Moving from Staten Island to NJ? Anyone? All opinions welcome. (Jersey City: low crime, houses)
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Was born and raised on SI with family still on the Rock so am there often enough. Moved to Manhattan after college but still "home" on weekends and or as family/friends events warrant.
These days just cannot stomach going back at least during weekdays as the traffic/congestion is horrible. Evenings, late nights and weekends aren't that bad.
Also breaks my heart to see what has been done to so much of the Island. Everything nice torn down for those GD townhouses or track developments. Mount Manresa as the last straw.
Of course growing up knew more about NJ than I did the City. My mom did all our major school and other shopping in NJ. People my parents knew and or friends from school began moving to NJ back in the day so we were always going across one of those bridges. Now as I said many family and friends looking to buy a home end up in NJ because they cannot find anything they like and is affordable on SI. No one builds single family homes on the Rock anymore it seems. It is all townhomes/track housing.
Old Bridge/Matawan is like SI in many ways including you will need your car! Some places have a deli or shopping near enough to walk, but like the Rock you'll probably need to drive for that gallon of milk. *LOL*
You can't survive on the island without a car and stores are just closing down here left and right. There used to be 2 major food chains, Waldbaums and Pathmark within a mile of my house where I did my grocery shopping, but they both went under. I have no place to get groceries except to fight my way on Richmond ave and use those stores and I"m coming from Pleasant Plains so it's not like it's a 5 minute trip. There's plans in the works to build another strip mall around the Target/Home Depot area.. like we need another freakin' strip mall and the traffic that it will bring. More shoe and clothing stores, just what we need.
I'm used to Jersey too. We vacation there every year, and shop there.
Have you heard about 'the Wheel"? They're building a giant Ferris Wheel and a strip mall that was supposed to be filled with high end stores in St. George near the ferry. The assumption is that tourists visiting the city will hop on the ferry and make SI one of their tourist visits. yeah, I can so not see that happening...
At your budget and downsizing I would look at places like Middletown, Shrewsbury, Red Bank, Cranford, Manalapan, Hannover twp, Springfield for starters. I like all those towns better than Old Bridge and Matawan.
Thank you! I'll check into those area's also.
What do you like about them? What do they offer or what's different about them compared to Old Bridge or Matawan?
I'm not familiar with Jersey towns or neighborhoods at all so any input is appreciated.
You can't survive on the island without a car and stores are just closing down here left and right. There used to be 2 major food chains, Waldbaums and Pathmark within a mile of my house where I did my grocery shopping, but they both went under. I have no place to get groceries except to fight my way on Richmond ave and use those stores and I"m coming from Pleasant Plains so it's not like it's a 5 minute trip. There's plans in the works to build another strip mall around the Target/Home Depot area.. like we need another freakin' strip mall and the traffic that it will bring. More shoe and clothing stores, just what we need.
I'm used to Jersey too. We vacation there every year, and shop there.
Have you heard about 'the Wheel"? They're building a giant Ferris Wheel and a strip mall that was supposed to be filled with high end stores in St. George near the ferry. The assumption is that tourists visiting the city will hop on the ferry and make SI one of their tourist visits. yeah, I can so not see that happening...
Not to keep hijacking this thread! *LOL*
Only knew the Waldbaum's on Manor Road across from Todt Hill Houses, which long since closed. Cannot recall what is there now, but have passed it often enough, just never look.
When it first opened the Pathmark on Forest Avenue (across from J.C. Penny's) was one of my Mom's favourites. Think she liked it because it was open 24/7 so she could go either very early or late, either way she'd often leave us kids with Dad.
Have heard all about the Wheel from both friends and family still on Staten Island and from the Advance. Have a few friends in Saint George and family in Rosebank, all are saying property in Saint George is taking off because people feel the place is now going to "happen". I knew the area when CSI was down there. *LOL*
What find striking is the crime on SI. When I grew up you could leave your doors unlocked. Not no more you can't.
Really only go onto the Island for family events or to visit. Aside from Real Madrid every now and then try to avoid trying to get around the Rock. Traffic is just too much. What I like about Old Bridge and Matawan is the quiet, especially at night. Just like SI; once it gets dark and late enough you could walk down the street naked and no one would know! *LOL*
What do you like about them? What do they offer or what's different about them compared to Old Bridge or Matawan?
