• Moving to Princeton
• Moving to Hoboken, NJ
• Moving to Morris County
• See also: Visiting New Jersey

Moving to Princeton

We are considering a move to New Jersey for professional reasons. Someplace between Princeton and Hanover. Does anyone have advice to areas to move? Maybe most comparable to Piedmont? What is it like? I am native midwest, but my husband is from the west. Is leaving this gorgeous area worth moving to NJ?

As for whether or not it's worth the move, it depends on what you're looking to gain from it. People who live on the East Coast have a different general personality, and things are much more fast-paced. I found living there (Philadelphia area mostly) to be more stressful than California has so far been, but people mind their own business a lot more too. Be an agressive driver or you'll never get where you're going. If the professional reason is compelling enough, the move will be worth it. New Jersey is actually very pretty and has quite a lot of outdoor opportunities, if you're into that.

Good luck! Sorry I can't be of assistance on the areas in the southern half of your search, but I'm really not very familiar with Princeton and environs. Jessica

We're considering moving to Princeton, NJ with our elementary- aged children. We'd appreciate input from people who are familiar with Princeton and the surrounding communities. Where do you go for art, theater, good restaurants, and shopping in the area? How are the elementary schools in Princeton? What are the private school options? Any likes or dislikes about living in the Princeton area? anon

The school systems in Princeton are fantastic, because the parents (who are mostly Princeton grads or professors) demand it. Of course, you also have Princeton University as an asset in town and you are only an hour from NY City and less than 45 minutes from Philadelphia. Former Jerseyite

Schools:

Princeton public schools are highly rated. If you end up not living in Princeton proper, some surrounding communities with excellent schools include: Montgomery, Hopewell (including Pennington) and South Brunswick. There are also outstanding private schools althought they don't all have elementary programs. There is Princeton Waldorf, which my friends love (their kids are little ones -- I don't recall what ages the school accepts) and a Montessori school. I've heard good things about Chapin school and about Stuart (all girls). But since the schools in the area are strong, the elementary private options may be limited. There are also a number of charter schools.

Arts: Princeton is home to McCarter Theater, a Tony winning venue. They have original theater, world music, dance, etc. You are also driving distance to New Brunswick, NJ, home of the State Theater and Crossroads Theater Co. And, of course, you are an hour by train (or by car) to NYC.

Food: Princeton's restaurants are surprisingly mediocre, overall. But there are a few jewels:

- Small World coffee (Witherspoon St.)- the best coffee i've ever had
- Sushi: There's an outstanding little place on Chambers Street (I can't remember the name but it starts with an 'A'. The owner is a former Nobu chef)
- Ferry House (Witherspoon St.) - New American (and BYOB)
- Mexican Village (Leigh St.) - inexpensive, casual and yummy
- Masala grill (Chambers St.) - good food with fresh ingredients

good places for provisions:
- Corkscrew wine store (Hulfish St.)
- Halo pub (hulfish) - good icecream
- Thomas Sweets (Nassau St.) - more good ice cream
- Whole Earth (Nassau St, past Harrison)- a wonderful health food store with a great deli in the back and excellent baked goods. all produce is organic so you never have to wonder, the people a re friendly and the prices are decent. there is a wild oats store nearby but i find the store dirty, the staff unknowledgeable and the produce of poor quality.
- Bon Appetit (Harrison St. shopping center_ - gourmet foods

There are also great places in Lambertville (a picturesque river town), New Brunswick and Trenton. Way too many to list but I would be happy to tell you in another e-mail or phone call.

shopping:

groceries: Whole Earth, Pennington Market, McCaffery's (harrison st. center). There's a Wegmans 5 miles outside of town, in this huge shopping center that also houses walmart, home depot and target. there is a whole foods opening up on rt. 1 as well. but for smaller venues with good quality, stick with the above.

clothing, household items -- the town of princeton has mediuem and high end stores, Lambertville is an antiques mecca, NYC is always an option.

contact me, i can give you more info about drs., dentists, hair salons, gyms/health clubs, yoga, pilates, etc. shari

Moving to Hoboken, NJ

Hi, We're moving soon to New York City suburb (Hoboken, NJ) and we have 16 mo old son. I would like to jump start my effort to find resources for my son. I used the internet to search, I'm not that impressed with what I found; for example, the closest Gymboree is 10 mi away (the one in NYC is only 4 mi away, but I have to cross the river, not a convenient option).

