Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I am entering my final year of a masters program in the northeast and will be afterwards looking to relocate and find work.
I would very much like to stay in the northeast, but I also want to be closer to my family in northern VA.
Right now, I live in northern CT.
There are several things I have questions on.
1) My field of study is geography and I am into planning....is the planning field a big deal in NJ? Do they have ample jobs in the state compared to most other places?
2) Which place, if any, in NJ suits me. Specifically I would like an area which:
1) Is in the NY-tri state sphere of influence (North or Central NJ NOT south Jersey)
2) Managable for me to go home to NOVA on the weekends
3) Is not an expensive/stressed-out/over-crowded/hectic area....semi-rural or more mellow would be better
4) Has a decent mid 20s/young adult population that an out-of-stater could assimilate to
3) Obviously, getting all of these perfect will be difficult, so reasonably I am looking for an area which balances these out.
I am considering NJ because I guess I felt planning might be a profitable field in NJ, along with how it is close to NY but also closer to NOVA.
My concern with NJ is that it is expensive and I know most of you probably do not want to hear it again, but the general sterotype of NJ being overcrowded/over-developed/sprawled. I spent a lot of time in NOVA and I hate how sprawled out that area is and would prefer not to live in such a messy area.
4) I was wondering if you have any suggestions.
I was thinking perhaps
1) Montvale/Montclair (think northern garden state/route 17/northern bergen county)
2) Morristown (Morris County)
3) Freehold/Toms River (Monmouth/Ocean County)
4) Trenton/Princeton
5) I do have Asperger's....so it also is important any place I move to has good resources in this area...does North/Central Jersey have such resources?
6) Last....how are the beaches by Toms River/Freehold and Central Jersey? Are they accesible if you live inland or are they stressful, dirty, and crowded?
Honestly, I think you should try to find a job first, and then try to find a place to live from that point. You don't know where the job will be, and then that will totally change where you live. There are nice towns all over the state that you could be very happy in.
And I wouldn't rule out South Jersey, especially if you want to commute to VA. What if you get the perfect job down there, or even around Philly? There are tons of nice places to live down there too.
Would Monmouth County fit my needs?
I did a little searching, it seems to be in the NY tri-state, with a young population, but far enough away so that it is not over-crowded and full of sprawl.
1) My field of study is geography and I am into planning....is the planning field a big deal in NJ? Do they have ample jobs in the state compared to most other places? I know nothing about planning!
2) Which place, if any, in NJ suits me. Specifically I would like an area which:
1) Is in the NY-tri state sphere of influence (North or Central NJ NOT south Jersey) Doable.
2) Managable for me to go home to NOVA on the weekends Sure.
3) Is not an expensive/stressed-out/over-crowded/hectic area....semi-rural or more mellow would be better
4) Has a decent mid 20s/young adult population that an out-of-stater could assimilate to
#3 and #4 are tough. You kind of want two contradictory things. A young population with stuff to do, yet not expensive and also semi-rural or mellow. Most young people start out in a place like Hoboken if they want to be around a large young population and not in sprawl, but it is crowded and relatively expensive. On the other hand, there is tons to do without your car, including the city.
My concern with NJ is that it is expensive and I know most of you probably do not want to hear it again, but the general sterotype of NJ being overcrowded/over-developed/sprawled. I spent a lot of time in NOVA and I hate how sprawled out that area is and would prefer not to live in such a messy area. We have urban areas, suburban areas that are still densely populated, and rural.
4) I was wondering if you have any suggestions.
I was thinking perhaps
1) Montvale/Montclair (think northern garden state/route 17/northern bergen county) Up in that area, I think Westwood is nice, has a nice downtown. Not sure on Montvale for someone young.
Montclair is a good place to start, stuff to do, downtown.
2) Morristown (Morris County) Another good pick, although I would do Montclair over Morristown
3) Freehold/Toms River (Monmouth/Ocean County) Based on what you want, no to these two. Red Bank might be an option though.
