Link to thread? Just curious, haven’t been down that way much lately
OT: Top Places to Live in NJ...
- Thread starter RU848789
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No Princeton for me.....Belle Mead near the Hillsborough border! Only a very small section of Monty has the Princeton zip code. Most of town is Skillman or Belle Mead.
I'm busting his chops...mostly. I have lots of friends in Hillsb/Monty, Franklin...not so much.
Yeah, that confuses some folks, who think that Menlo Park Terrace is actually part of Metuchen because both share the 08840 zip code, but it's not. And to make it even more confusing, Menlo Park Terrace is actually an unincorporated part of Woodbridge Twp, not Edison Twp.
That list you linked of great places meant Menlo Park and not metuchen proper . Obviously 😂!Yeah, that confuses some folks, who think that Menlo Park Terrace is actually part of Metuchen because both share the 08840 zip code, but it's not. And to make it even more confusing, Menlo Park Terrace is actually an unincorporated part of Woodbridge Twp, not Edison Twp.
And here's another one of those "awards" that are at least a bit questionable, as Metuchen recently was one of three US towns to win the "Great American Main Street Award." Westfield (2004) and Montclair (2015) are the only other NJ towns to win this award. But the award is kind of questionable, because towns have to already be "accredited" with the Main Street America program (many aren't), although I guess it's better to get it than not - Metuchen's downtown area has certainly become more vibrant over the past 5+ years.
https://www.mycentraljersey.com/sto...can-main-street-of-the-year-2023/70005469007/
https://www.mycentraljersey.com/sto...can-main-street-of-the-year-2023/70005469007/
Montgomery is a nice town. Traffic sucks on 206, but that’s my only complaint about the area. Spent a few years living there and really liked it. Taxes were high, but they didn’t over develope the area for a reason. Had many friends that graduated from the schools and did very well in college and the working world.
You have impressive stats.
Member since 2015.
159 posts in almost 8 years.
29 of them in the last 5 days.
Did you just get out of prison or something?
Great post!
Unlike most CNJ towns, we were proactive and planned to mitigate the big development boom of the last few decades. If you go back far enough, Montgomery and my old hometown of East Brunswick looked exactly the same (in population and development). However, we made vastly different decisions:
1. They said yes to expanding Route 18 into a divided highway (which originally was a 2-lane road), we said no regarding 206.
2. They said yes to entering a regional sewer service system which dramatically lowered the cost of development, we said no.
3. They said yes to commercializing most primary roads, we said no.
4. They said no to an open space tax for land preservation, we said yes.
The result today:
East Brunswick = 22 sq miles = 50,000 pop
Montgomery = 32 sq miles = 24,000 pop
Decisions matter. Our original buildout # was a population of 48,000 if all land was developed as allowed by zoning ordinances. We redid the entire master plan and went to work preserving farmland and open space. During my time, we preserved over 1,200 acres of new open space, including the creation of Skillman Park in the heart of our town. About 38% of Monty is preserved/protected land that can't be developed. This may be the highest amount of any town in NJ. That's why we are the #1 town for families.
😁
Way too many CNJ towns are like East Brunswick. They didn't plan well and are suffering the consequences now.
Lived there for 27 years and that aspect made the quality of life progressively worse every year. Got out in March, now in Princeton. Should’ve made the move years ago.
It went downhill when they elected some tall goofball as mayor
A community is a reflection of the people they elect! LOL.
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The issue is zip code boundaries dictate mailing addresses, not necessarily municipal boundaries. In theory, the physical property/parcel should only be within a single municipality, whether that be a borough, township, or city, but it could be in whatever historical zip code (possibly municipal, but many times a place name) that overlaid that area.
Someone made a good point above about which municipality (or incorporated taxing entity) the property pays its taxes to, that's the official location based on tax maps. Mail can be a different story.
Growing up in Nutley was as good as it gets. Wouldn’t trade it for anywhere.
Belleville & Bloomfield a little scashad but Nutley hanging tough
Rt 18 in EB was looking pretty bad last time I went through there maybe 5,6 years ago. From the NJTP down to the mall, a lot of semi-abandoned strip malls that got "Amazoned". They're going to have to figure out how to restructure/redevelop that through fare if they haven't already
Both lists were good because they were dominated by really good Bergen County towns. I grew up in Union county but so many more great towns up here.
River Edge at 5 is a bit odd. There are probably 25 towns in Bergen more 'desirable' but it depends on what the factors to this list are.
Probably because they have shared schools with Oradell. Not many bad towns in Bergen County north of Rt 4.
Yeah, Rt 18 is in bad shape. The big problem is that EB over-zoned its commercial land in town, especially 18. There is too much retail space for the population to support. It was too much decades ago and now with Amazon and online shopping, it's way, way too much. The ratio of Retail Space/Population has changed but most NJ towns are stuck in the past. Put a Walmart at the old Rt 18 Flea Market site and most big stores at Mid State Mall fail. Redevelop the old Meyers toy store site and Loehmann's strip mall fails. The only solution is to redevelop WITHOUT retail and rezone. Finally, EB's current mayor is trying this with the redevelopment plan for the defunct Wiz strip mall. Hope it is successful!
We had a tremendous rivalry with Nutley during my 4 years of football at Montclair.
Lots of respect, a more physical tougher team was not on the schedule.
The Oval was a great venue!
My years they had a big back, I think kids name was Ira. Also my Jr year if I remember right they had a kid that killed someone week of our game - Altman?
I love when lists like these are light on Hunterdon County towns. Stay away, people!
You should see it now. They redid it a few years back and it looks very nice. We even have lights for the Friday night games. It looks really cool when you drive past. I got emotional as I watched my kid graduate because that’s where I sat as well.
Liked it better the way it was with the grass field, Nutley fans sat in wooden bleachers by the library behind the Nutley bench away team in concrete seats Franklin Ave. The dirt infield was part of the fb field. There were small concession stands at each corner of the field.
Now it’s turf field (already redone) fans sit on same side of the field (no fans behind Nutley bench, just the 1 concession stand)
Many people who live in Manchester Township and Berkeley Township have Toms River mailing addresses. And some people who live in Toms River Township do not have a Toms River mailing address.
Hunterdon and Monmouth don't get high rankings bc the schools aren't as good as you get in the "brain corridor" and nicer areas in North Jersey. And the commutes suck if you're in person.
I would say if it was "Where to work from home" both would make the list. Much like Asbury, New Brunswick and Morristown would follow Hoboken and JC in "where to be young."
I would say if it was "Where to work from home" both would make the list. Much like Asbury, New Brunswick and Morristown would follow Hoboken and JC in "where to be young."
No List can be taken seriously when towns from these counties don’t dominate
Sussex, Warren, Hunterdon
Sussex, Warren, Hunterdon
Depends on your criteria. Commuting into NYC, or Philly for that matter, and there's no way they should dominate. Single 25 year old? No way they should dominate.
It's probably all about commuting time, jobs in area, schools and healthcare, etc. Those areas would be on the lower end if so.
I think you have a crush on me. I know you are “loud and proud” but I don’t swing that way.
