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Check out Troy Towers in Bloomfield NJ. It's close to the direct train to NYC and a 10min bus ride to Montclair NJ which is a cool & diverse town. You may even be able to find a 2bed apt in Montclair w/your budget but will likely have to pay a realtors fee.
Where are you coming from? Charlotte, NC
Why are you moving? Relocating due to work
Where will you be working ? If NYC, what part of NYC? 41st and Broadway..
Will you buy or rent? rent
What is your budget ? 1600-1800 for a 1bhk/2bhk
What kind of place are you looking for ? Looking for a suburban, safe place.
Will anyone (spouse, children, pets) be moving with you ? Wife and a 2 yr old kid
Do you need/want good public schools? nope
Briefly describe the kind of neighborhood you'd like to live in ? families with young children, diverse, Little bit of Indian presence would be good
(examples: families with young children, young, mature, artsy, diverse, safe, close-knit, block parties, etc)
List three things that are important to you in order of importance.(examples: nightlife, outdoor activities, rural/urban, safety, downtown area, charming, new construction, proximity to XYZ, family oriented, easy parking, short commute, etc) - safety, walkable neighborhood/apartment complex, < 1 hr door to door commute, Looking to commute via public transport so that wifey can have the car for other things(groceries, shopping etc)
I have been searching for apartments over the past month and initially I decided that Rahway, Woodbridge, Avenel or Carteret areas would be good based on what I read online, but when i went to visit NJ last week I didnt like any of those places. I looked at few apartments in Edison, Iselin area considering they are closer to Indian stores but none of the apartments were worth 1600-1700$ for 2bhk
My initial price range was 1600 for a 2bhk but now am almost certain that i wont get a 2bed in that price range. Am now ok to move into a 1bhk and later relocate after a year.
Below are some of the apartments am looking at and dont see much reviews in city data
Am considering Avalon because I have previously stayed at Avalon before(just the feel good factor) and also they have a 30 day move in guarantee. I have already done a 3 day trip to NJ last week.. so am not sure if I could make another one before I move.
BTW, My move in would be mid of October.
Any good/bad things about the above Avalon apartments?
Any other specific apartments or areas I need to look at?
Any specific apartments in jersey city I should look at?
Would really appreciate any inputs I get. thanks in advance for your time.
Regards,
Vinay
IMO about the only reason to move to NJ from NC is about salary and educational opportunities.
Based on your opening post I can see that education has never been an important part of your life.
IMO about the only reason to move to NJ from NC is about salary and educational opportunities.
Based on your opening post I can see that education has never been an important part of your life.
Stay in Charlotte.
There are LOTS more reasons to move to NJ - there is so much more to do here then Charlotte! There is more diversity then Charlotte and if you move to an area more south of the city you'll find people are very friendly. There is lots of open space - I live in the northern part of Central NJ and we have farms with cows, horses, etc. Take some time to scope it out and I think you'll love being here! Even some of the shore towns have a reasonable commute to the city - so you can live near the beach and work in NYC. There are so many options for you - but the areas you've looked at already aren't where I'd want to live either........
There are LOTS more reasons to move to NJ - there is so much more to do here then Charlotte! There is more diversity then Charlotte and if you move to an area more south of the city you'll find people are very friendly. There is lots of open space - I live in the northern part of Central NJ and we have farms with cows, horses, etc. Take some time to scope it out and I think you'll love being here! Even some of the shore towns have a reasonable commute to the city - so you can live near the beach and work in NYC. There are so many options for you - but the areas you've looked at already aren't where I'd want to live either........
I agree, NJ itself is nice with lots of options. The issue is the cost trade off. Are the amenities of NJ really that much nicer than Charlotte to warrant the HUGE COL increase? Probably not. Pretty much anything you can do in NJ you can do in a large Southern city, but your home will be 4x the size, 100 years newer, and cost half as much each month down South.
Charlotte is not a city in any northeastern definition where city means Philadelphia, NYC, Boston, etc.
Downtown Charlotte, while nice, is a joke compared to this area.
Atlanta is the one city I'd consider moving back to in the southeast. It is truly a major city in my opinion.
And at this point I'd only move there for retirement. The opportunities here both professionally and personally are so much greater. Obviously this may not be true for every single individual. But in general, the south still leaves a ton to be desired.
I agree, NJ itself is nice with lots of options. The issue is the cost trade off. Are the amenities of NJ really that much nicer than Charlotte to warrant the HUGE COL increase? Probably not. Pretty much anything you can do in NJ you can do in a large Southern city, but your home will be 4x the size, 100 years newer, and cost half as much each month down South.
And if things get tough, you can always just dig up a piece of the street... which are paved in gold.
I agree, NJ itself is nice with lots of options. The issue is the cost trade off. Are the amenities of NJ really that much nicer than Charlotte to warrant the HUGE COL increase? Probably not. Pretty much anything you can do in NJ you can do in a large Southern city, but your home will be 4x the size, 100 years newer, and cost half as much each month down South.
100% NOT TRUE. We recently visited Charlotte with hopes of relocating there - primarily looking for a lower COL. But its just not the case. To purchase a home in a good school district (there are not that many of them) you are looking to spend a minimum of $400,000 on a home. If you don't care about the school district - then go ahead and move there and buy a big (2500+SQFT) house that will be hard to re-sell. But even that house will cost you around $300K and the houses are not double the size here. And they have no basements.......... Do you want to rent an apt there? Expect to spend $980 a month on a one BR, at least.
We did ALL the math that I won't get into here - but our savings would be about $3000 per year b/c the property taxes are lower BUT we'd have a lot size that would be smaller then our 1 + acres here in NJ.
My husband's salary would stay the same but I'd have to find a new job and my salary would be much lower - so that $3000 savings would be ZERO savings. We'd actually be losing money.......
Ten years ago a family could move to Charlotte and get a house for a low price and come out ahead - but NOT today. The whole the COL is so much less in Charlotte days are over........... especially b/c housing has gone way UP and salaries have not budged. BUT property taxes are rising by leaps and bounds to pay for the huge influx of people.
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