Try Hoboken and reverse comute on the train. It will be about an hour train ride. You can't get much trendier than Hoboken in NJ.

Thu Jul 3 2008, 12:16

Hi Kimberly,
The State of New Jersey is offering grants for first time home buyers and you might meet the criteria. If qualified, you can get up to 4% of the mortgage free. The only stipulation is you must qualify and live in the home for 7 years. After that time, the grant if forgiven. It is a great incentive for you with the State of NJ footing a portion of the mortgage. Think about it.

Tue Jun 17 2008, 18:43

Hi Kimberly,
If you are willing to commute 30-40 miles, Pennington might be the answer. It is close enough for an easy commute to Princeton but also minutes to New Hope, Lambertville, and 45 minutes to Philadelphia. Contact me for the your goals and needs.

Tue Jun 17 2008, 18:38

I live in the area, there isn't alot that is fun and trendy. South Brunswick is in the middle between downtown Princeton and New Brunswick. RedBank, NJ which is kind of far is fun and trendy.

Wed May 28 2008, 10:50

Fun and hip...beside Princeton itself, there is no fun and hip place around, and Princeton is not even half as hip/fun as Chicago. Many rich people in Princeton, mostly preppy and Talbot's kind of richy rich ladies. Stores in Princeton are closed quite early. Some people may consider New Brunswick fun, but it's not safe...I wouldn't live there as a single female. If you crave bigger city life, Philadelphia will be a bit far and the commute is not fun, but I know people who commute from Philly. Basically areas surrounding Princeton are affluent suburbs and in my eyes, a bunch of yawns (although traffic and obnaxious SUV drivers everywhere). Jersey is no San Francisco/NYC...(but not as boring as Wisconsin).

For rental I recommend you look into craigslist.org (choose Central New Jersey), and the Princeton Packet (newspaper) http://www.packetonline.com. It really depends on how much you want to spend.

For apartment management companies, definitely look up http://www.apartmentratings.com

By the way Lambertville and New Hope, PA is fun. They are 2 neighboring towns, one in NJ and one in PA, separated by a river. It's a thriving artist community with lots of gallery and many people love to go there for weekends. Many people consider it more fun than Princeton, but still it's no city. Rent is a lower than the Princeton area too. I have friend living there and she used to commute to Princeton and now she commutes to NYC.

Well it's really tough to say...if I were you I probably would stay in places like Residence Inn for the first month (they have free breakfast and dinner), drive around to see for yourself before signing a year-long list. Good luck!!

Wed May 21 2008, 07:22

Hi Kimberly,

The 1st step would be to get a credit report ( required) & know what you're comfortable with as a maximum rental payment.
Unless you have no maximum, that is a better way of starting your search.
The surrounding areas of West Windsor, Plainsboro, Lawrenceville South Brunswick, Montgomery ....some communities in each of these areas are close enough to have a Princeton mailiing address.....might potentially all suitable for your requirements.
The price may become the deciding factor as rentals have been going up over the last 2-3 years in our area.
If you were not quite ready to contact an agent ---who by the way is paid via the transaction, but offers you the valuable benefits of local area knowledge of communities & avg rental prices ----you could start your search on a local website such as mine (featured listings or Search For Homes feature- to review all currently listed rental properties in & around princeton)

Good luck with the move & your job. This is a wonderful area to be moving to !!

Thu May 15 2008, 05:29

Kimberly,
Excuse me for being brief in my earlier response, Princeton proper is about 20-30% higher than immediate adjoining areas. There is a borough and Township. Each have their own form of government and share a regional school district. Princeton has the dinky (a 2 car train that runs from the University to the Princeton Junction station on the north east corridor line) Princeton is midway between NY and Philly. Most of the newer developements are outside of Princeton due to the tremendous history of Princeton dating back pre revolutionary. Canal Pointe and Collonade Pointe are nice and for condos very good bargains. These also have Princeton address but are actually located in West Windsor. The Princeton zip code can be confusing as it covers multiple townships and even counties. Email me if you would like an indepth area tour. Princeton is not terribly far from New Hope Pa and Lambertville NJ both of which are nice areas. Trenton the state capital is about 20 minutes away and very inexpensive (for many reasons)
AS to apartment complexes there are also many just north of Princeton in Plainsboro but many somewhat run down by comparison to those I mentioned earlier.

Wed May 14 2008, 13:44

Montgomery Woods is a terrific area with Princeton address. Many professionals and convenient to walking and biking trails. Many more to choose from but this is one of best values.

Wed May 14 2008, 13:05