What NJ towns should we check out in planning a move (Newark: transplants, apartments)
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Where are you coming from? Hattiesburg, MS
Why are you moving? Husband got a job in NYC (near Barnard College)
Where will you be working ? If NYC, what part of NYC? Husband in NYC. For me, I have some possibilities in NYC, Paterson, and Newark.
Will you buy or rent? Rent
What is your budget ? Under $3000/month
What kind of place are you looking for ? Apartment or Rental House with 3 bedrooms and close to public transportation
Will anyone (spouse, children, pets) be moving with you ?Husband and three kids (10, 5, and 1)
Do you need/want good public schools? yes and reasonable daycare
Briefly describe the kind of neighborhood you'd like to live in
(examples: families with young children, young, mature, artsy, diverse, safe, close-knit, block parties, etc)
We would like a place that is safe and has other children, diversity is a plus, would also like to become a 1 car family so close to public transportation would be great. Kids are into tennis and tball so local youth sports would be great.
List three things that are important to you in order of importance.(examples: nightlife, outdoor activities, rural/urban, safety, downtown area, charming, new construction, proximity to XYZ, family oriented, easy parking, short commute, etc)
family friendly, public transportation (we would like to commute by train/bus), opportunity for community involvement
Greetings, my husband and I will be visiting the area next week and would like to check out some towns in NJ. My husband, and possibly myself, will be working in NYC. However I am applying for several places in NJ and we plan to make our home in NJ. My background in in education/nonprofit work. I have some leads on jobs in Newark and Paterson. We will not be making a final decision yet but I would like several places to check out. Some that have been suggested are Secaucus, Hackensack, Tenafly, Fort Lee/Edgewater. But I am open to any suggestions. I hope I have given enough info to garner some suggestions. Thanks in advance for your help. Also, we will have our 10 year old daughter with us on our trip March 13-19 so if there are any attractions/events going on in the areas mentioned, please let us know! Thanks!!!!
PS...if anybody is looking to hire or knows of a job for a special education, classroom, or social studies teacher, I am available, experienced, and New Jersey certified.
Three-bedroom apartments are hard to come by, so I think you'd be better off looking for a house to rent.
Look into Fair Lawn. Loads of activities/sports for the kids in that town, very family-oriented town, access to everything including major highways. Paterson is next door on the other side of the Passaic River, but even Newark is not a difficult commute from Fair Lawn.
Fair Lawn has two train stations on the Bergen County Line with fairly frequent service plus a couple of bus lines.
If your husband's working near Barnard/Columbia, the train is not ideal, and Fair Lawn is a bad idea. The train lands him at Penn Station, which is a pretty long distance from his job. Better would be an area close to the George Washington Bridge from which he could take a bus over the bridge and then the subway south from the GWB bus station. In particular, Fort Lee at the base of the GWB has a lot of rental apartments, but any town in that immediate vicinity would work. Each has its own character, roughly as below:
1. Fort Lee - significant number of highrises, more recent NYC transplants, substantial Korean and Russian immigrant populations. Solid school system.
2. Englewood Cliffs - wealthier, mostly single-family homes (true of all other towns but Fort Lee), might be out of your price range, shares a (weak) high school with Englewood
3. Leonia - similar to Englewood Cliffs but fewer McMansions and more older homes
4. Palisades Park - heavily Korean, the hub of Korean immigration in the area
5. Englewood - weaker school system but very diverse, most walkable and attractive downtown, cheapest alternative
6. Tenafly - nationally recognized school system, very wealthy, might be out of your price range
7. Edgewater - mostly newer multifamily developments along the waterfront, beautiful views but can be pricey
8. Cliffside Park - sleepy and residential
9. Teaneck - also diverse like Englewood but with a better school system
Otherwise, I would recommend against Secaucus in particular, which is a pretty dreary and isolated town (in the middle of the Meadowlands) only good for the short commute to Midtown (where your husband isn't working anyway).
