Did you know that Somerset and Hunterdon Counties dominated New Jersey Monthly’s list of “Best Places to Live” in 2011? Of course, we already know how great our area is, but this confirms that it’s not a secret!
Each year, New Jersey Monthly ranks a list of over 500 municipalities in New Jersey. It bases the rankings on five categories that each represents an aspect of quality of life; home values, property taxes, crime rate, school performance, and lifestyle. Somerset County’s Peapack-Gladstone Borough, Bernards Township and Bernardsville Borough all achieved spots in the coveted top 10, which is more than any other county this year. Also noteworthy is that combined, Somerset and Hunterdon Counties occupy almost one-third of the top thirty ranked municipalities with nine.
Bridgewater ranked an impressive twenty-sixth out of the 513 towns on New Jersey Monthly’s list. Other Somerset/Hunterdon towns in the top thirty were Branchburg, Readington, Bedminster, Tewksbury and Kingwood Township.
One category in which New Jersey Monthly based its rankings is ‘lifestyle’, which considers the number of acute-care hospitals, live performing-arts theaters, average commute time and full-service restaurants within ten miles of the municipality’s main zip code.
While I agree that all these factors are substantial, I value average commute time the most. Because the commute to work each day plays such a huge part of one’s quality of life, this factor is one of the reasons I am such a big fan of Bridgewater and its nearby municipalities. From our area, you can easily access north or south Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York. In today’s challenging job market, that flexibility is more important than ever. The length of commute not only dictates how much time you have to enjoy with family and friends, but it also affects how much time you have to enjoy everything else our area offers.
Where can we start? First, our parks are outstanding. We have beautiful parks for hiking, jogging, and fishing. For animal lovers, we have fantastic dog parks. For the kids, we have plenty of playgrounds. In the area of recreation and entertainment, we have exciting sports facilities such as the Bridgewater Sports Arena and Branchburg Sports Complex. We also have bowling, indoor and outdoor swimming and more.
If you’re interested in catching a professional baseball game, the Somerset Patriots call Bridgewater home.
If you love dining out, we have plentiful and diverse restaurants.
We have quality shopping at the Bridgewater Commons Mall and other retailers.
We also have access to many events offered by the municipalities’ recreation departments and libraries of which I’ve been blogging. There are many seasonal activities to choose from as well as an abundance of charitable opportunities. Continue to look for my monthly posts of these activities.
Please feel free to contact me for a complete list of New Jersey Monthly’s “Best Places to Live” for 2011, which includes statistics on population, school test scores, median house prices and more.