places near Kenilworth (Elizabeth, Union, Montclair: housing, rent, job)

[InThecity]

Hello,

I recently accepted a job in Kenilworth. I was thinking about staying in temp housing in Cranford for a couple of weeks. Is anyone familiar with that area? I hope it's safe.

Also, I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for cities/towns to consider near Kenilworth that are safe, but also provide night life, entertainment, etc. I'm looking to rent an apt.

I had considered sharing an apt with friends in south Jersey but everyone had avised against it.

Thanks!

[Wellatleast]

Cranford is safe.
South Jersey would be a longer commute than towns around Kennilworth such as Union, Roselle, Roselle Park, Cranford, Elizabeth and Garwood. If you are looking for nightlife Elizabeth probably has the most. Elizabeth is more of a city type atmosphere and comes with city type problems.
Elizabeth is only about a 10-15 minute drive from the towns listed above so you may want to rent in one of those places and drive to bars/clubs/dining.
Westfield has probably the nicest downtown area to walk in but not a lot of night life. I live in Roselle Park and when I go out with my husband we go to clubs in Elizabeth or NY. Hoboken is another great place to visit day or night, but is not very close to Kennilworth.

[TomWaits]

There really isn't much nightlife in that section of NJ (honestly not much nightlife in NJ 'cept for Hoboken) that's because it's "safe"... You might want to stick with Cranford or Roselle Park because that way you can take the train into Hoboken or NYC.

[InThecity]

Thanks everyone for your input. It's all very helpful. I also wanted to ask what the most popular banks are in NJ. I currently bank with Wells Fargo but it doesn't look like they're in Jersey.

[Older&Wiser]

Try Wachovia, World Savings or Spencer; all in Cranford which by the way makes the "safe" list in NJ at # 25 out of 250.

[nells]

I also work in Kenilworth and besides Hoboken both Morristown and Montclair have some, and both those town have a reasonable commute to Kenilworth. Hoboken is fairly expensive for rent but your commute would be reversed.

[InThecity]

Nells, what would commuting time look like to Hoboken? Would I be going against traffic? I checked out Hoboken this weekend I loved it. I also checked out other places like Westfield, Garwood, and Summit and the apts there were OK. The area seemed very safe but not as exciting as Hoboken.