Best place for me to live near East Rutherford? (Clifton: apartments, rentals)

[miklars]

Hey everyone,

I'm potentially taking a job in the East Rutherford area (near the Meadowlands Sports Complex) and really need some good honest advice on potential areas to rent. I'm coming from Seattle and haven't lived anywhere else, so I'm really excited and REALLY nervous/scared!!

Basically, I'm late twenties, single, male. I don't drink, so the nightlife is not necessarily my thing, but if/when I get some friends in the area I'm sure I will go out with them occasionally. My budget as it stands right now is $1300 for rent and utilities. I would prefer to have a 1BR to myself rather than sharing a place with roommates, but obviously this could change based on the offer amount, location, etc. I've heard Seattle is nothing like NJ/NY, so I'm just really scared with my price range that I'll get myself in the wrong neighborhood. If its a matter of needing to bunk with another person or two in order to live in a safe place, then I'll do it.

I will be working a typical 9-5 job, but frequently will stay later and being a sports freak I'm sure I'll stay after work to catch quite a few Nets games here and there. With that in mind, I'm also looking for advice on whether I should get a car or rely solely on public transportation?

I was in the area this last week and I love how easy NJ transit is to get into the Port Authority in NYC, but I'm a little leery on how efficient it is on the NJ side? I don't mind walking a little bit, but I don't want to be spending a couple hours each day dealing with multiple transfers and/or walking far distances in the dark.

Any help would be great!!! I've looked at Hoboken, Weehawken, Rutherford, West New York, Clifton, Nutley, Hackensack, and some others but could really use some help from the locals!

[johnfrisco]

Congrats on your job offer!

1) Hoboken and Weehawken will be a little too expensive without a roommate. I think Nutley or Clifton would be perfect for you. I have a bias for Nutley because that's where I live. Clifton is more of a city than Nutley. Nutley is a quiet Itlalian-America town. All the local towns have been featured on The Sopranos many times.

2) Will you need a car: Great question--it all depends on where you choose to live and how close public transporation goes to your job, however I would have to say yes get yourself a car. Life will be much easier.

3) NJ transit to get into the Port Authority in NYC is very reliable. Have no doubts. The Path train is equally reliable.

Hope this helps at least a little bit.

[JG183]

it will be a challenge to find an apt. like that, but consider looking in:

Wood-Ridge
Hasbrouck Heights
Secaucus

[brookdaleresident]

Check into Rutherford. Nice town, easy commute to your job and NYC.

[johnfrisco]

Originally Posted by brookdaleresident

Check into Rutherford. Nice town, easy commute to your job and NYC.

But more expensive than the other towns posted.

Also consider Bloomfield and Lyndhurst.

[shannybannany]

Lyndhurst is a lovely old town which I *believe* has some rentals in your budget. It is right next to Rutherford. Also....maybe No. Arlington.

Good luck!

Shanny

[gradstudent77]

Originally Posted by johnfrisco

Congrats on your job offer!

1) Hoboken and Weehawken will be a little too expensive without a roommate. I think Nutley or Clifton would be perfect for you. I have a bias for Nutley because that's where I live. Clifton is more of a city than Nutley. Nutley is a quiet Itlalian-America town. All the local towns have been featured on The Sopranos many times.


Hope this helps at least a little bit.

Could def do Weehawken on $1300 for a one-bedroom.

[gradstudent77]

Originally Posted by miklars

Any help would be great!!! I've looked at Hoboken, Weehawken, Rutherford, West New York, Clifton, Nutley, Hackensack, and some others but could really use some help from the locals!

Well, I'm sure you noticed that those places were quite different from each other. You've mentioned that you want a safe area and that it needs to be near E Rutherford. Did you prefer the suburban-style towns or the more urban ones? Do you want to rent an apartment in a two-family house or an apartment building?

I just browsed on craigslist for all those towns briefly and found units in your price range everywhere, even hoboken (although, some of the hoboken ads seemed pretty fishy). If you were to actually commit to an apartment search, I'm sure you can do a lot better than my glance at craigslist. Also, remember to negotiate whereever you end up liking an apartment. You should be able to knock $50-100/month off pretty easily.

[miklars]

Thank you all for the great responses - the more advice, the better!

To answer a few questions from gradstudent77...

Originally Posted by gradstudent77

Did you prefer the suburban-style towns or the more urban ones? Do you want to rent an apartment in a two-family house or an apartment building?

I think I have come to the conclusion that I will want my car, so with that in mind I'm looking more towards the suburban areas since it seems to be a little cheaper and safer. I know Hoboken is pretty much out of the equation because parking is way too limited (and expensive:-)) for my budget. I would like to find a newer or atleast well-maintained apartment building, and would be willing to go about 8-10 miles radius from East Rutherford to find it.

As for the 2-family houses, I don't feel too comfortable with that scenario. To be honest - its something completely new and unknown to me. As far as I know, Seattle doesn't have much of any 2-family houses. So does this basically mean you rent a room and live with a random family? Reading this forum, I've heard about a lot of these being illegal. How do you tell between legal and illegal?

I'll do some more keyword searches for the cities/towns you have all mentioned and may have quite a few followup questions. Again, I appreciate everybody's help and insight. For someone who has been a home-body for 28 years, I'm so freaking lost in this process!!!

[johnfrisco]

Originally Posted by miklars

As for the 2-family houses, I don't feel too comfortable with that scenario. To be honest - its something completely new and unknown to me. As far as I know, Seattle doesn't have much of any 2-family houses. So does this basically mean you rent a room and live with a random family? Reading this forum, I've heard about a lot of these being illegal. How do you tell between legal and illegal?

A 2 family house means there are 2 completely separate apartments in one house. You don't typically share any living space together. Typically the landlord will live in one of the apartments and rent the other one out to help pay for the mortgage.