Please advice . We are moving to NJ! (Newark, Jersey City: salons, apartment complex)

[citygirlsuburbanmom]

Budget is a key factor. The home prices and taxes can be shocking... it can be hard to find anything for less than $500K on the train line to NY (if your husband is in Times Square, you could look at both trains and buses. Time Square is convenient to both Penn Station (trains) and Port Authority (buses). I would highly recommend the train though. Rush hour can be brutal getting into the city, in spite of the extra bus lane. New Jersey Transit - Home shows the different bus and train routes. I'd start there and get a radius of what is acceptable. Then get googling and ask us some questions about any towns you might be interested in!

[LauraPetrie]

We moved into NJ over the last weekend,and are staying in a hotel since. Had been to explore the Parsippany-Troy Hills area yesterday. The place looks good, a little like the areas in Ohio, but the apartments !! Every one of them looks old and run down .. Well ,compared to what we had in Ohio, the quality of our life is surely not going up here.. everything's too damn expensive.. I hate this place already..
Citygirlsuburbanmom, thanks for the info We are looking for a rental apt, not looking to buy . How's the Summit/ New Providence area ? Expensive I'm sure , but what about the commute to NYC/Penn Station and the schools ?

[Gary Makus]

If you have to go to NY and want to live in NJ advise Maplewood NJ. I used to walk to the train station. There are also a number of towns near Maplewood with train stations. Livingston NJ supposed to have good schools. NY and NJ taxes very high. A new commuting tax will probably be passed for entry into Manhatten.

[LauraPetrie]

How's the crime in Maplewood NJ ? Is the place good to live with kids? And schools in the area? Livingston, is it in Maplewood ? I have the same questions about Summit/ New providence too.. Any info. is appreciated.. Thanks

[citygirlsuburbanmom]

Just a few comments
I heard that Bloomberg's commuting tax idea was killed.

Maplewood is nice, but the taxes in Essex County can be pretty steep. I rented an apartment there when I first moved to Jersey. Maplewood does have a nice Village/Main Street with a movie theater, restaurants, etc. There are also nice fields/parks and even a duck pond behind the train station... very sweet to get off the train in such a nice setting. And the train station been has a concierge so that you can drop off dry cleaning in the morning and pick it up on the way home. The high school is regionalized with South Orange.

Regarding question's about Iselin/ safety issues... yes, Iselin is very safe...in fact, it was ranked 7th safest in the NATION in the 2005 CNN/Money Poll MONEY Magazine: Best places to live 2005: Top 10 safest

[postitchild]

Originally Posted by simmi

We are a family of 3 moving from Ohio to NJ. What are good places to live in NJ if you have to travel to Times Square for work everyday?
We are looking for a safe town , and a place where there are good schools nearby for our kid. Not to mention easy commuting to NY..
Please help. Looking over the internet is not helping at all.
How is Secaucaus , North Arlington, Edison ? How about Jersey City ?Is it very expensive ?

It's expensive, I'm afraid to say. But once you get in the market it's a very good value -- that is, your home investment will appreciate. Schools are generally good and there are alot of places that are in easy commute to NYC.

Home For Sale: 653 Woodside Ave, River Vale, NJ

[postitchild]

Originally Posted by citygirlsuburbanmom

Just a few comments
I heard that Bloomberg's commuting tax idea was killed.

Maplewood is nice, but the taxes in Essex County can be pretty steep. I rented an apartment there when I first moved to Jersey. Maplewood does have a nice Village/Main Street with a movie theater, restaurants, etc. There are also nice fields/parks and even a duck pond behind the train station... very sweet to get off the train in such a nice setting. And the train station been has a concierge so that you can drop off dry cleaning in the morning and pick it up on the way home. The high school is regionalized with South Orange.

Regarding question's about Iselin/ safety issues... yes, Iselin is very safe...in fact, it was ranked 7th safest in the NATION in the 2005 CNN/Money Poll MONEY Magazine: Best places to live 2005: Top 10 safest

Actually, Bloomberg's commuter tax -- to discourage the already clogged city for getting any clog-ier (is that a word?) -- wasn't killed. It was rescued at the 11th hour. At least as far as it's alive and it's eligible for Fed funds. I actually think it's a good thing. Did you know that only 5% of the people who commutte to Manhattan drive...and that the rest take public transit?

If I can get in a plug for my town, River Vale, we ranked 29th on the CNN/Money Best Places to Live. Which I think is the best showing of any town in Northern Jersey.

www.653Woodside.com

[Viralmd]

Have you thought about Westchester? Or are you really determined to stay in NJ?

[LauraPetrie]

I heard from many, that the cost of living in NY is much more than NJ, that's the reason why we were looking to live in NJ .. But if there isnt a lot of dfference, I guess we will start looking into NY as well. A friend of mine did suggest Westchester, I wasnt sure about the schools there and how safe the places in Westchester are.. Can you please put some light on that? Also what rent can we expect to pay for a 2 bedroom apt .. I assume state of NY (like NJ) doesnt allow a family with child into a one bedroom..

[Rivergull]

Most places to the east of Bridgewater and Princeton (follow this on a map) are over populated and littered with mini-malls. If you want a more personal kind of life, where your kids can get get to know their neighbors, check out the areas around Hamilton, NJ. Hamilton is a suburban area with lots of apt complexes. It's more reasonable than the Princeton area, but you get access to all the things Princeton (and Lambertville, my favorite) has to offer. There's also a train station at Hamilton!! with a huge well lighted parking area, used by droves of NYC workers. The city of Trenton is not a place I would choose for people with kids, but they too have a train station easily accessible from the PA side of the Delaware River (areas like Yardley/Newtown which are SUPER great). For driving, I-95 can take you into NYC in an hour or to Philly in half an hour. Rents in Hamilton are probably about $1000/mo for a two br. Or you might find an apt on a private property which would be even better.