OK here are my questions: 1. Is there a similar internet-based parents network like this one (What I really mean here is the exact web site address to register)

2. What is the equivalent term for ''Mother's Club'' in East Coast? And if it's also a common thing that mothers do. When I apartment-hunting, none of the agents seemed to understand me. The term ''playgroup'' was also not well- understood. Preschool in West Coast, Nursery School in East Coast is the example of different terminology.

3. I live in Martinez now and I registered my son to all these wonderful resources (affordable and quite good parenting classes, play-and-learn classes, etc) in the adult community centers or recreational centers. I have search in the internet, but I can not find something comparable. I either did not put the correct search term or it simply does not exist (which I seriously doubt).

If any of you have lived in the NJ suburb of NYC (or have friends/relatives who do) and can give me a head start on this matter, I can not thank you more!

4. Lastly, any other advice for me that you think necessary to make an easier adjustment, would me more than welcome. Maybe any Indonesian community out there? Thank you all in advance. Laura

I lived in Hoboken for almost 5 years about 10 years ago. So Imay not be completely up to date, but it hasn't been that long since I visited (2 years) and I don't imagine it's changed much. I loved living there b/c it was so close to the city and yet not the city. That said, you should know that Hoboken is not a suburb. Far from it, and my feeling is that it gets more gentrified every passing day. Hoboken, when I lived there, was not a fashionable place to live but for $1100 (ten years ago) I lived in a lovely 1 br apt (a brownstone remodeled) when $1100 in NYC got you a closet. It is now much more desirable to live there for the same reason, and wonderful shops, delis, clubs and restaurants abound. Did I mention that it's not a suburb? That is not to say that children don't live there, they do of course, but this is not what I'd call a family friendly town....I knew one couple who had a baby and they moved within a year of his birth. Mostly b/c of the space. The buildings are all right next to each other...which is a benefit if you are the neighborly type. The other great thing about Hoboken is that it is like Albany, about 1 square mile in size (though much larger population) and so you can walk anywhere! It was wonderful. And the city is truly only 10-15 minutes away. Just hop on the PATH train (the train systems are awesome out there) or the Red Apple bus! You don't need a car if you live in Hoboken. I think you'd be surprised how really convenient the city is to Hoboken. Try to remember that on the East coast, time isn't at all treated the same way as it is here. Everyone crosses a river (be it the Hudson or the East) to get to NYC.

Living there is truly the antithesis of living here, but it can be wonderful. I miss it like crazy! But I have to say, out of all the towns in NJ, Hoboken is not where I'd choose to raise a child, and it doesn't surprise me that the terms you use, like ''mom's group'' isn't one they are familiar with. Hoboken is mostly young career people and older italian families. Are you set on this city? There are lots of others that are close to the city that have more of a suburban feel and probably have what you are looking for. Email me if you have any other questions or concerns. Otherwise, good luck. am

http://www.hobokenfamily.com/index.html
http://www.hobokenfamily.com/joinus.html
http://www.hobokennj.org/html/hservices/rec1.html

Moving to Morris County

There's a possibility that due to a job transfer my family and I may be moving to New Jersey. Does anyone know about living in Morris County? I believe some of the cities include Morristown, Morris Planes, Maddison. Any suggestions on how to find good pediatricians? Playgroups? Activities? Thanks

There are a number of publications that have a lot of valuable information about the area: NJ Monthly does annual rankings of towns & schools: http://www.njmonthly.com/index.html Parent Guide lists a lot of happenings, as well as schools/camps/activities/associations: http://www.parentguidenews.com/

The main thing I would warn anyone thinking of moving to this area would be, to not judge commute by the miles. Get some advice from those that live & work around here - to know the commute you are getting into. But I guess that is no different than from your area.

Good luck to them! R.K.