85 Carter Road Princeton, NJ 08540

Leafy Princeton has been synonymous with its namesake university for more than two centuries. For most of Princeton’s history, the municipality was divided into two: the Borough of Princeton, which contained most of Princeton University and the main shopping strip of Nassau Street, and Princeton Township, the surrounding suburbs. In 2013, the township and borough merged, and are now governed by one mayor and borough council. Princeton has long been considered the most preppy Ivy, but unlike the days when white flannel trousers and striped ties ruled, jeans and athleisure are now much more likely to appear on campus. But Princeton’s reputation as an intellectual powerhouse remains unchanged: Even residents who have no direct connection to the university often choose to live here because of its cultured and cosmopolitan environment. After all, this is a town where regulars at the coffee shop include Nobel Prize laureates and MacArthur genius award-winners.