18 years old, looking to move to Linden NJ (Elizabeth, Union: middle-class, apartments)

[esoterica07]

My entire family was born and raised in north NJ, but my parents and I moved down to NC when I was about 8. I was devestated and never adjusted to the slow, unenthusiastic pace of things down here. Anyway...I am 18 now, and I have been working for a few months. I have about $3000 saved to be used towards relocating in Linden NJ. I am trying to avoid the whole roomate/living with a stranger situation and was wondering if I am being too impractical:

*i need only a roof, bathroom, microwave room
*i dont plan on bringing a tv (so cable ect is unnecessary)
*of course i'd prefer a safe neighborhood, and i feel comfortable in most parts of Linden.
*i will not bring a car (so insurance/gas/parking ect is not a financial factor)
*and i would be glad to survive on fast food and Ramen noodles for a few months

in short, i am pretty low maintenance, i just want to live back up there (i have family and a love interest in the area) with a degree of independence.

i plan to waitress until i go back to school next fall, as i have a few months' experience and enjoy the nightly cash flow ($70-140 a night).

so i guess what i'm asking is for a response from anyone partially familiar with the area/lifestyle in regards to its practicality. can i survive this way alone for a few months in Linden? (i have no concept of paying utilities/rent. i have researched online many available apartments starting at $900/month, is this avg for a studio/1 bedroom? are there newspaper listings for less? how much should i expect to pay for heat in winter if its not included? electricity?)

any input will be GREATLY appreciated! i wanna move in early November.

[syncmaster]

"Devastated" at the age of 8? Too funny.

Oh, and Linden is a dump.

[esoterica07]

highly devestated, i was and remain an emotional youth.

and i understand Linden is no paradise (although compared to Elizabeth and other neighbors its preferable), but it's where i wanna be right now. i love all the transportation and its vicinity to NYC and Philly. which may also aid in my far-fetched dream of writing/advertising

[Diane Giam]

Originally Posted by esoterica07

highly devestated, i was and remain an emotional youth.

and i understand Linden is no paradise (although compared to Elizabeth and other neighbors its preferable), but it's where i wanna be right now. i love all the transportation and its vicinity to NYC and Philly. which may also aid in my far-fetched dream of writing/advertising

If you want to write and do Advertizing. you would be better off in college getting a Journalism degree like my niece in Florida did. She is making a wonderful salery but you need education to achieve that.
At least take some courses in it, in a community college and see if you like it.It won't be a dream, it will be realty if you you what I'm suggesting.

Diane

[esoterica07]

Originally Posted by Diane Giam

If you want to write and do Advertizing. you would be better off in college getting a Journalism degree like my niece in Florida did. She is making a wonderful salery but you need education to achieve that.
At least take some courses in it, in a community college and see if you like it.It won't be a dream, it will be realty if you you what I'm suggesting.

Diane

i clearly said both that i was going to school next spring, and that i wanted to be independent (and thus exempt from advice about education). i also asked for information about the town of Linden NJ. i did not however ask about how to go about becoming a novelist, which is why i have posted a thread on the appropriate site

[jstar41]

hey.. eventhough you say that Elizabeth is less preferable than Linden (in my opinion is about the same).. for a young person like you who will be working in a restaurant, no car, little money, and inexpensive living style.. Elizabeth will be good..
simply b/c there are twice as many resturants than Linden, you can rent a studio for approx 600 - 800, no need for a car b/c everything is within walking distance.. oh and if you do go to college, Kean University is on the borderline of Elizabeth and Union so you can walk there, or you can attend Union County College wich is in Elizabeth.. there are other campuses as well but there is a new 48Million dollar UCC building currently being constructed..
good luck!

[esoterica07]

thanks. i was actually considering elizabeth for a while, but everyone has been trying to scare me away. but yeah, i've walked around parts of elizabeth recently and felt safe.
do you know anything about glisser gardens in elizabeth, cuz that area sounds very affordable

[cyntmac]

Community college in NJ is very expensive. You should focus on education first. Choose a place to live where you can afford school and the choice of community should come after. If your funding for school is taken care of you might want to check with the school in regard to where affordable places are. Renting a room is your best bet at this point in your life. You will probably have to wait for your own place. You need to get your "emotions" in check as well. NJ is not an easy place to be young and on your own without much $$. You need to be stable in all departments if you plan to find success. The south is a different animal. In many places teenagers can afford their own apartments there.

You can live in the area w/o a car but it means that you will not have your pick of jobs and you may wind up regretting your location. A teenager waiter from the south may not have their pick of restaurant gigs either. You may have to settle at first. It could take some time to get hired at a decent place.

[NJ Chutzpah]

Go to School in NC, work and save money at the same time. Then come here

[ScranBarre]

Originally Posted by syncmaster

"Devastated" at the age of 8? Too funny.

Why? Children that young perceive more than you'd think. My own parents got bitten by the "keeping up with the Jones's" bug when I was 9 and moved us from a lower-middle-class in-town neighborhood with friendly, down-to-earth neighbors to an upper-middle-class suburban housing development with rather cold, standoff-ish people. I WAS devastated by this culture shock, just as esoterica probably was. Some of us mature earlier than others; I was researching demographics trends and browsing through the Wall Street Journal by the age of 13. You'd be suprised at just how quickly today's "young'ins" grow up. I can feel this girl's pain. At the age of 20, I'm likewise nostalgic for that in-town environment I've been deprived of for the past 11 years, which is why I'm looking to move to Boston in the upcoming years.