Moving to Avenel NJ for job transfer - Need Help Narrowing my Housing Search (Elizabeth: 2014, apartment complexes)
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I have been living for the last year and a half in glorious Southern California, where I have enjoyed my stay. Though I am keen to warm weather (I have also lived in TX and FL), I also like a good slice, so I decided to move north for a promotion in Avenel, NJ.
What I am looking for: Because this position will require 50%+ travel, I will be looking for a shared place for my first six or so months in the area. I'll revisit for my own place once my girlfriend, who is out of state, finishes grad school. I'm a late twenty-something, so I don't feel out of place with roommates. I am most interested in are communities < 10 miles from Avenel that have easy access to EWR. School system is not important, but I would prefer an area where my girlfriend would feel comfortable walking on her own. Walking distance to a few decent restaurants and watering holes are huge perks.
Heading N/S/E/W from Avenel in a ten mile radius, is there much difference in culture/environment?
My budget for a shared apartment will be <$1000, so I guess that would be areas where $2k would get a nice 2br/2ba. Less certainly doesn't hurt, either. If $800 could get a decent half of a 2/2, then great.
Let me know what additional details you will need to work with.
I think that Rahway would be a good fit for you.
The town has undergone somewhat of a Renaissance over the past few years, and now features a number of good restaurants and watering holes in the walkable downtown area. Several newer apartment complexes have been built also.
Rahway is just one town north of Avenel (which is part of Woodbridge Township), and it has direct access to Route 1, as well as an NJ Transit train station that will allow you to access EWR w/o a car.
I have been living for the last year and a half in glorious Southern California, where I have enjoyed my stay. Though I am keen to warm weather (I have also lived in TX and FL), I also like a good slice, so I decided to move north for a promotion in Avenel, NJ.
What I am looking for: Because this position will require 50%+ travel, I will be looking for a shared place for my first six or so months in the area. I'll revisit for my own place once my girlfriend, who is out of state, finishes grad school. I'm a late twenty-something, so I don't feel out of place with roommates. I am most interested in are communities < 10 miles from Avenel that have easy access to EWR. School system is not important, but I would prefer an area where my girlfriend would feel comfortable walking on her own. Walking distance to a few decent restaurants and watering holes are huge perks.
Heading N/S/E/W from Avenel in a ten mile radius, is there much difference in culture/environment?
My budget for a shared apartment will be <$1000, so I guess that would be areas where $2k would get a nice 2br/2ba. Less certainly doesn't hurt, either. If $800 could get a decent half of a 2/2, then great.
Let me know what additional details you will need to work with.
I'd recommend looking at Metuchen in your situation. Great small town, with a walk-able downtown for you to enjoy. The housing prices are within your desired budget, and you'd have a quick and easy ~5 mile commute to both Avenel (for job) and to EWR for the frequent traveling. (the trip to EWR is ~.5 hr
non-rush hour) There is a bonus for Metuchen over Rahway, Metuchen is considered a much more safe community as opposed to Rahway which can be a bit dicey safety wise. (see safety data here: http://www.city-data.com/crime/crime...ew-Jersey.html as well as previous forum posts on Rahway)
I live in rahway there has been a few shootings and murders here. The town looks nice but has gone to hell. I been here 25 years and i am moving. The previous comment stated metuchen. I agree metuchen is a really nice town. It has a nice down town also. Edison is really nice as long you stay away from the part close to highland park.
I think Rahway was worse 40 years ago. Edison is a huge circle and Metuchen is their donut hole.
The car is still necessary in this area of Jersey but one of the good things about Rahway is that the trains from The City (30 minutes to Penn Station!) run every half hour in non-rush hour times, one on the North Jersey Coast and one to Trenton/Philly. Used it a lot in my 20s and 30s. If you live in North or Central Jersey, you really should vist NYC frequently. Museums, Broadway, and nightlife! Woodbridge Center and the Menlo Park Mall are the biggest shopping areas. But further up on Route 1&9 is blue collar Linden, with various large shopping centers anchored around a national chain store.
I lived in Colonia, which is another town in Woodbridge Township. Rahway train station was 7 minutes north for trips to NYC; MetroPark was the Iselin train station 7 minutes south for New Brunswick and Trenton/Philly. Colonia is very suburban, as is half of Avenel.
Rahway is very close to Route 1&9 - EWR is less than 25 minutes by car.
I had family living in Metuchen a few years ago, which also has a walkable downtown and a train to the city, is nearer to I 287 and further south on Route 1. Some good nightlife, especially if you like jazz.
The third town I'd recommend with good rental options is Cranford. Still has a downtown movie theater and a nice mix of shops. Westfield is as far north of Avenel I'd venture if you want to keep the commute short. That free section of the Garden State Parkway can get backed up during rush, so you'd need to learn all the back ways. (though I've heard it's no where near as bad as LA's freeways.)
Thanks everyone for the advice! Just for reference, I have been to the area twice this year already - Once in January, and again a few weeks back. I will be bringing a car with me.
