCHOOL
COUNTY: MONMOUTH
DISTRICT: HOLMDEL TWP
It is worth keeping in mind that overall NJ as a state has about the best schools in the country so and average school system in NJ is probably better or significantly better than an average school in another state.
This PDF file will probably be a good check of where to stay away from if you have a choice. Districts Identified for Improvement.
We’ve got two kids. One still a baby and the other starting school in 2010. We need a good school system that’s going to work with us. Spawn I has very limited attention span and is quite fidgety. More so than normal kids his age.
I’m willing to get less living space for the money in exchange for better neighborhood, towns, etc. 1010011010 doesn’t really care about those things as much.
My mother has a good college friend that lived in Somerset County for 12 years. I know the Somerville Circle. That thing freaked me out when I first saw it and I was only 11.
I was thinking north and east of Lehighton ( have family there), but A-B-E has lots of nice spots too, though I can’t comment on property/tax issues.
Although it may appear the rural places lack access, it’s usually just hop,skip and jump to arteries.
Do think about winter driving though, if you aren’t used to that.
Lehighton is a nice town but there are only 2 decent restaurants, a walmart, and a radio shack. And lots of Christmas trees. Property taxes are fairly high, $ 3,500 per year for a modest property.
Palmerton Pa is a nice town, with a hospital, and convenient to Blue Mtn a ski place.
I live in Hunterdon County. Almost in PA. OK not currently, but my house is there. You can get a lot more for your money in Hunterdon County than in other parts of the state. Property taxes are low for New Jersey. It is the richest (by income) county in the US but you can find smaller affordable houses in just about every town. I love the rural lifestyle. But due to my job I can’t live in PA. You can get more for your money there. Property taxes are much lower. Housing costs are lower. Car insurance is lower. In fact New Jersey has the highest cost of living in the country. But you are looking at a shitty commute everyday. When I am home I have to commute through the Branchberg area everyday. Luckily for me I don’t have to do it during rush hour.
One thing you have going for you. Lots of Jersey Dopers to help you out.
I would kill a puppy to get property taxes that low.
Ummm… good luck on $1000/mo. for housing. Somerset County is one of the most expensive in the country and I would bet that about $1200-1500+/mo. is market value for a one-bedroom apt. although you might be able to rent something from a desperate homeowner because of the way the economy is.
I live in another county and commute to Bridgewater for work. It’s highways, highways and more highways with malls and strip malls. Definitely not a “walking area”. And no cultural opportunities that I know of. People go shopping as entertainment unless you are wealthy and fit in with the horse set and go riding. Frankly, I hate it and wouldn’t want to live there because of those reasons.
Somerset County may be expensive on average, but there are plenty of more affordable places in the area. Your statement about “market value” for a one-bedroom is much too high.
$1000 a month is definitely on low side, but you could probably get close, especially if you have realistic expectations and luck into a good deal.
You have a remarkably distorted view of the area. Are you sure you’re not ascribing Bedminster values to Bridgewater? Bridgewater isn’t home to the horsey set.
And haven’t you ever been to Somerville? (I mean downtown Somerville, not the Somerville circle area)
Somerville has a lovely and vibrant downtown. In fact, given ShadiRoxan’s comments, I was going to suggest looking into it. It may not be right for you, but it’s worth investigating.
Bridgewater, on the other hand, is the epitome of hellish suburban nowheresville.
This is true. A-B-E is much less “remote” than it might seem to be, especially to those of us from north/central Jersey. I’ve spent a good bit of time around there, and it seems that everything is pretty darn convenient. There is still the matter of the sheer number of miles between there and Branchburg, but it seems to me to be a very nice place to live.
An excellent point. Where are you coming from?
We currently live in Va Beach. We grew up in middle Tennessee (Clarksville and Nashville). We did spend one winter in upstate New York. We’re not the type that freak out if we see snowflakes, but we really don’t have much experience with driving in icy/snowy places.
Hello. I live in a suburb of Reading, PA, which is less than a two hour drive from Branchburg. I’ve ventured into Allentown many a time. I should point out that some of the nation’s most violent gangs can be found here. On the other hand, Billy Joel has a friggin’ single about Allentown, so that’s got to count for something.
A one-bedroom in the complex I am in Middlesex County (the adjacent cty to Somerset County) now goes for $1200/mo. I don’t pay that because I have been here for a long, long time. Again, it’s a one-bedroom. This poster is looking for something larger which would be more.
A friend at work who lives in Bound Brook (only a few miles away) rents the upstairs (3 bedrooms) of her house for $2000/mo. I’m giving a sampling of what I know for sure. Of course, there are probably other deals to be gotten. No denying that.
The horsey people come into the place I work in Bridgewater and a guy I work with who lives in B’water has enough farmland to have horses although he doesn’t at the moment. And then there is the pharmaceutical company within a mile or 2 of where I work that has horses and other animals. But, of course, they use them for other purposes… So, no, I wasn’t getting the area confused with Bedminster.
Yes, I’ve been to downtown Somerville but I wasn’t mentioning that. Is is one of the few interesting towns in the general area where I work. But then, of course, I don’t know everything. There might be some other towns in the area like that. Like I said, just trying to give one (not the ONLY) point of view for someone looking in the area.
The poster has the idea of moving temporarily and then finding something more permanent when he/she can decide on the area for him/herself.
I know other “for sure” places that are very nice and a lot cheaper, so yeah, there are deals to be gotten. I guess someone just has to look around. (I pay $1379 for a 2-bedroom in Westfield. Which is a really good deal for Westfield!)
And of course there are horses in Bridgewater…but it’s not the really horsey area, as I guess you know. I once helped with a chili cook-off in horsey-land (I forget which town exactly) and it was like those people were from a different planet or something. I guess what I was saying that Bridgewater is filled with ordinary upper middle class people, not the upper crust.