I'm not familiar with Jersey towns or neighborhoods at all so any input is appreciated.
Middletown, Manalapan and Marlboro have good to large populations of former Staten Islanders. If you heard of that show "Jersey Shore" the so called "Italian Hunk" known as "The Situation" was born on SI (West Brighton) but his family moved down to Manalapan when he was young. Truth to tell several municipalities in Monmouth County see or have seen lots of "transplants" from Staten Island
Talk to friends, family, people from church, etc... living on Staten Island you are bound to find someone who has either moved down there or knows someone who has and can give you direct advice.
Your best bet is now that nice weather is coming is to make some trips down to these various towns and see what is going on. All of them are < 40 min from Staten Island when traffic is good.
^yes, Middletown is chock full of Staten Island people, as well as Brooklynites. My friend who lives there says the way to tell the difference is that the Brooklyn transplants are the ones with all the big statues in their front yards, lol.
On holidays, the traffic is backed up all the way down over the Driscoll Bridge from the Outerbridge Crossing what with everybody trying to get to Grandma's house.
Last edited by Mightyqueen801; 04-04-2016 at 07:57 AM..
We moved from Brooklyn to Hazlet about 7 years ago. I always told my husband that my ideal place to live would be Brooklyn 20 years ago, but we'd need a time machine. It's kind of like that here. A nice neighborhood with good people and nice kids. And really convenient to the parkway and tons of shopping.
Was born and raised on SI with family still on the Rock so am there often enough. Moved to Manhattan after college but still "home" on weekends and or as family/friends events warrant.
These days just cannot stomach going back at least during weekdays as the traffic/congestion is horrible. Evenings, late nights and weekends aren't that bad.
Also breaks my heart to see what has been done to so much of the Island. Everything nice torn down for those GD townhouses or track developments. Mount Manresa as the last straw.
Of course growing up knew more about NJ than I did the City. My mom did all our major school and other shopping in NJ. People my parents knew and or friends from school began moving to NJ back in the day so we were always going across one of those bridges. Now as I said many family and friends looking to buy a home end up in NJ because they cannot find anything they like and is affordable on SI. No one builds single family homes on the Rock anymore it seems. It is all townhomes/track housing.
Old Bridge/Matawan is like SI in many ways including you will need your car! Some places have a deli or shopping near enough to walk, but like the Rock you'll probably need to drive for that gallon of milk. *LOL*
This is funny-sad because I think many of us in NJ feel the same way about places we grew up. Where I grew up in NJ, we had woods and creeks and a quieter life until about 30 years ago, when people came barreling out of the city in droves to get a suburban house. Creeks were filled in/made into concrete drainage pipes, woods torn down, cardboard houses too big for the lots were thrown up and people moved in and started wailing that the original neighbors shouldn't be working on their cars in the driveways and decided everyone should have perfect lawns with no dandelions so they dumped pesticides everywhere. The animals, frogs, turtles, snakes, red foxes, etc., that you saw all the time in my childhood were gone. I'm sure this repeated itself over and over in different parts of NJ.
The one friend I DO have on Staten Island has a gorgeous single family house. Her father is a builder, and he bought two lots across from a wooded parkland area and built her a house and one for her sister next door. The water is nearby, and standing on her street you would have no idea you are on Staten Island or anywhere that is a part of the City of New York. There are trees everywhere, and it is just beautiful. Of course, a few blocks away you have the bad roads and dumpy old buildings, but right there where she lives, it's like a little bit of paradise.
What do you like about them? What do they offer or what's different about them compared to Old Bridge or Matawan?
I'm not familiar with Jersey towns or neighborhoods at all so any input is appreciated.
They are all relatively close to SI for traveling. They have more open space and are less crowded than Old Bridge/Matawan. OB/Matawan remind me of SI 5 yeas ago- and not headed in the right direction on that note- the other towns- save maybe Springfield remind me of SI 20+ years ago; just my opinion. In general I like Monmouth, Morris, and Union counties better than Middlesex. Middlesex for the most part (save for someplace like Cranbury) reminds me of all the things I don't like about SI: overcrowding, lack of open space, traffic, etc....
