Relocating to North Jersey from Florida (need help) (Montclair, Hoboken: apartment, rent)

[busupshot83]

I recently accepted a new position in the NYC-North Jersey region, and have less than a month to relocate.

What is a good apartment/location for a young family relocating from Tampa, Florida to North New Jersey? Our ideal location embodies the following characteristics:

1. 2 bed / 2 bath (allows small dogs)
2. Price range: $2000-$2500
3. Easy access to commute to two office locations:

50 W. 23rd Street
New York, NY 10010

and

1200 MacArthur Boulevard
Mahwah, NJ 07430

3. Family-friendly location (i.e. low crime, good schools, access to lots of recreation)

I do not know much about the North Jersey area, and any help would be appreciated! Thanks.

[MiamiLIFE]

Originally Posted by busupshot83

I recently accepted a new position in the NYC-North Jersey region, and have less than a month to relocate.

What is a good apartment/location for a young family relocating from Tampa, Florida to North New Jersey? Our ideal location embodies the following characteristics:

1. 2 bed / 2 bath (allows small dogs)
2. Price range: $2000-$2500
3. Easy access to commute to two office locations:

50 W. 23rd Street
New York, NY 10010

and

1200 MacArthur Boulevard
Mahwah, NJ 07430

3. Family-friendly location (i.e. low crime, good schools, access to lots of recreation)

I do not know much about the North Jersey area, and any help would be appreciated! Thanks.

You want to be in Bergen County somewhere to have access to Mahwah and midtown NY. Not sure if your rent range is realistic, but towns that might work for you are Hawthorne, Oakland, Westwood. More expensive towns would be Ridgewood, Allendale, Wykoff. I am sure others can provide a more complete list.

[Mightyqueen801]

Hawthorne's good because it has a train station. Rutherford would be good, too. Closer to NY, but the drive to Mahwah would be OK because the traffic is mostly going in the other direction. Oakland is kind of long for the NYC commute, but it can be done.

[busupshot83]

Thanks for the information.

I've read that South Orange and Montclair both have trains that go directly to NYC, and travelers do not have to change trains. What other cities in the area have buses/trains that go directly to NYC without having to change rides?

[Mightyqueen801]

Originally Posted by busupshot83

Thanks for the information.

I've read that South Orange and Montclair both have trains that go directly to NYC, and travelers do not have to change trains. What other cities in the area have buses/trains that go directly to NYC without having to change rides?

Most areas have buses that go directly to Manhattan, either to the Port Authority Bus Terminal on 40th Street and Eighth Avenue or to the Wall Street area. Your best bet for the towns with trains that go directly to NYC would be to look at the train lines on the NJTransit.com website. However, since you are talking about Mahwah as a commute for one of you, which is on the northern end of the state bordering Rockland County, NY, some of us were suggesting towns along the Bergen or Main Lines, which run through that area, since it would make the driver's commute easier.

I worked on 23rd Street for years, taking the train from Ridgewood on those lines. The train went to Hoboken, where I switched to PATH, which goes to 23rd. It was not a big deal to transfer to PATH. A train from Montclair to Penn Station at 34th Street would also require either a walk or another train ride to 23rd, but the drive from Montclair to Mahwah would be a little complicated and definitely indirect.

These are choices you'll have to consider.