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I am a single male in my 20s and I am thinking of moving to Monmouth Junction, NJ for a job. I am very worried because I have never been to Jersey before and therefore I have absolutely no idea what I am going to end up doing there (apart from work). My job is an Entry Level Graduate position so I would also be on a tight budget and therefore i need some advice from you guys just to prepare myself mentally and physically for what's next.
The few things that I specifically need to know about are:
1. The cost of living in Monmouth Junction, NJ.
2. As I don't know anyone in New Jersey, I am also fairly worried about my social life there. I mean, I don't want to end up living a robotic work-eat-sleep life and therefore, I would appreciate it if you guys could tell me what you think about the people in NJ and how I could possibly meet and socialize with like minded individuals/groups.
3. What are the interesting things that one could do without going broke just to actually live life and not waste it all away on career.
Any relevant information that you guys might want to mention would be most welcome too.
thanking you in advance for any comments that you might have.
1. Monmouth Jnc, NJ is just slightly more expensive than San Diego, CA: Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed
2. Monmouth Jnc, itself, is a very safe and friendly family-oriented town that values education. If you want a good social life and want to live among people your own age, consider downtown Princeton, NJ (10 miles from Monmouth Jnc). It's filled with 20 year old college students, has excellent bars, and is an extremely safe and friendly location.
3. NJ has excellent biking and running trails that you can go to in groups. Due to the easy access to NYC and Philadelphia, there's plenty of meetups that are available for all sorts of interests. Princeton University and Rutgers University (both within 10 miles of Monmouth Jnc) hold plenty of meetups themselves... a good way to get involved in activities on the cheap and meet people your age.
1. Monmouth Jnc, NJ is just slightly more expensive than San Diego, CA: Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed
2. Monmouth Jnc, itself, is a very safe and friendly family-oriented town that values education. If you want a good social life and want to live among people your own age, consider downtown Princeton, NJ (10 miles from Monmouth Jnc). It's filled with 20 year old college students, has excellent bars, and is an extremely safe and friendly location.
3. NJ has excellent biking and running trails that you can go to in groups. Due to the easy access to NYC and Philadelphia, there's plenty of meetups that are available for all sorts of interests. Princeton University and Rutgers University (both within 10 miles of Monmouth Jnc) hold plenty of meetups themselves... a good way to get involved in activities on the cheap and meet people your age.
Location: Splitting time between Dayton, NJ and Needmore, PA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ic3man
Hey,
I am a single male in my 20s and I am thinking of moving to Monmouth Junction, NJ for a job. I am very worried because I have never been to Jersey before and therefore I have absolutely no idea what I am going to end up doing there (apart from work). My job is an Entry Level Graduate position so I would also be on a tight budget and therefore i need some advice from you guys just to prepare myself mentally and physically for what's next.
The few things that I specifically need to know about are:
1. The cost of living in Monmouth Junction, NJ.
2. As I don't know anyone in New Jersey, I am also fairly worried about my social life there. I mean, I don't want to end up living a robotic work-eat-sleep life and therefore, I would appreciate it if you guys could tell me what you think about the people in NJ and how I could possibly meet and socialize with like minded individuals/groups.
3. What are the interesting things that one could do without going broke just to actually live life and not waste it all away on career.
Any relevant information that you guys might want to mention would be most welcome too.
thanking you in advance for any comments that you might have.
Couple of orientation comments. Monmouth Junction is actually part of the larger South Brunswick Township. There are distinct areas of the town: Dayton, Deans, Kendall Park, Kingston, and Monmouth Junction. In terms of topography, Monmouth Junction is the largest of the parts of the township and encompasses the area of the town center. The people who live here (I am in Dayton), run the gamut from young people just starting out to young families, to established fourth and fifth generation families to older people who are sometimes more active than the young kids. Most people living here have jobs in NYC, a few in Philadelphia. Some work regionally in New Brunswick or along what is known as the Route 1 Corridor in one of the many office parks.
Cost of living is not "cheap", but that is relative to where you are coming from and the type of advancement within the position you are able to do. The link NJBest gives you does give you a good sense of what to expect in terms of expenses.