BTW- the Deninos in Brick is much better than the one in Matawan- just an FYI- and they take credit cards...(Brick is in Ocean County and too far away to move to- but only like 20 min from some of the towns I mentioned in Monmouth County).
They are all relatively close to SI for traveling. They have more open space and are less crowded than Old Bridge/Matawan. OB/Matawan remind me of SI 5 yeas ago- and not headed in the right direction on that note- the other towns- save maybe Springfield remind me of SI 20+ years ago; just my opinion. In general I like Monmouth, Morris, and Union counties better than Middlesex. Middlesex for the most part (save for someplace like Cranbury) reminds me of all the things I don't like about SI: overcrowding, lack of open space, traffic, etc....
BTW- the Deninos in Brick is much better than the one in Matawan- just an FYI- and they take credit cards...(Brick is in Ocean County and too far away to move to- but only like 20 min from some of the towns I mentioned in Monmouth County).
Old Bridge actually has more open space than most of the towns you often shill for so try not to let the facts get in the way. Now, if you say you like certain towns better, that's your opinion and you're entitled to it. But when you make remarks that aren't accurate and present them as facts, I'm going to call you out on it.
On the other hand, anything you can do to discourage even more people from Staten Island from setting foot in OB is certainly appreciated.
jeeze, I remember Denino's from when I was little and lived in Port Richmond. That brings back some fond memories.. but most importantly they always made a damn good pizza.
Mightyqueen.. my husband currently works in Bklyn and works shift work. He loves working the holidays for the overtime, but the drive in is always horrendous. Sometimes the expressway looks like a parking lot and not moving at all. It's not quite as bad heading towards Jersey, but going into Bklyn is where most of the traffic is headed. I guess a lot of grandma's still live in Bklyn.
Weekends in the summer heading into Jersey is a nightmare too though because everyone is going to the shore, us too... I guess even the residents of NJ run into that traffic too.
I currently live in Pleasant Plains and it's a nice upscale neighborhood of single family homes surrounded by protected park lands and creeks so except for the darn bullfrog that lives somewhere under my deck, it's very quiet here. But it's very lonely. I know the neighbors by sight to wave to, but none of the neighbors interact with each other because we don't even see each other except when we're getting in our cars. We all have inground pools so everyone has a privacy fence. I've invited neighbors over occasionally for barbecues but they're usually going somewhere else so it's not for lack of trying. I'm not looking for neighbors that pop in for coffee, or vice versa, but it would nice to see a human occasionally and just chat about the weather or something. Nobody here even mows their own lawn except for us. They all have lawn services.
This is the first house I've ever lived in where I actually felt isolated and I've been here 17 years. Any other house I've lived in I could walk outside and see someone sitting on their porch, walking their dog or working in their garden, but not here. In my old neighborhood in Great Kills we'd have barbecues and invite a neighbor over spur of the moment and they'd come over. We'd get invited to barbecues. I'd chat over the fence with my neighbors on both sides. Not here. Maybe it's because this is an upscale neighborhood with the perfectly manicured lawns and the people are different or too busy working. I don't know. But I do know it's not what I want when we move.
Sometimes my husband and I joke that we're the only people that really live here and the rest of the houses lights are just set on timers.
I have not-so-close cousins in Aberdeen and they seem to like it there. I don't know where that is though. I get confused with all the Counties and towns. I also have a friend in Atlantic Highlands.. beautiful view overlooking the water.. that might be an option if I ever hit the lottery but I'm not going to hold my breath on that idea.
I see Irish Eyes location is Central NJ.. I actually have a not-so-close cousin there too. We all used to be fairly close until they up and moved to NJ years ago.
All the other area's mentioned here - would they be considered Central NJ, South or North Jersey? I'm so clueless about this.
Bugs, there's a lot of drug use on SI now. It doesn't matter whether it's one of the poorer area's or in one the upscale area's like mine.
Drugs are big part of SI youth and the crime rate reflects that. In the poorer neighborhoods they'll arrest the guy on the street selling drugs. In my neighborhood they're arresting doctors who write bogus scripts and the guys who sell to the dealers.
Last edited by elliedeee; 04-04-2016 at 11:24 AM..
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I guess even the residents of NJ run into that traffic too. 
