Moving to newark, nj need nice area near airport (newark/liberty) (Passaic: rentals, transfer)

[matizzle]

I'M A SWF, 26 TRANSFERING FROM AUSTIN, TX TO NEWARK, NJ. I COULD USE SOME ADVICE ON AN AREA TO LIVE NEAR THE AIRPORT (WHERE I WILL BE WORKING). I'D LIKE A COMMUNITY THAT IS AS CLOSE TO AUSTIN LIVING AS POSSIBLE! LAID BACK, FUN, and UNIQUE BUT WITH A BUDGET BC THE COST OF LIVING IS CHANGING BUT NOT MY PAY!


ALSO I'VE NEVER BEEN ON A TRAIN, BUS OR SUBWAY IN MY ENTIRE LIFE , IT'S ALL JARGON TO ME! WHAT WOULD BE THE BEST/SAFEST/QUICKEST/INEXPENSIVE FORM OF TRANSPORTATION? I'M NOT SURE IF I SHOULD DRIVE MY CAR TO NEW JERSEY, (I'M HOPING TO MOVE BACK TO TX IN 6 MONTHS OR SO) OR JUST USE PUBLIC MEANS FOR MY STAY IN NJ.?!?!


I WISH TO HAVE LESS THAN A HOUR COMMUTE FROM THE TIME I WALK OUT MY DOOR AND INTO THE AIRPORT...WOULD THIS BE EASY TO COME BY?


THANK YA'LL FOR YOUR TIME!

[dhanu86]

no it'll be hard to come by. Driving would be best but not cheapest. But then again if the parking lot is far from ur exact work location u may need to take an airport shuttle which will make the commute over 1 hour. If so train or bus could be best. I don't know what Austin is like but I'd say Union, south orange, or belleville as far as nearby, within 1 hour, affordable.

[Sergio M]

A 6 month rental will be tough to come by. Towns like Kenilworth or Cranford are only like a 15 minute drive to EWR. Driving is your best bet, although, there is a monorail in the airport from the parking areas to the terminal.

[BobKovacs]

"laid back, fun and unique, but on a budget", huh? Good luck finding that within an hour of Newark Airport. I'm still struggling with the "laid back, fun and unique" part- the "on a budget" part throws a whole new wrinkle into the equation, though......

[MPBsr]

Ya gotta love these out of staters and their dreams.

[Lusitan]

Sorry to say, you won't find anything even remotely like "Austin living" around here. I've lived in both places. In terms of culture and entertainment (which Austin is known for) New York City is like Austin + a million things Austin doesn't have (i.e. it blows Austin away). But in terms of "quality of life" stuff, forget about it. There are so many difference, I can't even begin to list them.

If you're working at the airport and want a commute within an hour, I suggest you look at NJ Transit's website for a map of the rail system:

http://www.njtransit.com/pdf/rail/Rail_System_Map.pdf

Then take a look at towns that are on train lines that go to Newark Airport. You might want to look at Rahway, Red Bank, New Brunswick -- those are semi-urban towns where you might find the pace of life more interesting for someone your age instead of a sleepy suburban town. If you lived close to the train station in any of those towns, you should be able to swing a door-to-door commute to EWR in about an hour or less, I think.

There's always the option of the Ironbound neighborhood in Newark (lots of flight attendants live there) but that might be too much of a culture shock for someone coming from TX who has never taken a train. (It's a heavily Portuguese/Brasilian/Latino neighborhood in Newark, close to the train station).

Theft is a little more of a problem in NJ than in TX I suppose, but it's no real reason not to take your car; I would. Having a car will give you access to drive around and do other things you can't do easily on public transportation (hit the beach in the summer, head out to a mall, etc.).

A 6 month rental might be difficult to find online, most are looking for 1 year lease. Try realtor.com and craigslist.com for rentals.

[ramnj]

Forget about living in Newark...PERIOD! You won't like it specially coming from Austin, TX. Almost everybody that works in Newark commutes.

Good luck!

[tandcookies]

Originally Posted by MPBsr

Ya gotta love these out of staters and their dreams.

Lol... good one.

[matizzle]

I appreciate all the advice and helpful links! No more dreaming for this girl!-toto i'm not going to be in texas anymore!!

[JBez]

I live in North Newark and can tell you that beyond a shadow of a doubt it is not a laid back kind of town.

Some people you meet can be laid back and fun, my friends are amazing. I find that this area draws a lot of open minded, fun loving people.

But the city itself is not too desireable.

I would bring the car if you can. Although Newark is great for being in the middle of a transportation hub with Penn Station and the airport...there are so many things to do in Jersey that will take a lot less time to drive to than take public transportation to.

Like the malls, or good movie theatres. Driving would be 15 minutes, where bus could be an hour+.

Towns that are close to Newark but not like Newark, are Lyndhurst, Harrison and Kearny on the east side of the Passaic river. They're pretty nice. Also to the north are Bloomfield, Belleville and kind of out of the budget Montclair.

Newark is the kind of place that is safe during the day, but not so much at night unless you really really know your neighborhood or are travelling with someone who does so please be careful here.

The closest place to the airport that is relatively the "safest" would be the Ironbound section.