4) Trenton/Princeton No to Trenton JMO. Princeton is not very exciting and is super expensive.
5) I do have Asperger's....so it also is important any place I move to has good resources in this area...does North/Central Jersey have such resources? Don't know abot this one, I would assume yes because it's very densely populated.
6) Last....how are the beaches by Toms River/Freehold and Central Jersey? Are they accesible if you live inland or are they stressful, dirty, and crowded? If you live in Central Jersey, there are plenty of nice beaches to drive to within an hour.
Thanks!
Other ideas: Red Bank, New Brunswick downtown, Hoboken.
I am entering my final year of a masters program in the northeast and will be afterwards looking to relocate and find work.
I would very much like to stay in the northeast, but I also want to be closer to my family in northern VA.
Right now, I live in northern CT.
There are several things I have questions on.
1) My field of study is geography and I am into planning....is the planning field a big deal in NJ? Do they have ample jobs in the state compared to most other places?
I don't think it's a huge field in NJ. We are such an old and populated state so it seems that there is little planning and more fixing problems with zoning, etc. I don't know if it's a big field or not, but I don't think so.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stifled
2) Which place, if any, in NJ suits me. Specifically I would like an area which:
1) Is in the NY-tri state sphere of influence (North or Central NJ NOT south Jersey)
2) Managable for me to go home to NOVA on the weekends
3) Is not an expensive/stressed-out/over-crowded/hectic area....semi-rural or more mellow would be better
4) Has a decent mid 20s/young adult population that an out-of-stater could assimilate to
3) Obviously, getting all of these perfect will be difficult, so reasonably I am looking for an area which balances these out.
I am considering NJ because I guess I felt planning might be a profitable field in NJ, along with how it is close to NY but also closer to NOVA.
My concern with NJ is that it is expensive and I know most of you probably do not want to hear it again, but the general sterotype of NJ being overcrowded/over-developed/sprawled. I spent a lot of time in NOVA and I hate how sprawled out that area is and would prefer not to live in such a messy area.
It is all those things, but it's a small state, so nothing is ever all that far from just about anywhere you would live in NJ.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stifled
4) I was wondering if you have any suggestions.
I was thinking perhaps
1) Montvale/Montclair (think northern garden state/route 17/northern bergen county)
I live in the town right next to Montvale. Montvale is a wonderful town but they actually lack a "downtown". Other Pascack Valley towns would be better for you, particularly Westwood or Hillsdale, or even Park Ridge (my town). But this area is still mostly families and elderly, with some 20-somethings, but not that many (and most of them are living with their folks if they're single). Also, Ridgewood is good, but expensive.
Montclair is OK, it has crime issues in areas, though. That is Essex County, very different from Northern Bergen County.
If you want more down-to-earth yet affordable nice towns with some young people, I would say look at Clifton, Nutley, Wallington, Rutherford, Lyndhurst, Secaucus, even Weehawken.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stifled
2) Morristown (Morris County)
Far, far out of the way, you will rely on 80 and 46 which both get really bad with traffic. Morristown is kinda nice but also has a ghetto area. It's a lot like Montclair but with a much worse location - tack on 30+ minutes to go to the shore or NYC.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stifled
3) Freehold/Toms River (Monmouth/Ocean County)
Too far from NY city for Toms River, although it's a nice area. Go north to Re Bank, Hazlet, Old Bridge Township (Middlesex County). My brother lives in Hazlet and it's great. He's within 20 min to 1 hour of good beaches (even with some traffic), close to Long Branch and Red Bank, easy access to Rts 9, 35, 36, 440, GSP, and Turnpike. He's only 30 to 40 minutes to Newark Airport or Midtown Manhattan, only 10/15 minutes from Staten Island.
