Drive, Work, Learn, Shop, Eat in Princeton, New Jersey

There has been a problem in the town of Princeton for many years about the issue of tax payments to the town. The university used to pay little in taxes, but now Princeton pays more than other ivy league universities, such as Harvard and Yale, which paid $4 and $7 respectively to Princeton's $10 in millions of dollars.

Despite this unusual generosity, townspeople are resentful of the apparent wealth of the university. They relentlessly push Princeton University at every available opportunity to pay more taxes, most famously, for public education.

Palmer Square, Princeton, New Jersey

Would the town have the same desirability without the university? Does it really fancy it is "Greenwich or Beverly Hills with a University"? I would say Princeton isn't the same. While the town has fine real estate, its healthy international reputation is the beneficiary of the prestige of Princeton University.

Nassau Street, Princeton, New Jersey

Around the world, everyone has heard of  Princeton, because of Princeton University, but like Stanford University, the town itself is somewhat more of a mystery. Do people really live there? At Stanford University, professors live near the university and spill over into the City of Palo Alto and other suburbs of San Francisco. At Princeton, professors live in the surrounding town of the same name and the area, roughly halfway between New York and Philadelphia. Harvard doesn't have a town in the Boston area of Massachusetts named after it, and professors tend to live in towns around the university.

 

Nassau Street, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey

Many professors in general like to have a reliably and conveniently short commute and that is why the real estate around colleges and universities tend to be relatively stable, and affluent around the Ivy League Universities. I have no doubt that Princeton will continue to be one of the most winning places to live in America. 

Princeton is an idyllic place to live, with a very desirable climate and surrounded with beautiful real estate, large estates and substantial country houses built of stone and many  new areas in surrounding townships. Princeton is also the headquarters of hedge funds, pharmaceutical and technology companies. For entertainment, the McCarter Theater, music at Richardson Auditorium and the attractions of nearby Symphonies beckon, as do the close proximity of the Jersey shore, the Poconos, movie theaters, trains to airports and cities. 

McCarter Theater, University Ave at College Rd, Princeton, New Jersey

In addition, Princeton has an established philanthropic base with countless  social events to benefit the homeless,  medical services, and homeless pets. It also has the greatest concentration of private schools in America and is  the location of the home of the Governor of New Jersey as he commutes to the nearby state Capitol building in Trenton. But townies in Princeton shouldn't forget the University makes the town thrive and attracts tourists from all over the world, not the real estate. It might, however, be the real estate that makes tourists want to stay, become residents and pay taxes.