Best Places to Live Near Newark (Bloomfield, Kearny: high crime, school, college)

[EastCoastOrBust]

Hi everyone. My best friend and I are California natives interested in moving to New Jersey to attend Rutgers @ Newark. We know absolutely nothing about New Jersey so we thought we would try and inquire about the best places to live near the school. We aren't big city girls and would prefer to live in the suburbs without living too far out. The prices of housing isn't a concern of ours, but we do want to make sure that the city we move to is fairly close to the school, very safe, and culturally diverse. It would also be nice to be close to plenty of shopping, parks, and recreational activities etc. If anyone has any suggestions we would love to hear them! Thanks so much guys!

[johnfrisco]

Harrison and Kearny are very close. Both towns are safe and have a large Hispanic population.

Nutley and Lyndhurst are a little farther away from Rutgers-Newark--about 7 miles, but an easy commute. These towns have a large Italian-American population. Very safe!

[EEEPNJ]

I would not recommend Harrison, the town is not suburban and high crime.

I would recommend Nutley, parts of Bloomfield, parts of Montclair, perhaps Lyndhurst too, but that also has a little less of a Suburban feel to it.

Will you be taking a car or public transportation to school?

[Gravy Boat]

I recommend South Orange. It's suburban, has lots of parks, and is close to Newark. And it has a college in it - Seton Hall - so it has somewhat of a collegey feel in parts.

[EastCoastOrBust]

We would definitely be driving to school. We would prefer to live between 0-25 miles from the school. If we had to drive a bit more that would be okay. I think our biggest concern is that the city has things to do and is safe. We worry about the stories we have heard about Newark :/

[EEEPNJ]

You want things to do but you want it to be more suburban?

Things to do and your age is going to have everyone recommending Hoboken, which is great but a) parking is AWFUL and b) it's pricey.

You may want to consider Morristown, Summit would be nice, Ridgewood in Bergen County. Montclair may fit your bill too. Verona and Cedar Grove are also nice and you are right next to Montclair.

[EastCoastOrBust]

Yeah, we were considering Hoboken. Everyone seems to be suggesting that..aside from it being "yuppy". We wouldn't know much about it either way. I suppose the city could possibly be less suburban as long as we didn't have to worry about safety and sometimes larger cities rate lower on the safety factor. However, thanks to your suggestions and the suggestions of other people on posts we have been able to develop a list of cities to consider.

[wileynj]

No one mentioned Montclair? You would love it! College Town with tons to do for young people.