Please advice . We are moving to NJ! (Jersey City, Edison: best town, to rent)

[LauraPetrie]

We are a family of 3 moving 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 ?

[naturegirl1]

I was born and raised in South Jersey and I'm still here and I am about to raise a family here. If your thinking about moving to NJ from Ohio. My advice to you is to move to South Jersey. You have your choice of towns that have some farm lands>especially going towards the shore area, the Jersey Shore where we all LOVE to go in the summer time : ), Nice suburban towns and all very close to Philadelphia right over the bridge and New York by train or car. I have several of my friends that commute back and forth from South Jersey to New York by train and they love it! We have great school systems here as well. North Jersey is ok if you like more of the city, factory feel and it is closer to new york which is were you mention Edison & Jersey City but I'd look up some towns in South Jersey FIRST. Here are some I recommend...Cherry Hill, Marlton, Haddonfield, Mt. Laurel, Moorestown > voted best town in South Jersey for years now and Medford areas. Look up Burlington County, Camden County and Gloucester County that should help you out with the internet. Also look up Realtor.com, ziprealty.com and NJ.gov Good Luck to you and yours.

[Orwelleaut]

I don't know if this is too far for the commute, but Phillipsburg, a town along I-78 on the Delaware River, seems to be a nice town. Passed through there on my way from Ashtabula to NOrth Jersey a number of times. NYC is only about 50 miles via interstate from Phillipsburg, and the area is somewhat rural still for Jersey.

The problem with moving to Jersey, for us Ohioans, is that it is so expensive. South Jersey is much more like Ohio and PA than North Jersey, and I think it is also cheaper.

[BobKovacs]

OK, in response to the last two posts:

1. Living in South Jersey is pretty much out of the question if you're working in Times Square, unless you enjoy a 2-2.5 hour commute from the towns you recommended.

2. Philipsburg is not what 99% of the population would consider a "nice town with good schools". It's also only commutable to Times Square by car (unless you drive quite a ways to a park-n-ride), and the ride would be +/- 1.5 hours in rush hour (or more if there's an accident, rain, snow, or sun).

To the original poster- IMO, stay away from Jersey City and Secaucus- the schools are crap in JC, and marginal at best in Secaucus. I'd look along the NE Corridor or Corridor Coast train lines at towns like Edison, Woodbridge, and Metuchen, which are all a +/- 45-50 minute train ride to NY Penn Station. You can then walk to Times Square (around 10 short blocks), or take a subway a few stops. The schools in all of those towns are good.

Bob

[Roselvr]

What is your budget? My husband has a lot of family in OH, his brother was the latest to move there because he couldn't afford NJ. It's getting harder to find a house for a decent price and not have to sacrifice something.

I see there are new communities going up by Pittstown, my hubby works in the port, but refuses to drive 78 in to work. By the time you factor in traffic, you may be able to live a little farther south.

[tahiti]

Originally Posted by BobKovacs

OK, in response to the last two posts:

1. Living in South Jersey is pretty much out of the question if you're working in Times Square, unless you enjoy a 2-2.5 hour commute from the towns you recommended.

2. Philipsburg is not what 99% of the population would consider a "nice town with good schools". It's also only commutable to Times Square by car (unless you drive quite a ways to a park-n-ride), and the ride would be +/- 1.5 hours in rush hour (or more if there's an accident, rain, snow, or sun).

To the original poster- IMO, stay away from Jersey City and Secaucus- the schools are crap in JC, and marginal at best in Secaucus. I'd look along the NE Corridor or Corridor Coast train lines at towns like Edison, Woodbridge, and Metuchen, which are all a +/- 45-50 minute train ride to NY Penn Station. You can then walk to Times Square (around 10 short blocks), or take a subway a few stops. The schools in all of those towns are good.

Bob

This post is spot on. DO NOT move to Phillipsburg () OR South Jersey. I'm quite shocked how off those first 2 posts were. I wouldn't recommend those 2 places to someone working in NYC even if they were my worst enemy. LOL

To the OP, what's your budget? That is really going to narrow your choices down.

[Roselvr]

Originally Posted by tahiti

This post is spot on. DO NOT move to Phillipsburg () OR South Jersey. I'm quite shocked how off those first 2 posts were. I wouldn't recommend those 2 places to someone working in NYC even if they were my worst enemy. LOL

To the OP, what's your budget? That is really going to narrow your choices down.

Budget is a must as is how long they are willing to commute.
If they do want to live South, there are train stations, a lot of people do this commute.

I'm originally from Union County, it takes me a little over an hour to get to the Roselle Park exit on the GSP. I know a lot of back roads, so I don't have to travel highways if there is congestion. Personally, I wouldn't commute from South Jersey to NY especially in the snow or summer when there is a lot of shore / Great Adventure traffic.

The areas listing in the 1st post are close to 295 / turnpike. While I've never done the commute from there to NY, going from Roselle to Cherry Hill took me about 45 minutes from what I remember. Since the poster knows people that do that commute, they should have listed how long it takes the friends to commute.

[tahiti]

Originally Posted by Roselvr

Budget is a must as is how long they are willing to commute.
If they do want to live South, there are train stations, a lot of people do this commute.

I'm originally from Union County, it takes me a little over an hour to get to the Roselle Park exit on the GSP. I know a lot of back roads, so I don't have to travel highways if there is congestion. Personally, I wouldn't commute from South Jersey to NY especially in the snow or summer when there is a lot of shore / Great Adventure traffic.

The areas listing in the 1st post are close to 295 / turnpike. While I've never done the commute from there to NY, going from Roselle to Cherry Hill took me about 45 minutes from what I remember. Since the poster knows people that do that commute, they should have listed how long it takes the friends to commute.

If their budget is $800K, they can have a fairly short commute. I would never suggest someone commute 2+ hrs to work everyday, ESPECIALLY right off the bat. If their budget is $150K, I'd tell them to rent rather than live 80 miles from work (also, commuting that far increases your transportation costs expotentially). Touting your hometown without regard to all aspects of the situation is wrong and selfish.

[juliann1977]

South Jersey? Yikes...

Fellow Ohioan here. Good luck--it'll be a little different from home.

A lot depends on your budget. Assuming you can't afford expensive, private schools, you'll want to stay away from the more urban areas... We briefly considered buying waterfront property in Hudson County and found the cost of private school (20k+) was the dealbreaker. Edison is nice, though some areas are nicer than others--the schools are very good. Central Jersey would probably be your best bet.

Can you provide more info. as to what you're looking for?

[tahiti]

Originally Posted by juliann1977

South Jersey? Yikes...

Fellow Ohioan here. Good luck--it'll be a little different from home.

A lot depends on your budget. Assuming you can't afford expensive, private schools, you'll want to stay away from the more urban areas... We briefly considered buying waterfront property in Hudson County and found the cost of private school (20k+) was the dealbreaker. Edison is nice, though some areas are nicer than others--the schools are very good. Central Jersey would probably be your best bet.

Can you provide more info. as to what you're looking for?

it's funny, i don't find this area all that different than the burbs of cleveland and columbus, except for cost.