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Originally Posted by noinoi24
Thank you all for the advices... Really appreciate it. Will be back asking more questions soon. How about hackettstown? I'm willing to drive 30 mins to work.
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There are several recent threads on this forum that will give you great info on Hackettstown. It would be well worth your time to do a quick search for them and read a bit.
Commuting from the Hackettstown area to Bridgewater is going to take over an hour, more like 1:15 to 1.5 hr NON RUSH Hour. (and that is without accidents/tie-ups or weather issues.) You either have to go over Schooley's Mountain and through Chester and take Rte 206 south or take rt 57 to rt 31 to Rt 78 to Bridgewater. The 206 commute is a nightmare as the road is mostly 2 lanes complete with traffic lights and with more than enough traffic to warrant a 6 lane road. The rt 57 commute is via country roads, mostly 2 lanes, and meanders quite a bit - and rte 78 is notorious for being shut down for accidents on a regular basis.
You will still have to significantly up your budget for housing in the Hackettstown area, where again a 1 bd apt will run you ~$1000 a month (and remember you'll need a 2 or three bd place. Which will of course run higher per month) You are better off staying away from the larger complexes in the area as they have bad reputations. As the greater Hackettstown area has lower housing costs, the area attracts those of the fringe of society. There is an issue with crime and to some extent drugs. It is mostly robbery, thefts, vandalism, assaults, (usually something like a fight at a booze filled party) and home/car break-ins. Here are the latest stats I could find on C/D, but the OP should be aware that those stats are from 2011, and crime rates have been climbing in town over the past several years.
//www.city-data.com/crime/crime...ew-Jersey.html I would not say Hackettstown is unsafe, and as a woman I have never felt unsafe while in Hackettstown, but the fact is that there is plenty of "petty" crime.
OP it is pretty clear that you are really unfamiliar with the realities of life in NJ in terms of commute times and housing costs. To put it bluntly, you are not going to find ANY housing suitable for a family of 4 for <950 a month. (let alone something fitting your desires/wants.) Even housing in NJ most crime ridden communities will run more than that. NJ's traffic is horrendous, and commutes of an hour+ are typical. Forget the commute times suggested by mapquest/googlemaps etc. the are outright laughable. Take their suggested times and multiply it by 2 and ad 10% for a more realistic time. Another reality you need to absorb is that if an area has "cheaper" housing costs there is a reason! In this particular case, the areas around Bridgewater Twp with less expensive housing has significant flooding issues. What you can realistically expect is to find a small place, most likely a duplex/multi unit place, not in a flood zone for ~1400+ a month with more than a half hour commute to work. It will not be in a good/great school district, and will be in an ok, area safety wise.
I suggest in order to balance your commute time and housing costs, look by Gillette/Long Hill Twp. Your commute will be ~half hour maybe a little longer, and you can find suitable housing in the 14/1500 a month range. Stay away from Bound Brook, Raritan, Manville, etc...anything adjacent to the Raritan River (both north and south branches) due to frequent, bad, flooding. If your budget cannot reach the 14/1500 per month range, you'll need to look further N and W to the Hopatcong, Hackettstown, Clinton areas, but expect your commute to be an hour plus, and housing costs will be only slightly lower - in the 12/1400 range. All of the above recommendations are dependent on you having a car and not relying on public transportation. Mass transit in NJ is mainly focused on getting people to the business centers - NYC, Jersey City, Newark, etc and access in suburban areas is extremely limited. You will not be able to get by without a car in this area.
KoalaNJ
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