The 4 Best Places To Live In New Jersey

With the down economy, it’s a great time to buy a house. Because it’s such a good time to make this investment, you always want to make sure that you are buying the best property for the lowest price you can. You want your investment to skyrocket in the next few years. It does seem daunting, but it can be done.

CNN and Money Magazine have put together a list of the top 100 places to live in the United States. New Jersey had four cities and towns in the list (the highest number in a single state was five). Going from the furthest down to the closest to the top, here are the four best places to live in New Jersey.

#83: Wayne

Wayne played an important role in the formation of our nation during the Revolutionary war as an observation point for the soldiers.  A thirty minute ride gets you from peaceful Wayne to bustling New York City. One of the loveliest spots in the fairly-small city is the Mountain Park Preserve, a great place to get out of the city and into nature to enjoy a walk in the park or a jog around the lake.  If you have trouble getting your kids on board with the idea, tell them that Wayne is the home of the Toys ’R’ Us headquarters!

#75: Hamilton

If you’re looking for some homes for sale in New Jersey, then give Hamilton a shot.  It’s small enough not to have its own downtown, but it’s close enough to bigger cities that you can still get a downtown feel without traveling too far.  If you want a real big city experience, you can hop on a train and in an hour be in either Manhattan or Philadelphia.  Additionally, Hamilton has several great parks and very reasonable home prices!

#26: Franklin

When you drive through New Jersey, you begin to wonder why it’s called “The Garden State”, but then you get to Franklin and you find out why.  Over 6,500 acres of farmland are spread out in Franklin Township.  If you want to be close to NYC but still sort of out in the country, look at some of the homes for sale in Franklin.

#16: Parsippany-Troy Hills

Well into the nation’s top 20 cities we find Parsippany/Troy Hills.  It’s about a forty minute drive from the Big Apple while still giving you a small-town feel. Don’t let that fool you, though.  Over thirty of the nation’s Fortune 500 companies have offices to keep you employed.  Even though there isn’t a huge population (it’s just over 50,000), the city still has community sporting events and celebrations!

So the next time you’re looking at homes for sale in NJ, think about one of these four places.  You don’t have to spend a lot of money to live close to the big cities, and it’s not all urban sprawl. If you take some time, get some help looking, and be diligent, you’ll find a great home at a great price in New Jersey.

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Mike is always giving real estate advice to those who want to locate to another state in the United States. He is a firm believer that New Jersey is one of the best states to live in today.