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Honestly, I think you're going to want to stay closer to work for your sanity. Unless you work off-peak hours, I'm thinking that a commute from Collingswood would easily be 45-60 minutes. A commute from Philadelphia is going to be no better - Route 1 in the AM can be horrible. Plus, you'd get dinged with 4% in wage tax for a marginal benefit given you won't be able to enjoy the city 24/7 as you would if you worked in the city.
You may want to check out Lambertville, NJ. It's not big, but it has a nice downtown area with some restaurants, bars, cafes, etc. That part of the state is a hidden gem - you really owe it to yourself to check it out - even if just to visit. There are tons of beautiful state parks for outdoor activities in that area with actual scenery. The downside is you are nearly 2 hours to NYC by train.
Heading 30 minutes in the other direction, you could check out Burlington City or Mount Holly. Both areas are "up and coming" and I'm not sure there is a whole lot to do. IMO, you're going to be commuting during the week or commuting for fun on weekends.
I'm not sure if there is someplace inhabitable within Trenton city limits. One bonus of Trenton is even though you may not have a lot to do within your neighborhood, you wouldn't lose rail access to NYC or Philly. That said, you're not going to be able to pop in and out of NYC or Philly on a whim like you can using the PATH or PATCO lines. The regional lines likely shut down later in the evening.
The only other idea I can think of is to maybe set up base somewhere along the River Line? I'm not sure if taking a train to work is an option for you or if your office is off of some highway in a suburb like mine is :-)
...Heading 30 minutes in the other direction, you could check out Burlington City or Mount Holly. Both areas are "up and coming" and I'm not sure there is a whole lot to do. ...
There are some beautiful parts of Burlington City, as well as some dumps. I've been hearing Burlington City is an "up and coming" town for a very, very long time. How many years does it take for this process to be complete? I'm starting to think Burlington City is as good as it's going to get.
Collingswood is where we live and we love it. It is almost an hour to Trenton, however. You WILL GET a 12 minute commute to Philly and enjoy the artsy,"village" feel that Collingswood has.
Thanks for the help and insight. I've been to Princeton a few times. Nassau Street in DT Princeton is great, but limited real estate in the vicinity (Princeton University seems to own a chunk of it) though there was a cute apartment I saw, but it's literally across the street from the cemetery.
I've lived all over Manhattan - Harlem (Columbia University for my masters), Upper West Side, Upper East Side, Midtown East and West as well as Grammercy and the East Village. I essentially hopped around every year. The only area that I didn't like was midtown west - Too many commercial buildings, too many tourists, way too dirty.
The inhabitants make for great neighbors: they don't have loud parties and don't complain about YOURS either. Plus it's a good place to jog or take the dogs for a run and you don't have to worry about them stealing your parking place.
Hi. I'm relocating from NYC for work. My new office will be near Trenton, NJ. It's a bit of a commuting hike from Manhattan so I've been looking at my new housing options. One is the Philadelphia area and the other is NJ. Even though I live in NY, I don't know that area of NJ very well. I'm looking for a town/city that has a more urban feel to it? I love living in Manhattan (for the convenience, bustle, ability to walk everywhere and safety). Are there any places in NJ that fit the bill, to some degree? Thanks a bunch.
Is your office going to be in Trenton proper or where? This makes a difference....
Philadelphia is really the only area that will give you a big city feel like NYC. If your job is near one of the Trenton SEPTA lines, you could take the train to commute. However, that will likely not be an option. You could check out one of the smaller towns in the metro area that have small walkable downtowns. Newtown or New Hope are options. New Hope has some awesome nightlife and restaurant options.
Stay out of Philly. You will get banged with a 4% wage tax and some areas are very unsafe. Manhattan is generally much safer. I cannot think of any area of NJ that fits your bill either..
Lol. The day you don't bring up crime in a thread, I will die of shock.
young professional and lifelong mercer county resident here...always had the desire to move to nyc, but for a variety of reasons (mainly, i couldn't get a job there), never made it.
my 2 cents...bite the bullet, live close to your work and pretty much be boring M-Th (do all of your chores, grocery shopping, housework, etc. after work on the weeknights) so you have time to live it up in nyc on the weekends.
is it the same...of course not. but I think it's the second best option. after all, does anyone really feel like wasting 2-2.5 hours commuting every day?
also, whoever said philly and nyc are similar are way off...no comparison. philly has a few tall buildings and some good bars and restaurants (fishtown/no libs is very hot right now), but that's where the similarities end. as far as cities go, it's very regional and blue collar.
What?!!! Philly is pretty Cosmo. Yeah its not NY but its not the sticks either. Philly has a great restaurant/bar scene, very walkable, and streets are narrow for jaywalking. Philly also has lots of tall buildings.... you are comparing NYC to Philly but Philly compared to anywhere else in the USA its very urban.
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