Best place to live in Jersey for downtown commute (Newark: apartments, rent)

[bon_viv]

Hi All,
I am working in downtowm manhattan and I am looking for a place to live in Jersey. I am looking for a one bedroom apartment (1000-1100 dollars/month ) so that my commute is less than an hour. I know places like pavonia/newport, hoboken but the rent in those places is out of my range. I know about jersey city but thats too crowded and some areas didnt look very safe. I have been checking out ads on craigslist and places like edgewater, west new york, secaucus seem to be affordable with nice views, cleanliness and not so crowded but the commute is better to midtown rather than downtown. Are there similar towns with easy commute to downtown (less than an hour)?
I know I my range is on the lower side and I am asking for a lot but I have just started searching so i am looking for the perfect match. if
i wont be able to get as desired, then I might have to forget about easy commute. While reading on the forum, it seems bloomfield, morristown, montclair too are close. If someone can please advise how is the commute from these towns to downtown (in terms of both cost and time)
Appreciate everyones help!!

[Jerseyt719]

You are way too low for the area. I'm in Central Jersey which will take you 40-55 minutes by train, forget bus. And even in this are which seems to have the lowest rents around, you cannot get an apartment for that. A studio or a room maybe. But if you're getting a studio or room, you can get that closer to the city.
Good luck!

[ching1698]

Originally Posted by bon_viv

Hi All,
I am working in downtowm manhattan and I am looking for a place to live in Jersey. I am looking for a one bedroom apartment (1000-1100 dollars/month ) so that my commute is less than an hour. I know places like pavonia/newport, hoboken but the rent in those places is out of my range. I know about jersey city but thats too crowded and some areas didnt look very safe. I have been checking out ads on craigslist and places like edgewater, west new york, secaucus seem to be affordable with nice views, cleanliness and not so crowded but the commute is better to midtown rather than downtown. Are there similar towns with easy commute to downtown (less than an hour)?
I know I my range is on the lower side and I am asking for a lot but I have just started searching so i am looking for the perfect match. if
i wont be able to get as desired, then I might have to forget about easy commute. While reading on the forum, it seems bloomfield, morristown, montclair too are close. If someone can please advise how is the commute from these towns to downtown (in terms of both cost and time)
Appreciate everyones help!!

You can consider apartments at Piscataway area like Mayflowers, RiverCrest ...etc that is very close to Bound Brook Train Station to NYC.

You can also find some good price condos at realtors.com at Edison area. Since many tenants in Greater Edison area bought condo/townhouses in past year (http://newjersey.craigslist.org/search/rfs?query=edison&minAsk=min&maxAsk=max - broken link) the rent in the area seems to be getting stable and affordable.

Also, many IT professionals in the area from foreign countries seem to finish their project and go home during winter season, starting Thanksgiving, and you shall be able to find some good rent apt or condos in the area.

[syncmaster]

Originally Posted by ching1698

You can consider apartments at Piscataway area like Mayflowers, RiverCrest ...etc that is very close to Bound Brook Train Station to NYC.

But that wouldn't be 1 hour or less door-to-door. The only place in Piscataway you can pull that off is if you're near Edison station. The RARV line is a slow, plodding, local train with a stop in Newark - it sucks.

[bon_viv]

Thanks guys for your inputs. Any one has any idea about the commute from bloomfield, morristown, montclair, west new york etc. i know my range is on the lower side but i found ads on CL around this and thats why I thought that I would be able to get something in that range. If not, well, obviously i will have to raise the bar.

[lammius]

I used to commute from Montclair to Midtown. To get downtown there are trains from Montclair that terminate in Hoboken. From Hoboken you can take the PATH trains or NY Waterway ferries to Downtown locations. If you find an apartment close to one of Montclair's train stations I'd say it's possible to do the commute in an hour.

[ching1698]

Originally Posted by syncmaster

But that wouldn't be 1 hour or less door-to-door. The only place in Piscataway you can pull that off is if you're near Edison station. The RARV line is a slow, plodding, local train with a stop in Newark - it sucks.

The situation is improving, and you can also consider the apartments at Piscataway closer to Dunellen Train Station or even Plainfield Train Station that has direct train to Newark. They are Pleasant View, Royal Gardens, Princeton Garden ...etc.

Somehow, I feel Newark Penn Station is great, I just picked up a copy of World Journal, the largest Chinese newspaper in the US, when transfer to PATH where I read them, and before I arrived office, I kind of get all the news I need to start a fresh day. Of course, there are dozens of newspapers and magazine to choose ...

And, at the Penn Station of Newark, there is also Greyhound bus terminal, so when I have visitors from out of state, I could just told them to take Greyhound to Newark Penn Station, and I would pick them up on the way home from Manhattan.

If you want, there is a skyway connection from Newark Penn Station to Geteway buildings that has nice Hilton with many events, huge Wacovia bank, food court, Sports ...etc that you really do not need to rush home or office, you can do something on the way home or to office.

Not far from Newark Penn Station also has this NJPAC that you can also catch some nice show or concert before going home. Live is full or surprise and wonderful things ...

[S & M]

How about Union township?

[squirli]

Rahway NJ is a very nice up and coming commuter town

[nobi]

You can find apartments like S & M said in Union township we were renting in our 2 family house 3 bedroom for 1200 but i knew apartments with 2 bedrooms for 1000 and close to train station.