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Hey EB, definitely give Union County College a look! I'm a MSU alum and a UCC alum. My favorite professors were from UCC. It's a great school! Cranford campus is a nice setting too.
oh must definately look at UCC.. I have been to Kean/Rutgers/Hunter and I would pick UCC, my g/f goes there and her professors really care about teaching.. it's also less expensive.. the students there are so friendly, they are there to study.. unlike the other schools, many are there just to waste time.. not all but many.. the 2nd choice would be Kean.. is pretty affordable too..
in reference to rents you can probably get a good size studio for about 800. all included.. if you need a room, you can probably rent that for about 300-400.. in a safe area in Elizabeth... which is a convenient location for either UCC or Kean.. send me a message if you need help with renting a room/studio..
Location: Lived Large in Parsippany NJ - Lived Larger in Livingston, NJ -- Now Living Huge in Bethlehem PA
466 posts, read 2,200,400 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jersey Lover
New Jersey is a wonderful state to live in and if I could help you could PM also. The #1 complaint is high property taxes. So just be careful when deciding in which town that you move into. Make sure you check the property taxes. You will love the shore region, Atlantic City, New York and Philly. All the negativity about people being rude is not true. As for the people moving out of state 90 percent seem to say this is because the property taxes are too high. Some of the people just moved too far from where they work and complain about the commute, most made that decision when they moved and after a couple of years complain about it. So look for a place close to where you work with ot to high property taxes. Good luck and welcome from Jersey lover.
I definitely agree with the above - I moved to NJ to attend Rutgers in New Brunswick and after I graduated I have been stuck here. I have been trying to find a great reason to move out of NJ but aint found a solid one yet...I make more more working in NJ and the taxes, insurance and what have you are high...other than that...its a nice place to live close to NY and Philly. One other thing is I like to be close to major airports because my job allows me to travel a lot both domestic and international.
Only reason I'd move out of Jorzee is if I can find a property in PA with a 40 minute commute to my job and thats about it...!!!
most of the postings i have read about new jersey have been negative. everyone that lives there just about complains of high crime, high taxes, pollution and rude people. i find that despite all this, i will try to move to nj because NOTHING can be as bad as living in twilight zone IN!! i hope i am making the right decision, if not, well then you just gotta do what you gotta do!
p.s. i am originally from md and have lived in IN for almost a year...is there anyone else from the MD area that lives in NJ now that could give me an idea of how the 2 compare?
most of the postings i have read about new jersey have been negative. everyone that lives there just about complains of high crime, high taxes, pollution and rude people. i find that despite all this, i will try to move to nj because NOTHING can be as bad as living in twilight zone IN!! i hope i am making the right decision, if not, well then you just gotta do what you gotta do!
p.s. i am originally from md and have lived in IN for almost a year...is there anyone else from the MD area that lives in NJ now that could give me an idea of how the 2 compare?
Thanks.
So why is Indiana a twilight zone I am from Indiana.
We are planning to move to Freehold, NJ from Brooklyn and really are unfamiliar with the area. Can anyone advise us as to what it really is like living in Freehold?
Would you call it a community feeling? is it a nice place to live, and raise our kids?
most of the postings i have read about new jersey have been negative. everyone that lives there just about complains of high crime, high taxes, pollution and rude people. i find that despite all this, i will try to move to nj because NOTHING can be as bad as living in twilight zone IN!! i hope i am making the right decision, if not, well then you just gotta do what you gotta do!
p.s. i am originally from md and have lived in IN for almost a year...is there anyone else from the MD area that lives in NJ now that could give me an idea of how the 2 compare?
Thanks.
I have never lived in Maryland but just walking around central MD-it feels closer to south jersey than north. It is very expensive to buy a home there but I think still less than NJ.
You have to be very specific here. Are you talking about the Baltimore area or the DC area or some other part of the state?
NJ's crime is generally confined to a handful of choice urban areas. It is really very contained. Some of the state has areas that are beyond safe. It is a very unusual state in that regard. If you are young you might want to forgo NJ all together and move to Philadelphia or New York. You would probably be happier based on your comments.
You can't base decisions on what is posted here. That is just nuts!!! People talk about crime on this forum often because there is always someone posting that they are looking for a cheap place to live. In NJ your options are very limited in that regard. So that issue is misleading.
You can try posting this on the Maryland forum but you have to be very specific if you want any useful info.
I am from Baltimore and have been living here in Bridgewater for the last 3 years.
I moved here because my wife is from the area. I can't say I love the place, but it's better than some. I hate the property taxes and overt corruption. I hate the road system. New Jersey cannot build a decent on-ramp to save its life. Oh, and if you move here, learn about circles* and jughandles** before you get here. They can't build roads without them in this state.
As far as I can tell, everyone drives everywhere. There doesn't seem to be any public transportation or even sidewalks. NJ is one giant suburb. The reputation it has of being a massive collection of strip malls is not unfounded.
I love the fact that they plow and salt the roads when it snows. It snows more here, but it's much more manageable. It's nice to see people who can drive, too. Just don't expect anyone to give you a push with their $60,000 SUV if you get stuck.
Are New Jerseyans rude? Not really. They tend to speak their minds more than we do, and the state does have its share of flaming a-holes, but on the whole I would say their attitudes are similar to what you find in DC.
