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Firstly a little background: I am an Indian, currently staying in JC Heights in a shared apartment, and planning to move to a 1 bed apartment by the time my family joins in a couple of months. Work place is in midtown manhattan. I have been searching online, reading forums, checking with colleagues but maybe I am kind of overwhelmed with information and so unable to decide. Hence seeking your advice.
I am looking for a safe and easily to access neighbourhood, and I am thinking a community kind of apartment with doorman etc will be better in terms of safety?
My budget is max 1800 so I assume Newport waterfront area is ruled out?
I know Journal Square is ideal for Indian family, but I am not sure if there are such community apartments there.
Then I stumbled upon Eleven80 in Newark, but my friends said Newark is a NO. I also read in this forum bad things about Newark but those posts are from around 2007-2008. So how good or bad is Newark and Eleven80 currently? Can I even consider it or rule out totally.. Can you please advise.
Eleven80 is very expensive just like JC and there is no parking. If you have a car, there's a lot across the street where you can pay to park monthly. Don't quote me on this but I believe it's $400 / month. Hoboken is expensive, too, but it's much nicer if you stay near the waterfront. Another option is looking in Secaucus?
I lived in Newark for 5 years and wouldn't recommend living there.
Check out Secaucus, Hackensack, Edison, North Arlington.
I would not suggest Newport at all. Newport is great commute wise. But the quality of the apartments is bad IMHO. Back when I used to live there, we had a great NYC view... but in the winter it was freezing as hell due to bad insulation. There was also some constant noise from upstairs. Management does not care about providing good service since these apartments usually are in good demand. Parking is a big headache (not just for guests but for residents as well). Finally, many of my friends had bedbug problems.
There is a reason why Edison is popular with Indian folks. Safe, commute friendly and inexpensive. You can find a very decent 1BR unit in Edison for around $1400. Add $168 NJ Transit monthly train pass (Metropark to Newark; 30 mins train ride) and it still comes out to be cheaper than spending $1800 on an apartment in JC. There are free shuttle buses from most rental apartments to train stations. Yes, you will spend a bit more in commute but it will save you a good $200-300 per month and your family (assuming its their first time here) will enjoy socializing with your Indian neighbors.
Thank you for all the replies! I will check out the areas recommended.
Another question -- How do you recommend Elizabeth, as I was also suggested Elizabeth by a few.
Elmora Heights is nice. The rest is kind of rough. I have heard of new townhouses being built near the waterfront close to Ikea and the Jersey gardens in the 07206 area code. I'm not sure if they opened a Ferry there that goes to NYC.
Elizabeth has two train stations - the main one and the N Elizabeth one which always seems to be closed.
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