One more area that was recommended to me on another forum was New Brunswick. What's the atmosphere like? College town or town with a college? I have already lived seven years in a university town (Gainesville, FL).
You should check the crime data for all these areas. I live in Rahway and I love it here. We did have a shooting recently- cab driver was shot on the border between Rahway and Colonia by a non-local. We had a man strangle his girlfriend this year, it was actually a neighbor, and a few years ago a woman killed her abusive husband. There are parts of Rahway that I avoid but in the rest I'm pretty secure walking around at night (I am a 5' 1" tall petite woman). You see a few people with big dogs (including pit bulls that are well trained always leashed and non-threatening). But the majority of the dogs around here a lil' pipsqueak dogs- the type you find in cities that would be good as "small apartment dogs." If you enjoy hispanic culture, dining in particular, you will enjoy Rahway's restaurants like Cubanu check them out! Cubanu They make the best mojitos I've ever had and for authentic dishes the lechon asado and ropa viella can not be beat! The paella they serve is good enough for my foodie friends to state that they hadn't had paella that good since their trip to Spain!
There is so much to say about Rahway's walkability, other restaurants, the presence of two great theatres (not movie theatres, but venues for plays and music), town-wide events like the Zombie Walk, Winter Wonderland (for the holidays), Taste-of-Rahway and public music festivals.
You might find it worthwhile to take a look at Rahway. It is half urban and half suburban. I'm in the suburban area and for me it's a ten minute walk to the train station (where they have the open air farmer's market from Spring until early Fall. There should be no problem finding apartments witht the rooms you want in your price range of 2K. In the last few years a bunch of fancy apartment buildings have gone up. Now there is competition between them and so they could be even cheaper now than what I was renting for before. We had a two bedroom in a new building with a spacious living room with two full baths for $2150/ mo. with a pet and spot in parking garage we had amenities: access to a workout facility and a billiards table in a nice little upper floor lobby and an event room with a fridge, kitchen, big screen tv and bar tables as well as a comfy couch for the those who just wanted to watch a movie in peace.
Cranford was a place I considered moving to but I wasn't looking to rent, I wanted to buy so it was more pricey than I could afford. My husband didn't like the rail schedule but that was for commuting into the city. You'd need to check and see which of the cities have the best options for your schedule going to Avenell. Cranford is cuter than Rahway.
I worked in Metuchen and it also was very quaint and safe to walk around. Rents seemed pretty high when I was looking and I couldn't find anything in our price range that allowed us to have a cat- much less two.
Edison is a diverse area. Some of it is crime-ridden. But there are nice areas. When we looked (this time for buying not renting) for homes in our price range the area became unwalkable. In Rahway we liked the fact that we could either walk or ride a bike to the train instead of being forced to drive to the station in Edison and pay for parking.
Metuchen and Edison both have thier share of traffic problems.
New Brunswick definitely does have things to do! The area is filled with Rutgers students and Professors. It's a great area in that it has plenty of restaurants, bars, art galleries, shopping etc to keep you busy night or day. The downside is crime rate. My friend told me years ago that she was moving because she was "done with hearing gunshots in the neighborhood." That was 20 years ago though so again check out crime data. Trulia Rahway, NJ Apartments for Rent - 15 Rentals | Trulia will show you a localized crime map for the area around any house/ apartment you are interested in. It's free and was part of my decision to find my part of Rahway to buy in.
I wish you luck in finding a good fit. But honestly I'm pretty confident you will find something you like that fits your budget and is walkable and safe for the girlfriend.
When was the last time that you were in the area?
Avenel is not at all suburban, and is actually an area of closely-packed bungalows/Cape Cods and newer rental/condo complexes. The only appreciable amount of open space in Avenel is the property surrounding the state prison.
Colonia used to have a suburban feel to it, but is highly congested at this point. Just try driving along Inman Avenue at any time other than the middle of the night and you will see what I mean.
Local conditions in those areas have changed, IMHO.
Hoping to fly over to find a place later this month. What are the impressions of Elizabeth? Seems to be a little more affordable than Rahway or Metuchen; may be able to get a 2br in this area vs. a 1 br. elsewhere.
Hoping to fly over to find a place later this month. What are the impressions of Elizabeth? Seems to be a little more affordable than Rahway or Metuchen; may be able to get a 2br in this area vs. a 1 br. elsewhere.
I would strongly recommend you stay far away from Elizabeth if you want someplace safe to live. Elizabeth is rife with drugs, gangs, and all the associated crime that comes with those 2 elements. A good rule of thumb in NJ is if the price seems lower, (or good) there is a reason for it, and it usually means crime, gangs, drugs, or flooding or a combination of the aforementioned.
KoalaNJ
I also see you asked about New Brunswick, I'd stay clear of there as well. There has been a significant uptick in crime esp. the areas around the Rutgers campus. Affordable places to live are also going to be full of undergrad student housing, and I am sure you'd rather avoid all the "fun" of living among the partying students, and frat boy mentality.
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