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  • Where can one LIVE (NJT-NYP commuting options)

  • Discussion related to New Jersey Transit rail and light rail operations.
Discussion related to New Jersey Transit rail and light rail operations.

Moderators: lensovet, Kaback9, nick11a

 #9344  by BlockLine_4111
 
I thought this guy wanted something close to NYP (timewise), that had good schools and was affordable too.

I heard New City, NY is nice but I haven't been there in 2 decades. Last time I went there I went to a pizzeria somewhere in the heart of town. That park by the lake (name ???) is very nice. Piermont and Nyack are nice too. I imagine it is expensive there overlooking the mighty Hudson river. I like that new mall up there too.

I personally do not care for Highland Park. Some areas of it are nice and general surroundings are not (may remind you of Los Angeles a bit with the variation/diversity). I am not sure if Springfield still has quality. West Windsor is very, very nice but far down the line.

 #9353  by JoeG
 
I'd say that New City and Nanuet are more than an hour from Penn Station. Right now the Pascack Valley line is slow and has limited service. Suffern is the only place in Rockland County with decent express train service to NYC. It also has relatively frequent service in non-rush-hours. The Hudson River towns in Rockland don't lend themselves to rail commuting, except if you drive or take a bus across the Tappan Zee bridge to Tarrytown and take the MTA Hudson Line to Grand Central. For the TZ bridge to work you have to leave for work very early.

 #9528  by drewh
 
You would definitely want to be on the NEC, NJCL (before Long Branch), or M&E/Montclair electric lines. All offer direct frequent service (though some lines much better than others in terms of speed and frequency).

Metuchen is a nice smaller town right on the NEC with very good schools. Metuchen station is no more than a 20 min walk from almost all of the town. Max 45 mins to NYP sometimes 10-15 mins less with express trains.

There are a lot of towns within a short drive of MetroPark as well. Very good parking there with 2 large 5-7 story parking decks. Monthly parking is $56. GSP right there too for easy access.

 #12429  by F23A4
 
IMO, you should consider southern Hunterdon county (i.e.: Ringoes or Flemington). There are plenty of nice homes around $600k (new homes are required to have at least 1 acre), the schools there incredible, crime is very low, you'd be close to quaint areas like New Hope, Pa or Lambertville AND you'd be within range of both Raritan (RVL), Trenton (NEC) and quite possibly West Trenton (RVL).

$.02

 #12524  by TAMR213
 
The only places that surround HP that are not very desirable are parts of New Brunswick, belive it or not, much of New Brunswick isn't half bad anymore (besides the schools and such), and both Piscataway and Edison are nice. I always thought Highland Park was nice though, because you could walk to everything, in close proximity to entertainment in New Brunswick, as well as only about a mile and a half from 2 train stations. And Metuchen? Pishaw. (Must be my HPHS spirit kicking in, but I have always despised Metuchen for as long as I can remember).
 #12886  by AKelley728
 
Ted_Marx wrote:Coming from a smaller city and reading the train schedules and hearing about the NJT station parking situation, I'm discouraged about possibly working in Midtown NYC :(

Suppose I want to live w/i 45 - 60 min of Penn Station via NJT and don't want to spend more than 600 K for a 4 bdrm/2 bath house -- safe neighborhood, good schools. Suppose also that I want to be able to park at the train station?

Am I dreaming or does such an arrangement actually exist?
Ted: You're not dreaming. My family and I went through the same exact decision process about a year and a half ago. We wanted good schools, good but decent priced housing, but we didn't want to pay through the nose for taxes, either. After looking at all of the train schedules, we decided on Mercer county (The NEC super expresses from Princeton Junction sold me.) Also four school districts in Mercer county are in the top ten in NJ. However, when we heard about the parking situation at PJ station (2-6 year wait for permits, no daily parking available after 7am) we were discouraged. Then we heard about the new Hamilton station. We started looking in western Mercer county (Lawrencville, Hamilton, Hopewell, Pennington) and decided on Hopewell.

It's a quick drive to Hamilton station, and you can find daily parking all day long (sometimes you have to hunt for it, but I've always found a spot). Also the wait for permits isn't as long, 12-16 months (I should have mine next quarter).

Another option is that some of the towns around here have shuttle service to Princeton Junction. NJ Transit also has a 'Wheels' bus (#976) that goes through West Windsor and Lawrenceville on it's way to PJ station.

If you have any questions on this area, feel free to send me an email.