Jobs in Princeton and manhattan (Newark, Jersey City: apartments, condos, safe area)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My husband and I are preparing for a move to New Jersey and I was hoping to get some advice about where to live. He will be working in Princeton, and I have a job in manhattan (east village). We are in our early 30s, no kids, and would like to find an area that has a lot of fun things to do. He will drive to work and I'll take the train.
We'd like to be as close to manhattan as possible, but keep his commute to about an hour or less. We were thinking about Hoboken but thought there might be a lot of traffic between there and Princeton. Any suggestions are appreciated! Thanks.
Hoboken is a great area with the Turnpike right around the corner for your husband to get down to Princeton but note that it can be pricey and parking can be an issue,especially on weekends. Make sure your place has a parking spot or you can purchase one.
In the mornings your husband will be traveling against the flow of traffic so hopefully it shouldn't be a big issue. Hoboken is fun, young and vibrant and very close the city!
Another great option is Jersey City which is on the otherside of Hoboken. Same issues in terms of parking but be careful of the areas in Jersey City you stay (some more desireable than others).
Edgewater and Weehawken are also great areas for those looking to commute to the city but can a bit of a haggle when traveling to Princeton.
I forgot to mention that it will likely take your husband about 1.5hrs to travel to Princeton from these areas from point A to point B.
Last edited by hellhawk84; 01-11-2013 at 08:17 AM..
The commute from Hoboken could be challenging. I think that is at least an hour under best conditions. While much of your commute will be opposite the worst traffic, the turnpike and Rt 1 get plenty of volume in all directions in rush hour... which could easily push the time closer to 80+ minutes.
New Brunswick could be another option, depending on how important proximity to Manhattan is for you.
Hoboken to Princeton can not be an hour even on a good week day. At least 1:15 door to door if not 1:30 or more. Would be nearly same time from Jersey City as it will take you a good 10-15 minutes just to get to the turnpike from somewhere in JC.
Why not live somewhere in the middle so each one of you have a reasonable commute?
If you look at a map and put a pin down right in the center between your two places of work (and when I say center, I mean equal commute time to NYC by transit and by car to Princeton), you'll find yourself in the Elizabeth/Newark area. You'll want to avoid that.
So you could go toward Jersey City/Hoboken where you'll have a short transit commute to NYC and he'll have a long drive, or
you could go south toward New Brunswick, where he'll have a drive that's shorter than your transit commute to NYC. Just north of New Brunswick, you could check out Metuchen. It's a bit sleepier, but has a nice main street area near the train station. Also Rahway has had some new development of apartments near its station recently too.
It looks like there are some nice new condos near the train in New Brunswick. Is this a safe area? We really want to live somewhere with some nice nightlife and restaurants if possible, and it seems like New Brunswick may fit the bill.
I find that area of downtown NB to be reasonably safe. You'll find that NB has a bit of a bad reputation, because it was a terrible place all through the 80s and 90s. It has made a terrific comeback, but there are parts of town you'll be better off staying away from.
There's plenty of nightlife along George Street and the various side-streets around that area, geared toward young professionals, etc. Easton Avenue has a lot of nightlife too, but almost entirely student dive bars.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.