Commuting to Rutgers from NJ Shore town (Newark, New Brunswick: to rent, crime)

[fl328]

Hello!

I am interviewing for a position at Rutgers next month and might be working at both the Newark and New Brunswick campuses. My husband is in the surfing industry and we are both FL natives, so we are thinking of living in one of the shore towns and commuting to campus by car/train.
I am used to having a 45-60min commute, but want to make sure that I don't get myself into much more than that.

I have researched the towns and transportation quite a bit, but wanted to see if anyone had any feedback that will help me figure out the best places to live and transportation options.

1) Driving to New Brunswick: If we live in one of the central/northern shore towns (ex: Long Branch, Ocean Grove, Belmar) I would most likely drive to the New Brunswick campus. Does anyone have personal experience with traffic heading north on Rt 18 in the morning, and reverse drive in the evening? Mapquest estimates aprox. 45-60 minutes drive, but I have a feeling that it might be more with heavy traffic. My schedule will most likely be flexible, so are there any off times that are better (ex: after 10AM, before 4, etc.)?

2) Train to Newark: I have heard that the morning drive north on the Garden State Pkwy from the shore towns to Newark is horrible, but that the train is a good alternative. What is it like on the trains? Is it possible to get work done, or is it too crowded? Also, are the times reliable?

3) Subway in Newark: Is it safe to take the subway from the train station in Newark to the Rutgers campus? Is this somewhere I would not want to be after dark if I am teaching a night course?

4) If you had to choose a shore town that is somewhat central to both Newark and New Brunswick, what would it be? We are a young(ish) couple with no plans for kids in the near future, and will most likely be renting for the first year or two. We are primarily looking for somewhere very close to a beach with decent surf, lower crime levels, and less noise and crowds. Is this possible for less than $2K a month for a small 1-2 bedroom place to rent??

Thanks in advance for the help!

[solibs]

Originally Posted by fl328

Hello!

I am interviewing for a position at Rutgers next month and might be working at both the Newark and New Brunswick campuses. My husband is in the surfing industry and we are both FL natives, so we are thinking of living in one of the shore towns and commuting to campus by car/train.
I am used to having a 45-60min commute, but want to make sure that I don't get myself into much more than that.

I have researched the towns and transportation quite a bit, but wanted to see if anyone had any feedback that will help me figure out the best places to live and transportation options.

1) Driving to New Brunswick: If we live in one of the central/northern shore towns (ex: Long Branch, Ocean Grove, Belmar) I would most likely drive to the New Brunswick campus. Does anyone have personal experience with traffic heading north on Rt 18 in the morning, and reverse drive in the evening? Mapquest estimates aprox. 45-60 minutes drive, but I have a feeling that it might be more with heavy traffic. My schedule will most likely be flexible, so are there any off times that are better (ex: after 10AM, before 4, etc.)?

I grew up in Monmouth Co. (right next to Long Branch) and commuted to Rutgers - NB for a semester from Bradley Beach. Route 18 is OK until you get to Old Bridge and the expressway ends. The further along you go the heavier it gets. Coming home from class was much easier because I wasn't travelling during rush hour. So, as long as you're hitting Old Bridge after 9:15am you should be OK.

The problem is that parking in New Brunswick is limited and expensive. Rutgers uses satellite parking (in different towns) and a shuttle system. If it's something you're going to be doing everyday I would skip driving into New Brunswick and consider driving to one of the park & rides outside of town. I mean, if you're going to have to get on a bus anyway . . .

2) Train to Newark: I have heard that the morning drive north on the Garden State Pkwy from the shore towns to Newark is horrible, but that the train is a good alternative. What is it like on the trains? Is it possible to get work done, or is it too crowded? Also, are the times reliable?

I used to commute to Lower Manhattan everyday from Allenhurst. I changed trains in Newark - to take the PATH to the WTC. You'd be going downstairs to catch the lightrail.

Anyway, I caught the express train in the morning in Allenhurst and it was about an hour up to Newark - obviously a little less if you're leaving from Long Branch, Little Silver or Red Bank. The subway ride from Newark Penn to campus is two stops - it doesn't even take 5 minutes.

It's been a few years but the train (from Allenhurst to Newark) didn't really fill up until Hazlet. Getting on at Allenhurst I always got a seat, the same seat, sitting next to the same guy who was headed to Hoboken. I didn't work on the train, I usually slept. But yeah, the hardcore people have their laptops out and are busy plugging away at 7:15am - more power to 'em.

See, the trains are only electric down to Long Branch. So you have more frequent, electric trains that start in Long Branch and go up to Penn Station in NYC. The diesel trains start all the way down in Bay Head. Off-peak the diesels terminate in Long Branch and you just walk across the platform on get on the electric train. During peak hours the diesels keep going, making the stops up to Hazlet, at which point they're full anyway, and then they express to Newark. Most people get off of those trains in Newark for other connections or b/c they work in Newark . . . but the diesels continue on stopping at Secaucus and then they terminate in Hoboken.

3) Subway in Newark: Is it safe to take the subway from the train station in Newark to the Rutgers campus? Is this somewhere I would not want to be after dark if I am teaching a night course?

I'm not a pro at the Newark subway but i've taken both lines a handful of times and, actually, since they've redone it it's actually really nice. I've only been on it between say, 8am and 10pm but I never felt like I shouldn't be there. It's always been pretty busy and I've never waited very long for a train so . . .

4) If you had to choose a shore town that is somewhat central to both Newark and New Brunswick, what would it be? We are a young(ish) couple with no plans for kids in the near future, and will most likely be renting for the first year or two. We are primarily looking for somewhere very close to a beach with decent surf, lower crime levels, and less noise and crowds. Is this possible for less than $2K a month for a small 1-2 bedroom place to rent??

Thanks in advance for the help!

Because you want access to Route 18 and to the train I would say that you should stay between Red Bank and Point Pleasant - keeping in mind that the further south you go the further you'll be from both places. Ideally you'd be between Long Branch and Belmar. North of Long Branch Route 18 heads west so if you were leaving in the morning from Red Bank you'd have to head south on the Parkway for 4 miles to catch up with Route 18.

Unfortunately, Monmouth Co. used to have a lot of good breaks - the beach replenishment projects put an end to most of them. He might have to drive 15 minutes to get to one now - which isn't terrible but it's not like it used to be where every town had their own break. Every east coast surfer has heard of the Manasquan Inlet - it can get crowded there but until your husband figures out what the good breaks are and when they go off - Manasquan is the old standby. There are a few good spots left (send me a message if you want to know where) near Long Branch that I don't want to advertise.