Spotswood NJ: commute to NYC/Newark (Elizabeth, Edison: salon, buying a house, neighborhoods)

[rubschy]

Hi,

My husband and I are in the process of buying a house in Spotswood. We liked the small community, and we love the house we're buying. My husband will be commuting to downtown Manhattan; I'll probably drop him off/pick him up from the E. Brunswick Transportation Center. I go to grad school in Rutgers Newark; I would like to avoid driving into Newark, even if it's 2 days a week. We live in Elizabeth now and have gotten used to the many public transport options (NY/Newark buses and trains very close to our apt.). I would appreciate some advice/suggestions to the following:

1. Do Old Bridge or Metropark train stations have adequate and safe daily parking? I was hoping to park at either station and take the NE Corridor or NJ Coast into Newark Penn Station.

2. What is morning rush hour like on Rt. 18? The earliest we've been in that area is around 8 am, and it didn't seem too bad.

Any other info anyone could provide on Spotswood would be really appreciated! This will be our first home so we're very excited

Thanks!

[regarese]

I grew up in Spotswood, and it is a great little town. Rt. 18 traffic in the morning stinks. LOL. There is a lot of construction on 18 in New Brunswick and the traffic that creates trickles back into EB. If there's an accident-forget about it. 98.3fm is a good station to listen to in the morning as they always seem to include 18 in their traffic update-even if it's to let you know that all it clear. When there is no school, the traffic is better. Try and learn the backroads though. May take a little longer, but it saves a lot of aggravation.

I don't use the public transportation daily, but I've never heard anything really bad about those parking areas.

Other info on Spotswood-Shop at the A&P in East Brunswick. LOL. The ShopRite on Summerhill Rd-although convenient, is just not fun. And don't go to their lunchmeat counter unless you have about 40 minutes to kill-they are super slow. The good thing about that store is that you can shop online and just pick your groceries up.

If you like pedicures AreeNails in the little strip mall on the corner of Main Street and Summerhill is fantastic. $25 for an almost hour pedicure.

Anything else you might want to know-just ask. I like when people move to Spotswood.

[rubschy]

Thanks! I'm thinking of checking out the parking lots in Old Bridge Park/Ride, Edison RR, Metuchen RR and Metropark RR, on a weekday so I can see for myself if there are any spaces available. And I'll probably have to drive around with a GPS for a few days to find my way along the local roads.

My husband and I lived in Plainsboro, so 98.3 is a favorite

What do people do on weekends? The house we're buying is less than a mile from the Shoprite-- the parking lot always looks packed! Their online shopping option is definitely something I'm going to look into.

Thanks for the salon tip!

[regarese]

When the weather gets nicer, the shore is always a good weekend option. We usually end up at Pt. Pleasant. From Spotswood it's a little over 1/2 an hour away-much more convenient than Plainsboro . If your into it, New Brunswick has a nice theater where there's usually something going on. Sinbad and Bill Cosby will be performing there next month. There's a comedy club there and some pretty good restaurants. The Cambridge Inn in Spotswood usually has some entertainment and the food is decent there. Oh-and if you like flea markets there is one in Englishtown.

[rubschy]

What we really liked about Spotswood is that it seems to be a 1/2 hour away from everywhere! The shore, Princeton, Edison/Iselin, Woodbridge, Menlo Park, etc. Can you tell me about the neighborhoods? Spotswood in general seems more blue-collar but I saw quite a few McMansions along Main St/Snowhill and Adirondack Ave. We went to Lawrence Harbor in Old Bridge in our house hunt and stopped by the waterfront on the Raritan Bay. It seemed like a great place to spend an afternoon. Have you been there? Since you're a former Spotswood resident, you'll be glad to know that more and more realtors are suggesting the town as an alternative to Old Bridge and East Brunswick.

[regarese]

We looked at a house over in Lawrence Harbor too, but I never really spent much time there. It did look nice though.

You're right, Spotswood is more of a blue collar town, but I think the builders have realized that it's a nice little town and are trying to attract more people there with the bigger homes. I just hope it doesn't change the down to earth feel that Spotswood always had. And it is about 1/2 hour from everywhere-you're right!

I'm glad it's being suggested more. If you have kids, then I'll tell you I liked going to school in Spotswood better than EB. I went to EB for a little bit. People will tell you that EB is better-scores, classes, etc. and they may be right, but as a teenager Spotswood was great because of it's small size. There weren't enough kids in a grade to make cliques worthwhile so everybody pretty much got along and accepted everybody. It made adolescents almost enjoyable. LOL.

[JerzBoy]

Forget about parking at the Edison or Metuchen train stations - they have like 5-10yr waiting lists. I know Metropark has 2 big garages with alot of spaces....but I heard its a pain getting in and out of the station. Not too sure about the Old Bridge station.

Traffic on 18NB is horrendous in the morning as I used to go to Rutgers. If you're getting onto the NJTP from 18 it isn't that bad, however any further north is a parking lot.

[shawn0000]

Traveling to NYC can be fun - Yeah Right. I use to do it to both mid and downtown.

You can take the 138 to midtown. Some of the buses actually travel down summerhill road. Downtown you can take the 134 or 68. I used to pick up all three at Hillsdale Rd. The problem I found taking the bus to/from downtown is the holland tunnel. That is a nightmare. So I ended up taking the 68. It drops you off at Exchange place in JC and I used to take the PATH. Anything to avoid Holland Tunnel traffic. A friend use to take the bus to port authority and take subway down. But with the buses, the time tables are terrible. If you work late you will be taking the train a lot or taking the suburban to the Rt 18 flea market. (I did that for a few months too, that's not a bad option. But i had to depend on a ride.)

For newark, i would drive to jersey avenue train station. It's the stop right before NB. That may have better parking that NB or metro park.

Watch out when it rains, the shoprite parking lot becomes a lake.

[BobKovacs]

I can't comment on Old Bridge train station, but Edison is tough to park at, and Metuchen is impossible. Metropark always has parking available in the decks (except when it snows, but then there's still plenty of space in the surface overflow lot). A monthly parking pass at Metropark is around $65-70.

Bear in mind that you're looking at probably 30+ minutes to get to Metropark from Spotswood- there's not really an easy, direct route, and the routes that do exist are pretty congested.

[rubschy]

Thanks everyone! I've also looked into the NJT bus schedule from Old Bridge Park & Ride into Newark Penn Station but I'll still have to go check out the parking lots myself. Most likely, I'll only have to park 2 days in the week (no weekends) until at least 10 pm. I REALLY don't want to have to drive into Newark (parking around Rutgers in Newark is a nightmare), even parking in Metropark is a better/safer option! Jersey Ave is a good idea, as are 134 and 68 for my husband commuting to downtown.

regarese, I don't have kids yet but I really like the fact that the Spotswood schools seems to be situated smack in the middle of the whole town! I read somewhere that the sports fields can be used by the public on weekends and when school's out. Do you know anything about that?