In central NJ where I live, there are a lot of working-class people comparable to Dundalk or Essex. A lot of this area is farmland that has seen massive development in recent years, so there's a mix of white trash and yuppies. Not too many black folks (for the most part, nobody says "black folks" here. It's "African-American", thank you very much.) in the suburbs, at least not like you'd see in BoCo. On the whole, it seems much more white-bread to me. Of course, I grew up well inside the beltway, so there ya go.
Speaking of inside the Beltway, the urban areas like Newark and JC (and even Hoboken, to an extent) feel a lot like B-Mo to me. Jersey City reminds me of Pigtown and Hoboken reminds me of a cross between Little Italy and Fell's Point. Which is to say, I don't go there much.
A lot of New Jereseyans are like Towsonites, though. It seems to be a common belief that NJ is a suburb of Manhattan. New Yorkers, however, don't share this opinion. So what you end up with is a certain caste of people in this massive suburbia who have wealth, power, and taste who seem to have difficulty reconciling themselves with the fact that they are not, in fact, gritty urban New Yorkers. I have grown to call these people "self-hating Jerseyans" (hereafter referred to as SHJs).
Speaking of New York, that's a draw for a lot of people. It is close. I don't care for the city, myself. Despite what you may have heard to the contrary, The Jersey shore is nice, too. I'm not a beach person myself. Be warned that you have to pay to use the beach.
So in short, it ain't the Sopranos and it ain't Kansas. It's expensive, but the people here mind their own business well enough even if they are a little uptight. Just remember: When in Jersey, drive like the Jerseyans do. And it's OK to secretly laugh at the SHJs. I do.
-Nate
* Circles: Traffic circles, sometimes called roundabouts in other parts of the country. Here they serve as both amusement for the locals and as primary navigational landmarks.
In the former case, remember that traffic in the circle usually, but by no means always, has the right-of-way. Pay attention to whether you have a stop sign, a yield, or neither as you enter. Do as the sign says, but do it aggressively. If there is no sign, plow your way through and pray to your deity of choice.
In the latter case, it will pay you to look at a map and determine exactly where the local circles are, since most around here will start directions off with "Take the Flemington circle to.." or "Head towards the Somerville circle, but take the bypass..."
** Jughandles: In New Jersey, they like to build ordinary roads as if they were highways. This is because major connectors such as rt 22, 202, etc. carry a LOT of traffic. But it also means that they build exit ramps on what appear to be ordinary suburban connectors. So to make a left or a u turn on most roads, you have to exit on the right and "jughandle" around - turning left on the cross street to the right of the intersection.
I am from Baltimore and have been living here in Bridgewater for the last 3 years.
As far as I can tell, everyone drives everywhere. There doesn't seem to be any public transportation or even sidewalks. NJ is one giant suburb. The reputation it has of being a massive collection of strip malls is not unfounded.
Are New Jerseyans rude? Not really. They tend to speak their minds more than we do, and the state does have its share of flaming a-holes, but on the whole I would say their attitudes are similar to what you find in DC.
A lot of New Jereseyans are like Towsonites, though. It seems to be a common belief that NJ is a suburb of Manhattan. New Yorkers, however, don't share this opinion. So what you end up with is a certain caste of people in this massive suburbia who have wealth, power, and taste who seem to have difficulty reconciling themselves with the fact that they are not, in fact, gritty urban New Yorkers. I have grown to call these people "self-hating Jerseyans" (hereafter referred to as SHJs).
-Nate
Great post. Those traffic circles were the worst. A lot of those towns have no center and are not walkable. And to think towns just like that are multiplying all over America. Ugh.
I am not really familiar with the SHJs but it would not surprise me.(those north Jersey burbs!) I think I move in different circles than you probably do though. I grew up in an town that was walkable-I guess I was lucky in that regard. It is outside of the northern NJ area but still full of NY commuters. Lots of ex new yorkers live there and the public trans is for the NYC commute and not much else. There are buses in suburbia but so inadequate to cover the region properly. Reliance on the auto is the bain of suburban existence but it seems like nobody complains or cares.
Does anyone remember the movie Diner? The guy who made that movie is from MD and many of his flicks were set in the Baltimore area. (can't remember his name) I know Kevin Bacon and Ellen Barkin were in it and it was set in the 60's with lots of local references. A really good movie. One of his movies featured the Baltimore area accent that some people sport and I remember the ordering of the crab cakes and the Maryland fried chicken dinner in the very realistic looking diner scenes.
For a young person looking to flee Indiana-I would definitely say STAY AWAY from all NY/NJ area burbs. Being young and free means you have many options. You can live in many types of areas and you will likely have roommates to split expenses with.(Remember this area is usually $$) Don't limit yourself. I truly believe that for a transplant this area is best experienced as an urban dweller. You will find that NYC/Philly even Hoboken has the most to offer you. Burb living usually means dealing with a car and limited transit options. If you have no roots in the area you might be bored out of your mind. Unless you have a hatred for urban areas you might just want to free yourself from suburban trappings. It really is the way to go.
Last edited by cyntmac; 02-16-2007 at 03:24 PM..
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planning on moving to NJ
