West Caldwell, Montclair (Newark, Trenton, Camden: property taxes, budget, apartments)

[AKF]

Could anyone give me any details on either of these places?

Crime
Education
Recreation
Cost of Living
Diversity
Arts/Culture/Museums Etc.
Proximity to NY, Philly

Thanks.

[AKF]

I would appreciate if anyone from NJ could give me any feedback on these places...ASAP!

thanks

[hockeymomnj]

i've lived in Montclair for 10 years now. It's a great town but very expensive. Property taxes are among the highest in the state.
Montclair is 12 miles from Manhattan but can be a very long commute at times (1+ hours). We have bus & train svc (bus svc only on weekends) into NYC. Many people who live here used to live in either Brooklyn Heights, the Upper West Side of Manhattan or hoboken. Very diverse in many ways. We have very weathly people in multi-million $$$ homes and in other parts of town people on govt assistance. Also, - politically we're one of the bluest towns in a blue state. There are pockets of crime - mostly burglaries - but somewhat isolated to certain areas of town.

[CJ-FROM-NJ]

Originally Posted by hockeymomnj

i've lived in Montclair for 10 years now. It's a great town but very expensive. Property taxes are among the highest in the state.
Montclair is 12 miles from Manhattan but can be a very long commute at times (1+ hours). We have bus & train svc (bus svc only on weekends) into NYC. Many people who live here used to live in either Brooklyn Heights, the Upper West Side of Manhattan or hoboken. Very diverse in many ways. We have very weathly people in multi-million $$$ homes and in other parts of town people on govt assistance. Also, - politically we're one of the bluest towns in a blue state. There are pockets of crime - mostly burglaries - but somewhat isolated to certain areas of town.

Exactly right. Montclair is a great town for culture/arts/restaurants. One side is nice- the other is a disgusting ghetto. If the riff-raff was pushed out Montclair would be a glorious town. It reminds me of a very little Greenwich Village in NYC. I don't feel safe walking in Montclair I have to say that but that's just me.

[AKF]

Which areas around these two locations could you recommend to live for a young family. Rent range $500-$800 for a 2 bedroom apt. Low crime and diversity.

thanks

[hockeymomnj]

I think you'll have an easier time finding something in your price range in West Caldwell or Caldwell. The nicer apartments in Montclair are probably going to run a lot more than $800 for a 2 bedroom. We rented a 2-bedrm 11 yrs ago for $1,100/mos. The Montclair Times has a lot of apt ads every week -- the paper comes out on Thursdays.

[BobKovacs]

Originally Posted by AKF

Which areas around these two locations could you recommend to live for a young family. Rent range $500-$800 for a 2 bedroom apt. Low crime and diversity.

thanks

Good luck with that- for $500-800/month, you'd better start looking in Newark, Trenton, or Camden.

A 2-bedroom apartment in a safe, low crime area will cost you far more than that- even in Woodbridge in Middlesex County, a nice 2-bedroom is closer to $1500/month.

Bob

[AKF]

Originally Posted by BobKovacs

Good luck with that- for $500-800/month, you'd better start looking in Newark, Trenton, or Camden.

A 2-bedroom apartment in a safe, low crime area will cost you far more than that- even in Woodbridge in Middlesex County, a nice 2-bedroom is closer to $1500/month.

Bob

Ok, since the job will be in one of these areas, what areas could you recommend for someone with my budget that is within 30 minutes of either one of these two areas. Again, with the same criteria.

Thanks

[jdco]

Originally Posted by BobKovacs

Good luck with that- for $500-800/month, you'd better start looking in Newark, Trenton, or Camden.

A 2-bedroom apartment in a safe, low crime area will cost you far more than that- even in Woodbridge in Middlesex County, a nice 2-bedroom is closer to $1500/month.

Bob

$500-800 is even difficult to find a 2 bedroom apt in Newark, yea there are places where cheap apts are to be found, but the living standard is no much different than "Five Points." (SLUMS!)

Good luck finding a place, or if you don't mind squeezing into a one room apt, you will have a bigger shot with $500-800/month (well, maybe)

[jdco]

Originally Posted by AKF

Ok, since the job will be in one of these areas, what areas could you recommend for someone with my budget that is within 30 minutes of either one of these two areas. Again, with the same criteria.

Thanks

You can try looking into Bloomfield and West Orange, but first you might want to re-plan your monthly budget, $500-800 is very difficult to find a 2 bedroom apt in many places.