Job relocation to NY - need advice on apartments (Hackensack: rent, living in)

[bradster]

Hi All,

My wife and I will be starting a job-related relocation from Tokyo to the NYC area in the near future. We're trying to gather as much info on places to live as we can before we actually move and welcome any advice that anyone here might have.

Here are some of our decision making criteria:

1) Commute time: I'll be working in the financial district and am hoping for a decent commute, ideally less than one hour.

2) Transportation: My wife does not have a US driver's license, so easy access to public transport is important.

3) Safety: My wife has not lived in the States before. Would like to find a place where safety concerns are minimal.

4) Budget: Hoping to keep monthly rent below $2,200 on a 2 bedroom apartment.

5) Shopping: Proximity to Asian food stores would be a plus.

NJ looks like a great alternative to the high costs of living in Manhattan. We've been looking at apartments online and have found a few that we are interested in around the Fort Lee, Edgewater, and Hackensack areas. One at the top of the list is in Hackensack near the Essex Street light rail station.

How would these areas stack up against the above criteria?

Thanks!

[Onizuka]

I don't know much about Hackensack, but if your wife is Japanese, Fort Lee and Edgewater are definitely good choices. I believe there are many ex-pat Japanese families living in both towns and both towns also seem to fit your overall criteria. The NJ transit bus lines are pretty ubiquitous in both towns, as far as getting around or into NYC.

One big plus that Edgewater might have is the Mitsuwa Marketplace, which is basically a Japanese strip mall, with the Mitsuwa supermarket as its centerpiece store. The supermarket is what you'd think of as a regular supermarket, but also with various mini-stores like a travel agency and food court. Many signs are in Japanese only, but most things are also labeled in English. Other stores in the strip mall include a Japanese bookstore and a Japanese restaurant right on the Hudson river and. There are other stores, too, but I can't remember what they are off the top of my head.

Ah, actually found a website with some pictures of Mitsuwa: http://offthebroiler.wordpress.com/2...a-marketplace/

[bradster]

Onizuka - thanks a lot for the info. Very useful!