Recently my friend, who I met in high school, is looking to buy a house for two people. She is thinking about staying in Edison, NJ, the town where we grew up; however, I recommended that she move out. Edison is a great place to live, especially for raising a family because it has good public schools. Both John P. Steven and Edison High school are in the top 100 public high school in New Jersey. Also, the major highways such as Turnpike, Garden State Parkway, and Route 1 are in the town. However, she graduated from high school and our current needs are a lot different than the needs we had when we were younger. There is a lot of facilities that we do not need anymore. After reading the Contemporary Urban Planning, I learned those facilities were not free or cheap.The property tax in my town increases every year. I told her not to rush because getting a new house is not easy. There are a lot of things that needs to be considered. Telling her to move out the place grew up together is uneasy for both of us. Giving up the most familiar place and jump into a new one is not easy. However, in order to find a suitable place for her and her mom, she has to give up something in order to gain something. So it is the time to move out Edison. Towns around Edison are cheaper and they are still convenient.
I recommend to move to a town nearby Edison, and North Brunswick seems a great place for her to live. With its plans and developments, it has potentials for living and investment. There are so many new stores around the new train station. The place has two big wholesale retailers, Costco and BJ’s, which are right across from route one.Target is open as well. Because of the new station, there will be an upgrade for rail operation including having high-speed train. Since they only have a car to commute, a walkable environment is very suitable. Even though the property tax in North Brunswick is not much cheaper than the property tax in Edison, the average property taxes difference is only by $354 in 2015, but the facilities are newer, and it is a great place to start for the next chapter of life. My friend and her family member can live in a condo to save time and money for maintaining her home. They can use those time and money to do something else.
Recently, by watching HGTV, I notice a lot of people are buying tiny houses so they can travel around the countries. It is a great idea for not spending most of their salary on buying a house that needs to take a lot of time to maintain. Sometimes I wonder do I really need that big space? Should I save the money so I can spend more money to travel and enjoy something else?
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reference
http://www.ourtowncenter.info/
zoningthegardenstate 
I too am an avid watcher of HGTV and am interested by the newfound trend of tiny homes. I personally do not understand the appeal of living in a tiny home, but continue to watch the show because these people and their lifestyles fascinate me. I’ve found that most of these people elect to live in tiny homes not because they’re looking to save money in order to travel, but because they are adventurous individuals and enjoy living unique lifestyles. Living for tiny homes may not be for everyone, but it is definitely a trend that is quickly growing and expanding to all areas of the country.
You are very right, big houses are needed for big families coming out of college having a family seems far away. Buying a small house rather than renting, gives you an asset that you can sell later and get some of your money back.