Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I just found out my new job in the Pennington/Princeton area will be starting in a couple weeks and am looking for somewhere to live. Ideally, it would have some culture, nightlife, and outdoor activities. I'm not too familiar with NJ as a whole but if the city has public transportation options (to the city or locally) then that's a bonus.
I'm a young professional and after living in CT, I'm looking for an area that has more opportunities to meet people. Safety is important but overall I'm hoping to find a place with a well rounded experience.
Any input is greatly appreciated!
edit::
Where are you coming from? central CT
Why are you moving? job offer
Where will you be working ? Pennington
Will you buy or rent? rent
What is your budget ? under 1000/person
What kind of place are you looking for ? apartment but open to shared house with similar aged roommates
Will anyone (spouse, children, pets) be moving with you ? nope, just myself
Do you need/want good public schools? n/a
Briefly describe the kind of neighborhood you'd like to live in
-culture, safe, walkable, night life, outdoor areas to run/see, young professionals
I've heard New Brunswick and Princeton are viable options but don't know too much about the "feel" of the areas, if that makes sense
Lambertville would have the best night life in that area. It's a bit alternative (along with New Hole PA next door), great coffee shops and good restaurants. About 15 minutes to Pennington. No mass transit though.
The other option would be Princeton if you can afford it. It's an Ivy League town but the restaurants and shops cater to working professionals too. It does have train service to the city.
Not many other options in the area. Yardley PA and Bordentown NJ a 3 nice historical small towns, but not much night life. New Brunswick might be more exciting, but the commute to Pennington would be awful.
Someone suggested living in Philly may not be an unreasonable commute. Also heard of patco but unsure if there is service to that area
If your company runs a shuttle from the West Trenton train station to your job site, you could live in Philadelphia pretty easily. If you have to drive...then no. I-95 is usually a parking lot in both directions before 10AM and from ~3PM to 6:30. It might be a bit easier if you lived in Northeast Philly, but that area has no subway access, and is basically suburban in feel, so no nightlife.
The PATCO services Camden County, so it wouldn't help you with getting to Pennington. However, you could possibly live in one of the PATCO towns (Collingswood, Westmont, Haddonfield). It would still be a long ride up 295 to work, but not nearly as congested as 95 in Philly. The PATCO runs 24/7 so you could always take it into Philly for nightlife. The three aforementioned towns themselves offer the only semblance of walkability and vibrancy in South Jersey, but they don't really have much in the way of actual nightlife.
However, you could possibly live in one of the PATCO towns (Collingswood, Westmont, Haddonfield). It would still be a long ride up 295 to work, but not nearly as congested as 95 in Philly. The PATCO runs 24/7 so you could always take it into Philly for nightlife. The three aforementioned towns themselves offer the only semblance of walkability and vibrancy in South Jersey, but they don't really have much in the way of actual nightlife.
Living in any of the three towns would give OP a commute of over an hour one way getting to Pennington since they're not exactly close to 295, and the roads getting to/from 295 in South Jersey get pretty crowded around rush hour.
OP is probably better off trying to find a place to live in Lawrence or Ewing, which is close enough to some kind of nightlife in Princeton & New Brunswick, not far from trains to NYC or Philly, would fall into OP's price range of under $1,000/month, and would give OP a decent commute to work (under 30 minutes).
Thanks for all the helpful information! I read somewhere on this site that there was someone interested in commuting from JC/Hoboken to princeton. It's always been on my bucket list to live close to NYC...Although it sounds crazy, I may look into it a little more. Thoughts? Only thing is how is this reverse commute? Ive heard of horror stories of congested highways but didn't know which areas are most affected (ex: north jersey to edison). At this moment, my contracted job is only for 6 months so maybe it could be feasible?
Lambertville/new hope for sure. You wont go into nyc as often as you think you will.
Oh yeah, and pennington / princeton is NOT south jersey. Sheesh!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
