Commuting to Manhattan (Elizabeth: apartments, neighborhoods, utilities)

[morrigan76]

Hi everyone,
I know loads of people have asked similar questions, but I haven't found any answers that suit me. So here goes....
I am a single 30-year old female who will be working as a court reporter in Manhattan. I am looking for a SAFE place to live that is within an hour's commute of Manhattan. Also, I am looking for the cheapest safe place to live.
I know the above sounds pretty vague, but hopefully someone will be able to help.

[BobKovacs]

A lot depends on where in Manhattan you work- getting to Wall Street is much different than getting uptown, and recommendations will differ for each.

Bob

[juliann1977]

And a more specific budget for housing would also be helpful...

[DodgeViper01]

Yes, budget is the most important factor.

[morrigan76]

I am a court reporter and will be working in various lawyer's offices all over NYC so I figured that once I could commute to a major station (like Penn, or Grand Central) that I could make my way to said offices.

As I am only starting out my budget would be a maximum of $1000 per month including utilities.

The reason I picked New Jersey is because when I looked up apartments online, the prices seemed reasonable. It is only after reading some of the posts on this website that I have become concerned about the safety of some neighbourhoods.

I hope you can give me some advice and I appreciate you taking the time to answer my posts.

[juliann1977]

At under $1000 per month, your options are going to be fairly limited. While there are certainly apt. under $1000 in NJ, I'd say they probably aren't places a single woman would feel too safe or comfortable in, especially since you want a commute under an hour.

That said, if you were able to find a roommate and split a 2BR, your options would, IMO, be much better.

[ira]

Originally Posted by morrigan76

Hi everyone,
I know loads of people have asked similar questions, but I haven't found any answers that suit me. So here goes....
I am a single 30-year old female who will be working as a court reporter in Manhattan. I am looking for a SAFE place to live that is within an hour's commute of Manhattan. Also, I am looking for the cheapest safe place to live.
I know the above sounds pretty vague, but hopefully someone will be able to help.

If you don't find anything in NJ, you could try Brooklyn. Midwood and Bensonhurst areas have apartments w/in your range. You could find a really nice studio or a small one bedroom. Those are not the "trendiest" neighborhoods but they are safe and easily commutable to Manhattan.

[jstar41]

for 1k w/ utilities, you can definately find something good in ELizabeth and it's only about 25 mins to Penn Station.. make sure you look in Elmora section or North Elizabeth.. other areas are sort of shady.. if you need more info just message me.. i'm hardly on this forum any longer.. good luck!

[DodgeViper01]

Originally Posted by juliann1977

At under $1000 per month, your options are going to be fairly limited. While there are certainly apt. under $1000 in NJ, I'd say they probably aren't places a single woman would feel too safe or comfortable in, especially since you want a commute under an hour.

That said, if you were able to find a roommate and split a 2BR, your options would, IMO, be much better.

Agreed. It is going to be hard.

[DodgeViper01]

Originally Posted by jstar41

for 1k w/ utilities, you can definately find something good in ELizabeth and it's only about 25 mins to Penn Station.. make sure you look in Elmora section or North Elizabeth.. other areas are sort of shady.. if you need more info just message me.. i'm hardly on this forum any longer.. good luck!

That would be possible but I am not sure if you want to live in Elizabeth.