Regarding your second and third concerns... Social life here is what you make of it. Princeton is one option. New Brunswick, hope of Rutgers University, is definitely another. A train ride into NYC or Philadelphia is about an hour and a half. There are a variety of events that are held throughout the year around the region. As my screen name states, my support goes to Rutgers and the Yankees so, of course, my focus would be on happenings with those two teams as well as events around the campus in New Brunswick. Below are a few links that should help you get a sense of what is available for you:
NJBest is on point with the comments about the area being "a very safe and friendly family-oriented town that values education."
I won't discount Princeton, but I do find the crowd in Princeton to be stuffy and snobbish. If you don't have certain in degrees or from certain schools, there is a caste flavor. New Brunswick is much more open and interested in connecting for the value of you as a person, not as a means to get somewhere else. PU grads don't like reading this, but that is the attitude the pervades the area.
Definitely, NJ has excellent biking and running trails. there are multiple trails throughout the township and groups can be seen every day at various times.
And yes, buy a winter coat and be prepared to drive.
New Brunswick will be cheaper housing and it's bigger. If you are in your early 20s still I'd say New Brunswick is a great option since it is a small city with a massive college inside of it. tons of college kids and college bars but also post college bars there. It's a quick ride down route 1. Princeton is much prettier looking, actually probably one of the prettiest places you'll ever see but i'ts not a big party / bar town but there are bars and stuff there. Princeton University is just a lot smaller than Rutgers and it's Ivy so with that comes that as someone else put it above snobbish thing.
with New Brunswick do your research first b/c you want to live in the correct area of New Brunswick. you want to live near Easton Ave, Hamilton St, Somerset Street or possibly one of the downtown places off George Street. There is the "element" in New Brunswick so you do not want to live in that area. Kind of a tale of three cities. College / Post college kids, young urban professionals (Johnson and Johnson has their world headqurters in New Brunswick) and the third is the townies, mainly poor / lower middle class people.
I wouldn't live in Monmouth Junction or anywhere near there b/c you'll be bored to tears. Live somewhere where you can walk to bars and delis etc.. It'll be easier to meet people when you are around people your own age.
I'd second New Brunswick. Bars, restaurants, a concert hall, Rutgers sports, NJ transit & Amtrak trains connecting you to all major East coast cities, local Rutgers buses are free. 15 minutes to S. Brunswick. The only really rundown areas are off Remsen, Livingston & Albany streets. Closer to the river where the College Ave campus is generally better. There's always rentals available since it's a college town.
Location: Splitting time between Dayton, NJ and Needmore, PA
1,184 posts, read 4,046,199 times
Reputation: 767
Full stop here. The amount of construction going on in New Brunswick really diminishes the value of living in the city at this point. True, the majority of the housing around Easton, Hamilton, Somerset, Huntington, Senior, George, or other streets around the college area are geared toward the undergraduates (sophomores, juniors, seniors). But Somerset Street around RWJUH is going to have ongoing closures for the next several months while the next apartment building is put in across from University Center. Hamilton, Union, Mine, and College Ave. are going to be a cluster as the work gets started on Scarlet Beach where the Grease Trucks were in Lot 8. Same is true of College Avenue between Seminary and Bishop where the Honors College is being built. Unless you are going to walking to class or working downtown, living in New Brunswick, at least for the next three years is not going to be high on my recommendation list.
As an aside, here is an artist's rendering of what Scarlet Beach will look like when finished.
Frankly, why would you want to live in New Brunswick when the position is in Monmouth Junction? Better to live in MJ and go up to New Brunswick to hang out.
Full stop here. The amount of construction going on in New Brunswick really diminishes the value of living in the city at this point. True, the majority of the housing around Easton, Hamilton, Somerset, Huntington, Senior, George, or other streets around the college area are geared toward the undergraduates (sophomores, juniors, seniors). But Somerset Street around RWJUH is going to have ongoing closures for the next several months while the next apartment building is put in across from University Center. Hamilton, Union, Mine, and College Ave. are going to be a cluster as the work gets started on Scarlet Beach where the Grease Trucks were in Lot 8. Same is true of College Avenue between Seminary and Bishop where the Honors College is being built. Unless you are going to walking to class or working downtown, living in New Brunswick, at least for the next three years is not going to be high on my recommendation list.
As an aside, here is an artist's rendering of what Scarlet Beach will look like when finished.
Frankly, why would you want to live in New Brunswick when the position is in Monmouth Junction? Better to live in MJ and go up to New Brunswick to hang out.
Possibly because he's in his 20s and SB is a boring-ass bedroom community with zip to do?
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