If your husband's working near Barnard/Columbia, the train is not ideal, and Fair Lawn is a bad idea. The train lands him at Penn Station, which is a pretty long distance from his job. Better would be an area close to the George Washington Bridge from which he could take a bus over the bridge and then the subway south from the GWB bus station. In particular, Fort Lee at the base of the GWB has a lot of rental apartments, but any town in that immediate vicinity would work. Each has its own character, roughly as below:
1. Fort Lee - significant number of highrises, more recent NYC transplants, substantial Korean and Russian immigrant populations. Solid school system.
2. Englewood Cliffs - wealthier, mostly single-family homes (true of all other towns but Fort Lee), might be out of your price range, shares a (weak) high school with Englewood
3. Leonia - similar to Englewood Cliffs but fewer McMansions and more older homes
4. Palisades Park - heavily Korean, the hub of Korean immigration in the area
5. Englewood - weaker school system but very diverse, most walkable and attractive downtown, cheapest alternative
6. Tenafly - nationally recognized school system, very wealthy, might be out of your price range
7. Edgewater - mostly newer multifamily developments along the waterfront, beautiful views but can be pricey
8. Cliffside Park - sleepy and residential
9. Teaneck - also diverse like Englewood but with a better school system
Otherwise, I would recommend against Secaucus in particular, which is a pretty dreary and isolated town (in the middle of the Meadowlands) only good for the short commute to Midtown (where your husband isn't working anyway).
That was part of why I suggested Fair Lawn--he could just as easily take a bus down Route 4 and over the GWB and then the subway down, or take the train (or a bus to PABT) and a subway up, but Fair Lawn has the kid's activities they are looking for. The towns you mentioned might have that also--I don't know.
Fort Lee would be closest/shortest commute to Barnard.
I'd suggest the town of Rutherford. There's a train station downtown and buses to NYC, some nice restaurants, good schools and sports for kids. It would be within your price range. Close to the Meadowlands but with more of a leafy suburban feel. Secaucus OTOH is full of trucks and warehouses and to me doesn't have much of a family feel at all.
I'd suggest the town of Rutherford. There's a train station downtown and buses to NYC, some nice restaurants, good schools and sports for kids. It would be within your price range. Close to the Meadowlands but with more of a leafy suburban feel. Secaucus OTOH is full of trucks and warehouses and to me doesn't have much of a family feel at all.
Columbia U is basically 116th st. The best way would be to use GWB to get to Columbia not the Lincoln or Penn Station. So Rutherford wouldn't work. I think Brownstone's picks are dead on with Leonia being my fav pick on that list.
Columbia U is basically 116th st. The best way would be to use GWB to get to Columbia not the Lincoln or Penn Station. So Rutherford wouldn't work. I think Brownstone's picks are dead on with Leonia being my fav pick on that list.
If commute is your only consideration, I'd agree. I personally don't like how crowded that whole Fort Lee/Pal Park/Leonia area of B.C. is. Either way, the commuter is going to have to get into the city first and then take a transfer bus or subway to his place of employment. You can get to that part of Manhattan from Penn by the 1 train IIRC.
From 34TH ST - PENN STATION 1/2/3/LIRR
Take the 242ND ST-VAN CORTLANDT PK bound Train departing at 7:34 AM
Get off at 116TH ST - COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY STATION 1 at 7:51 AM
If commute is your only consideration, I'd agree. I personally don't like how crowded that whole Fort Lee/Pal Park/Leonia area of B.C. is. Either way, the commuter is going to have to get into the city first and then take a transfer bus or subway to his place of employment. You can get to that part of Manhattan from Penn by the 1 train IIRC.
You're now talking two train transfers (at Secaucus Junction and at Penn Station) and an hour-and-a-half commute from Rutherford. Sounds like a terrible idea to me. Whereas from Fort Lee the commute as described is about forty minutes, add another ten minutes if you're coming from a town near Fort Lee.
You're now talking two train transfers (at Secaucus Junction and at Penn Station) and an hour-and-a-half commute from Rutherford. Sounds like a terrible idea to me. Whereas from Fort Lee the commute as described is about forty minutes, add another ten minutes if you're coming from a town near Fort Lee.
It's about 30-35 mins to Penn & another 20 to Columbia if you plan it right. Not sure where you're getting an hour and a half.
And Fort Lee is sort of like NYC living...as in Queens, NY. Couldn't pay me to live there.
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