looking for a nice place to rent in New Brunswick-Highland Park-Metuchen area (Edison: apartment complexes)

[Graceyangyang]

Hi guys,
I am working right outside Trenton, and my husband is starting a job in Murray Hill New Providence next month. We are looking to rent an apartment in between these two areas, so it would be convenient for both of us. I looked at the map and thought New Brunswick-Highland Park-Metuchen all can be considered, I wonder if you guys could please give me some suggestions and pointers in picking a good place to be. 1-2 bedrooms apartments are ideal.

thanks so much!!

[daliowa]

Originally Posted by Graceyangyang

Hi guys,
I am working right outside Trenton, and my husband is starting a job in Murray Hill New Providence next month. We are looking to rent an apartment in between these two areas, so it would be convenient for both of us. I looked at the map and thought New Brunswick-Highland Park-Metuchen all can be considered, I wonder if you guys could please give me some suggestions and pointers in picking a good place to be. 1-2 bedrooms apartments are ideal.

thanks so much!!

Do either or both of you need to be on a NJ Transit line for work? New Providence & Trenton are on separate NJ Transit lines.

[Graceyangyang]

hi, thanks for the reply. We actually still would like to drive. I have not given taking the trains much thought yet. I will look into that. Right I would like to find a safe and not too expensive area in between these two places to stay. We do not have kids, so the quality of schools do not need to be considered.
thanks again and happy thanksgiving !

[daliowa]

Originally Posted by Graceyangyang

hi, thanks for the reply. We actually still would like to drive. I have not given taking the trains much thought yet. I will look into that. Right I would like to find a safe and not too expensive area in between these two places to stay. We do not have kids, so the quality of schools do not need to be considered.
thanks again and happy thanksgiving !

If you're intent on driving to work than I'd suggest doing a practice drive during a typical weekday rush hour. Take a day & make the drive from Trenton to New Providence (& vice versa) & see what traffic feels like on the entire route in both directions.

Take note of towns that you pass by & make a list of viable towns to explore.

There aren't many towns in NJ where apartments are "not too expensive" though.

After seeing what traffic is like you may reconsider living close to a train. <g>

[davenj08]

You could pick any town along Rt 1 (New Brunswick, North Brunswick, etc.) or 287 (Somerset, Piscataway, Edison, Bridgewater, etc.) but unfortunately traffic is bad on both during rush hour. I would consider Franklin Township - it is safe, tons of reasonable rental options and right in the middle of both your destinations. About 45 min each way for both of you.

[ansky]

I used to live in Highland Park - there are tons of apartment complexes in town. The one I lived in was called Orchard Gardens which is on the north side of town near the Edison border. The apartment was very nice and reasonably priced. That was 10 years ago though so things may have changed since then. Overall I really liked living in Highland Park.

[amzzy34]

I live in Murray Hill/New Providence and there is no convenient public transportation here. I also worked in Edison, NJ so I had the reverse commute for your husband, which I hated. Your husband will definitely have to drive and he would want to have easy access to RT 78. Somerset/Bridgewater/Hillsborough are all nice areas that would meet fairly close to halfway.

Unfortunately, you'll only have RT 206, which isn't any better than RT 27 or RT 1, but it limits your commuting options. If you chose New Brunswick, the train would be very easy depending where you work in Trenton. Getting out of New Brunsiwck in the morning during rush hour can be a pain and it would be even worse for your husband who has no direct route to NP. Piscatway is getting better and has a decent area. Neither commute would be great, but you'll both have decent access to major roads.

New Brunswick would be the most expensive, around $1500-2500 for a nice, one bedroom place (Plaza Square/The George)

I avoid traffic at all costs

[davenj08]

Originally Posted by amzzy34

I live in Murray Hill/New Providence and there is no convenient public transportation here. I also worked in Edison, NJ so I had the reverse commute for your husband, which I hated. Your husband will definitely have to drive and he would want to have easy access to RT 78. Somerset/Bridgewater/Hillsborough are all nice areas that would meet fairly close to halfway.

Unfortunately, you'll only have RT 206, which isn't any better than RT 27 or RT 1, but it limits your commuting options. If you chose New Brunswick, the train would be very easy depending where you work in Trenton. Getting out of New Brunsiwck in the morning during rush hour can be a pain and it would be even worse for your husband who has no direct route to NP. Piscatway is getting better and has a decent area. Neither commute would be great, but you'll both have decent access to major roads.

New Brunswick would be the most expensive, around $1500-2500 for a nice, one bedroom place (Plaza Square/The George)

I avoid traffic at all costs

206 is horrible for daily commute and I would avoid it at all cost. I would rather rent along Rt 1 which is busy but mostly 3 lanes between South Brunswick and Lawrenceville with moving traffic.

Franklin Township rents are very reasonable and 2BR units range from $1500-2000.

[EBWick]

Avoid Franklin if you care about good schools. Plus there's a gang presence near Rt. 27. The rest of it is suburban and even a bit rural.

[Penga25]

what is nice and what is our price range for nice?