Good school districts in NJ?

[V]

Where are some good school districts in NJ, outside of Bergen County?

My wife and I are looking to see if there are other areas in NJ with reasonable priced houses and good schools.

[stoney2677]

Reasonably priced houses with good schools is doable. Reasonable property taxes, that's another story. Any county or counties in particular?

[enRo]

Mt Olive has a great school district. Bought a house here last year, not because of the school district (i have no kids) but the taxes are pretty cheap for the area, but then again, it depends on the house and property like any other town in jersey. i pay a little under 6k/yr in taxes with almost 1 acre and a 1300 sq ft log cabin.

[Featherburner]

The top 4 districts in the state are in central jersey. The taxes in three of them is the equivalent of a second mortgage payment. They are Princeton, West Windsor-Plainsboro and Montgomery.

[6spdg37s]

They may be "top rated" but have tons of problems you won't know about until your kids are in there...

[Featherburner]

They may be "top rated" but have tons of problems you won't know about until your kids are in there...No more than any other district and more than likely far less.

[V]

Well, our current neighborhood, you really need to spend over 400k to get into a decent house, and that's probably not even with a garage if you don't wanna be on a main road. Taxes around here are commonly 10k-14k.

We were considering out rt 80 towards the Hackettstown area. Due to family here in Bergen county moving much further would take some discussion. (Elderly parents and such who don't drive on highways couldn't come visit.) It seems once you get west of Oakland, prices begin to drop off considerably. If we go any real distance south, we start getting near to Newark.

We always do have the option of getting a starter home right around here which is like a 1950s era, 2bdrm/1bath fixer-upper on a tiny property and just suck it up. But so far everything that is sub-400k gets snatched up as soon as it hits the market, gets torn down and a new house is built and goes on the market for 700k+. Even with our realtor being a family member, we can't find out about the cheaper houses soon enough.


This is what 380K gets you here, (taxes $8,685)...
http://www.njmls.com/listings/index.cfm?action=dsp.info&mlsnum=1602398&site=N

[Featherburner]

West Windsor area average house price is in the 600k and taxes are 18,000 to 22,000 for the average home price. It's a great district, I worked there for 25 years and watched it grow into the blue ribbon district it is today. I could never afford the live there but many people move there just for the schools. They move out after their kids get out of school therefore there is always a large turnover in the housing market.

[6spdg37s]

No more than any other district and more than likely far less.

didnt mean those in particular I just meant as a general statement.

[stoney2677]

Princeton area is really nice and I too cannot afford it. Little south of where he seems to be looking though. Afraid I'm no help north of Essex county where I grew up and still do some work in. Don't spend much time above there though.

[stoney2677]

didnt mean those in particular I just meant as a general statement.

I agree. School rankings along with crime rate can be massaged, you can only hope they're massaged about the same amount.

[V]

well yea, then west Windsor isn't what we are looking for, lol.

My moms house here has new houses popping up all around it for over the $1M mark.

We would like to spend up to 350k, 3 bed 1-2bath, and at least a 1 car garage. With a respectable school district.

Our apartment lease is up in August, so we don't have too long. I'd hate to have to rent another year.

[Jersey Mike]

We're in a similar boat. I'm not sure where Diane's office is, but have you considered looking 30 minutes north, in NY state? Talk to Anthony.

[sweetbmxrider]

well yea, then west Windsor isn't what we are looking for, lol.

My moms house here has new houses popping up all around it for over the $1M mark.

We would like to spend up to 350k, 3 bed 1-2bath, and at least a 1 car garage. With a respectable school district.

Our apartment lease is up in August, so we don't have too long. I'd hate to have to rent another year.

You better move ****ing fast which is probably not the best thing when deciding your family's future. Not saying not possible, simply saying not the best way. But life, etc. Maybe you can swindle a month to month or half year agreement?

[V]

Well we have been looking for a little while already, wifes sister is our realtor, and mortgage is all figured out(VA home loan). We just have to find something now. We are no longer looking at short sales due to the timeline. Also we are not looking for our "forever" home, just a starter that's livable. On the side, I do construction and finish carpentry for my friends business so I have him and such to help do repairs/remodel as well as all our good friends in the other trades such as HVAC, electrical and plumbing. So a fixer-upper is always an option.

Also, if need be, we could stay with family for a short time or even rent elsewhere. I just despise our current complex and the management here so I refuse to stay here after august. Our current rent is more than a mortgage on a 300K house would be, including taxes.

[V]

We're in a similar boat. I'm not sure where Diane's office is, but have you considered looking 30 minutes north, in NY state? Talk to Anthony.


Her job is moving in March so she's applying other places hoping to not have to commute an extra 30 min a day, plus they will be extending their work day by and hour with no extra compensation(salary position).

I've looked to see whats up in NY, but the schools all seem to be the issue.

[sweetbmxrider]

I hear ya man. I love hopping on zillow and seeing what is listed in my price range then play the schools/town/commute game in my head.

[Paul Huryk]

There is always a balance between location, taxes, house price, and school system.

That said, my wife and I bought a house in Bridgewater as the combination of those 4 items was right on the money for us. We had looked at towns close by (like Montgomery) that have even better school systems, but the taxes, home price, and what you were getting amenity-wise (for the houses) was skewed in the wrong direction. We would have spent $5 a year more in taxes and $100k more to get the same house - not to mention another 15 minutes of commute for my wife.

This is what I would do if I were you:

1) look on the map and see what makes sense commuting wise and pick all the towns that are within that area

2) look up school systems and eliminate the towns that don't make the cut

3) look up the taxes and see how they compare - eliminate the towns with sky-high taxes

4) take that shortened list of towns and put your budget/requirements up against it and come up with a "real list". You don't wan to waste time and effort in your search that make no sense from the get-go.

This is the approach we took and luckily we found a close to ideal house that we picked up a for a really good price, but only needs cosmetic work like painting and landscaping to make our own.

[qwikz28]

My wife is a high school teacher and she always says Sparta is a great value in terms of property and taxes, especially considering their school ratings.

[KevinW]

Good advice Paul!

My Dads advice, Take a map, draw a circle around your work with the commute you are comfortable with. Then cut the circle in half from north to south. The eastern half is the location you need to search. That way when you drive to work, the sun is at your back, the same for the drive home.

Did that for my move in 1998, drew a 30 min circle. Ended up with 40 min out near Great Adventure in Monmouth County, love it out here, very rural, decent taxes, good schools, you just have to put up with the lack of services (like water and sewer) :)

[V]

Thank you all for the info and advice.

After some discussion, we determined our first priority is being close to family. So staying in north Bergen county is important. my mother is older and only drives local. I also manage/maintain her home. My wifes parents are older as well and close to the point of shouldn't be driving. My two sister-in-laws are here too, and one of them watches our 13 month old son. Saves us on daycare costs. Plus with family here we always have an emergency babysitter within 5 min. My wife also wants another baby so at that point having family to help is important.

We will still search all of nj though. Just avoid camden and Newark areas lol.

[qwikz28]

If that's the case, look into Mahwah. Taxes are quite reasonable for a nice Bergen County town and the schools are pretty good.

[elle]

I live in Hunterdon county and most school districts are very good.

[ar0ck]

Midland Park & Oakland are often overlooked in Bergen County. Sal just moved to Midland Park for the same reason.

[6spdg37s]

some of the good school districts have serious drug problems (mainly heroin) and NJ towns are very good at sweeping that info under the rug (versus other places where the problem is open)

[BigAls87Z28]

Monmouth County welcomes you