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We are planning to move to NJ/NY from midwest. are there any place ( area and apartment communities ) we should avoid ?
Our budget is $1600 pm. Can we get 2 BR apt ?
Thanks.
MT
Where will you be working? