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I'm pretty sure what I'm looking for doesn't exist, but I thought I'd give it a shot anyway.
I'll very likely be taking a job in Somerset, NJ (Somerset in Franklin Township, next town over from New Brunswick).
My partner and I will be renting, and I'd like to be somewhere fairly diverse (which I get the impression doesn't much exist in Central New Jersey). I'd also like to live where there are restaurants, coffee shops, areas to walk about. You know, cute, hip neighborhood type things. Not being walkable isn't a dealbreaker. I guess I just want to live in a place where there are things to do. I'm originally from Brooklyn, so.
I find it funny that the two people of color who work this job both live 35 miles away in Hoboken and Weehawken respectively. Which is kind of what I'm leaning toward. Or Jersey City. But that's a long way to drive, even though I know there's little traffic.
Do any of you have suggestions?
Assuming money isn't an object (I mean, it is, but I'm more trying to see if these types of towns/cities exist in CNJ, and where they are).
I want to stick within 20 miles of Somerset (Franklin Township).
North Brunswick, maybe? I just don't know what neighborhoods to look in. I'm also black and have lived in black neighborhoods a lot growing up, so I don't find it disturbing to live in the "bad side of town" which often just means there's black people about (but not necessarily high crime).
Last edited by spacenomad; 04-09-2014 at 10:58 AM..
Lambertville. fits your criteria. Diverse, attractive housing, walkable, shops, restaurants, great coffee, great outdoor activities nearby if you're into it. It's sort of in Central NJ (depending on how you define the region)...unfortunately it's farther away from Somerset than Jersey City, less traffic though.
Princeton would have walkability, restaurants, and coffee and is much closer to your job site. The university should make for a liberal feeling, but the town itself still feels too WASPy for some.
Downtown New Brunswick is gentrifying and there's a lot of new construction and some restaurants, and it's not necessarily all student oriented. The greater New Brunswick area is incredibly diverse too. Nearby Highland Park is a bit quieter and has a more alternative feel, but it's very small.
Red Bank is hip, walkable, and diverse...once again getting close to Hoboken territory distance-wise, but should be a bit less congested.
Metuchen has a nice little town center and a reputation for a very well-educated populace, but it's mostly family oriented.
If you are willing to commute from North Jersey, you could check out South Orange/Maplewood too. A bit closer than Jersey City, with a very open-minded population, popular with Brooklyn expats. Montclair or Morristown would fit too, but are too far away.
Lambertville. fits your criteria. Diverse, attractive housing, walkable, shops, restaurants, great coffee, great outdoor activities nearby if you're into it. It's sort of in Central NJ (depending on how you define the region)...unfortunately it's farther away from Somerset than Jersey City, less traffic though.
Princeton would have walkability, restaurants, and coffee and is much closer to your job site. The university should make for a liberal feeling, but the town itself still feels too WASPy for some.
Downtown New Brunswick is gentrifying and there's a lot of new construction and some restaurants, and it's not necessarily all student oriented. The greater New Brunswick area is incredibly diverse too. Nearby Highland Park is a bit quieter and has a more alternative feel, but it's very small.
Red Bank is hip, walkable, and diverse...once again getting close to Hoboken territory distance-wise, but should be a bit less congested.
Metuchen has a nice little town center and a reputation for a very well-educated populace, but it's mostly family oriented.
If you are willing to commute from North Jersey, you could check out South Orange/Maplewood too. A bit closer than Jersey City, with a very open-minded population, popular with Brooklyn expats. Montclair or Morristown would fit too, but are too far away.
all of this is good information, and I agree with Maplewood/So Orange. I live neat maplewood and it takes roughly 45 minutes to get to Franklin Park. The great thing is that if you take 78/287, then you will always be traveling against traffic to and from work.
@NJhighlands87 - Thank you, that's super helpful. I might look into the downtown New Brunswick area. Someone else suggested Highland Park, too, and it definitely seems like what I could be looking for. Not diverse necessarily, but since all these towns seem to run together (and boy, do they!), it would be easy enough to drive to other places so the kids could see similar faces (like to a church or YMCA or whatever).
Metuchen! That might be perfect, looking at the distance. I haven't heard much about it, but I'll dig through the archives of the forum and see what I find.
@samantha - Thanks for the additional insight. Would you say Maplewood has a good amount of restaurants?
Maplewood Village has about a dozen I can think of off the top of my head, including great artisan pizza and a nice lounge, as well as a more traditional pub, and decent Indian, Mexican, and Thai. South Orange has about the same number, maybe more, including an excellent French restaurant and newish Middle Eastern place. Both towns have decent sushi options. South Orange has a Starbucks and a nice upsacle supermarket, Maplewood has a coffee shop, an independent bookstore, and a Kings supermarket. Both towns have downtown movie theaters, and South Orange has a performing arts center too.
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