It's not too congested like more northern parts of NJ, and it's got all the conveniences in terms of shopping, grocery stores, etc. Bonus is that they have Wawa's there (this is about as far north as Wawa goes). Housing is a little cheaper and you get more for your money there. But the location is awesome, so look at towns along the Monmouth/Middlesex border. Freehold is in that area, but a little to the south, it would be OK also, but they too have a ghetto section from what I know.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stifled
4) Trenton/Princeton
This is more the Philly area. It's fine, but it's not the NYC sphere of influence.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stifled
5) I do have Asperger's....so it also is important any place I move to has good resources in this area...does North/Central Jersey have such resources?
Sorry, can't help you there. All I know about Asperger's is that the movie character Napoleon Dynamite supposedly had (has?) Asperger's.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stifled
6) Last....how are the beaches by Toms River/Freehold and Central Jersey? Are they accesible if you live inland or are they stressful, dirty, and crowded?
Thanks!
The beaches in that area are mostly very nice. They are easily accessible from inland. Mostly they're very clean, some of them can be very stressful, some are very crowded (yet NOT stressful), and some are less crowded. Island Beach State Park is very peaceful, less crowded and not stressful. LBI has many beaches like that, too.
I have found Sea Bright is very pleasant, even if it does get crowded, it's never stressful.
Half the fun for you will be trying out the different beaches till you find one you like! There are all sorts - crowded, not crowded, family beaches, young people's beach towns, wealthy beach towns, down-to-earth beach towns, natural beaches with no boardwalk, some with a boardwalkl but no concessions, some with boardwalk with many concessions, games, rides, waterparks, etc... There is really something for everyone.
I think Point Pleasant offers a good balance of everything, because the boardwalk is set back from the beach enough that you never have to go to it if you don't want to.
So, for you, I'd recommend looking within the area from Rutherford south to Freehold, and no further west than New Brunswick, Edison, Montclair.
Wow Bergen....I just want to commend you on taking the time to answer in such extended manner...what a wealth of information you just provided!! That is very nice of you.
How can anyone follow that??? LOL
All I have to offer is some homework for you...lol
Plus I will not suggest I know ANYTHING about your field of interest BUT...I'm thinking there maybe opportunity in government for you? Since these sites are all put out by the Muni's they may also be able to direct you to some career opp's as well...I dunno....just taking a stab...but have fun & good luck!
Stifled - There are a lot of engineering and planning firms around the state. Planning boards, land use boards and boards of adjustment are active in every municipality, and boy do we have a lot of municipalities. I think you'll be fine wherever you can get a job. I would highly suggest Ocean County, as there is A LOT more new construction here than in already-developed areas of North Jersey and this is one of the few areas of the state that is actually significantly increasing in population.
I think Toms River would be a perfect town for you. It's not overcrowded, it's a good, safe community with good schools and it's pretty much everything you'd expect from a suburban town. Yes, it has 100K residents but there is something of a small-town feel. Also, it's close to the beach and much of the town is right on the bay and close to boating/fishing, etc. and all the activities that go with that. Next to Toms River is Brick Township, which is a very similar town to TR. The Brick schools actually have a lot of families with children with autism/aspergers moving there since they specialize in some of those programs, so I would assume they have additional resources in the private sector dedicated to that sort of thing.
In my humble opinion, unless you are hamstrung and stuck to a job in NYC, there's no reason NOT to live near the Shore area and close to our state's most beautiful natural areas and all the great things to do there. Personally, I really don't care about going to or working in NYC, but it's about 90 minutes away if I choose to go there for some reason. Philadelphia is 60 minutes away.
I hear from you that Ocean County is good.
I am unclear...what do you feel about Monmouth County?
Wouldn't that have it all?
In the NY sphere of influence...access to the beach....not all sprawled out....young people?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
There are all sorts - crowded, not crowded, family beaches, young people's beach towns, wealthy beach towns, down-to-earth beach towns, natural beaches with no boardwalk, some with a boardwalkl but no concessions, some with boardwalk with many concessions, games, rides, waterparks, etc... There is really something for everyone.
