I am being courted for a position with a company that is in Princeton NJ.  I have no desire to live in NJ, and parts of Bucks County was recommended as a nice area with a reasonable commute.   Please tell me what you can about the area.  I am a competitive sporting clays shooter, a CCH holder, and an all around good guy.   You can see just by that why NJ will not be a good fit.   :-)

Thanks,

Bud

Hey Bud,

My cousin who is in the PhD program at Purdue had an internship this summer with NEC in Princeton.  I live in Upper Bucks and told me he was welcome to stay with me, but he was afraid of the commute and instead sublet a place on Princeton Campus.  When he would come visit, it took him about an hour to get to us in Upper Bucks (Quakertown area).  

I don't really like lower Bucks or mid-Bucks, so I would recommend as close to Upper Bucks as you are willing to travel.  There are towns very close to the border in Bucks such as Wrightstown, Jamison, etc.  Doylestown is ok.  If you're looking for some land, I'd recommend coming toward Upper Bucks.

I live in Bucks County (Lahaska) and love it.  Lahaska, Buckingham, New Hope is a great area just depends on how much you want to spend.

Thanks for the suggestions and commentary.  I'd like to keep the commute to Princeton down to 30-45 minutes at most.   Acreage is not a big deal, as I will have little time to maintain it.

I live in Central Bucks, just outside of Doylestown.  I love it.  We are right on the cusp of suburban development, farms, Amish country, Pocono mountains, etc. all pretty much within an hour in any direction.  Several state parks/lakes all over the place.  Also about 90 minutes from the world's biggest Cabela's...  I have school age children, as well, and schools are excellent.  (if applicable to you)  Very nice neighborhoods, safe, a great gun shop in town (Tanner's Sports) and several more within short drives and so on.    This is the kind of area where you spend a "little" on a place or a whole heck of a lot, if you want to.

This area is on the longer side of your commute, probably 45 minutes to an hour depending on exactly where in Princeton.  (you will be more subject to traffic issues depending on where)  I work in Hopewell, NJ (a little bit closer than Princeton) and the drive is very easy, almost all back farm roads.  The only real traffic is when I get to NJ, and its usually light because I don't have to hit I-95.

If you find Doylestown on, say, Google maps and draw a line East/South East to the bridge over the Delaware in Washington Crossing, pretty much anywhere on or North of that line is good to go.  Personally, I would stay out of Lower Bucks County if you can.  There are some dicey areas further South and East, and its more urban/densely populated in general.  However, there are a couple nice places there like Yardley or Lower Makefield Township.  (but still less "open space" down there)

Hope this helps!

Speaking of Washington Crossing, it looks like that area along the Delaware River is prone to flooding.   Too bad, as there seems to be some nice places there, and it would make the commute to Princeton a relative breeze.

And FMJunkie (from my NJ HFT initial inquiry), the office is in the Carnegie Center office complex in Princeton.  Very pretty area, but I have no idea what to expect as far as traffic to/from Bucks County.

My Mother-in-law lives in Newtown and commutes to Princeton everyday for work. She's VERY picky about things and she's quite alright with the commute. Newtown is very close to major highways and makes it a convenient place to live. As far as PA goes, it's quite gun friendly (for now) and there's a good club that's close to the area. I live in an area just south of there and do quite a bit of work in the area.

Doylestown will be little far of a drive to Princeton. Newtown, Holland, or Yardley are all about a 30-45 minute drive. Depending on time of day.

Not a bad drive and I've been doing it for a long time.

Langhorne Rod and Gun Club is a great club and there are a few indoor ranges that are decent.

New Hope / Washington's Crossing areas are 30 minutes to Princeton.

That will make it easier on you than driving into Princeton.  From Bucks County, you basically go 95 into NJ, get off at Route 1 North and Carnegie Center is a few miles up on your right.  If you cross the river on 95, that is a point of congestion.  If you cross at Washington Crossing and then get on 95 in NJ at Scotch Rd, for example, its much less annoying...  

And while I wouldn't live directly on the river, the flood plain doesn't extend that far inland.  (like, a hundred feet or so?)  "In town" would be perfectly fine.  Also, the areas further inland like Upper Makefield are really nice.  

But, yeah, that is a perfectly reasonable commute from Central or Lower Bucks and I know a LOT of people who do it.

If I could afford it, this is where I would go.  I had to settle for Nockamixon Township for the time being.

Lived in Buckingham Twp for 19 years; member of Bucks  County Fish and Game Club in Doylestown; Tanners Sport Center in Jamison and CC permit in Bucks Co is painless.....

PM sent.

Is the job downtown Princeton or the RT1 corridor of East/West Windsor, Franklin TWP, S. Brunswick area?  They throw the name Princeton around so location would change some of my suggestions if the job is on RT1

Off of Rt 1 right now (Carnegie Center), but they were talking about building out a new location when I interviewed.   I don't know the new spot.

This is my  backyard. Rt 1 N. can be a parking lot at times at Carnegie. 206 or Princeton pike might be faster although not as direct. Can't tell  you how Scudders Falls bridge is eastbound. Westboud rush hour(PM) it gets backed up.  I would check traffic reports and decide which route on the way. If you could start and leave work early or late it would make your commute much nicer.

Interviews are over, and I should know within a week or so if an offer is forthcoming...

Best of luck

I lived in newtown for a number of years, it's a nice place to live, bucks county in general is pricey, definitely upper middle class. There are a number of gun ranges in the area, if you're a clays shooter, you'll like Langhorne rod and gun club.  Rolling hills, were once old farms now turned into subdivisions. Schools are good, you're 45 minutes outside of philly, 1.5 hours from New York about the same from the poconos and skiing.  The Delaware is a short distance away.  they have a nice park( tyler state). It's a nice place to live / raise a family.

I live in montgomery county now, in horsham. those two are good counties to live in.

Update.

The company is flying my wife and me up to meet with some senior execs and show us around.   It will be the weekend of December 5-7.


The weather is usually nice that time of year, right?  

Well, it was 36 when I got in my car this morning.  I'm sure it will warm up by then.

Well, that beats the hell out of the 16 degrees here in Kansas City this morning.  

I livein Bensalem. Seems pretty quiet here. The school here has the best reviews in the area from what im told.