r2i forum

Hi,

I'm considering a move from bay area in CA to Northen/central NJ area (yes, Iwould miss CA weather, but I've sold myself the idea anyways!!) I've a optionto move to either Morris county/hanover area or Princeton area. Does anyonehave tips regarding any good elemetary schools in above areas? I would also beinterested in knowing if there's a big performance gap between princeton andMorris county schools? Thanks a lot.

I was checking over the web for NJschools reports, but couldn't get a clear picture on rakings. CA's API scoresystem, for better or worse, quantifies the schoolperformance much better (and school reports here are very elaborate on thedemographics and socio-economics). I found the Nj school report scores all overthe place (didn't seem like there's one integrated score out of 1000, likeAPI). Let me know if there's a good site which makes more sense of thesenumbers.

Thanks,

Inspector

Here is a link
http://njmonthly.com/articles/towns_and_schools/highschoolrankings/top-high-schools-2010.html
If you want to see large indian population in school, then go to parsippany school system (in morris county). I believe they even teach gujrathi in school.

Montgomery school (near princeton) consistently comes out in the top 10 list of schools. Also the nearby west windsor-plainsboro is also very good.

In central NJ another good school system is Bernards (Ridge high) - high house prices and property taxes
The adjacent Bridgewater school system is large and has a large indian population.

west-windsor plainsboro is excellent ( 1.5 hr from new york). South brunswick nearby is good. Bridgewater is not renowned for schools.

Thank you both for your responses.

Yes, parsippany is popping up in my other web searches too. And heard about Bridgewater's affordability, but now will kep in mind this comment about schools too.

Do you think real estate prices are really all that much different between princeton/plainsboro and parsippany/montvlle/east hanover area? And would 50 miles south make priceton area any warmer in winters? Thanks again.

best school districts: basking ridge (Bernards), west windsor-plainsboro, north edison, south brunswick. Price of homes are also in the same order. North Edison and south brunswick schools may be on the same footing.


basking ridge: a normal single family home ( 4bed 3 bath basement) will be upwards of 900+.south brunswick homes are in the range of 550+ for a SFH. 400+ for a good townhome. plainsboro is a little more expensive than south brunswick, but cheaper than basking ridge.

Heard that schools are decent in bridgewater. It is well connected to other parts of Jersey but not NYC. parks, activities are excellent. but don't have much idea other wise.

weather is pretty much the same across the state. a few degrees here and there does not make much of a difference. but a house with good window system and insulation does :)

between princeton (south NJ) and morristown area picking a place depends a lot on where you will be working. if you stay in the princeton area and need to commute to north NJ, it will be hell as route 206 is single lane and has lots of signals and gets clogged like crazy during rush hour traffic. 287 is is fine north of exit 22. After 22 it gets clogged up bad (around 78 intersection). For work area in north NJ, the best bet will be Basking Ridge (be prepared to pay CA prices for homes though). Property taxes are uniformly (and sickeningly) very high throughout NJ. your assessment goes up -> property taxes go up. Assessment goes down-> property taxes go up regardless since the tax rate goes up by larger amount.

Having lived in NJ for number of years already, I will vouch for central NJ and also south brunswick area. Central NJ is good for connectivity to NY and also to south jersey. One person in family can work in north and the other one in south also. Good groceery shops, restaurants, malls, temples are plenty. specially someone coming from CA. schools are not bad either. Kids find very easy to make friends.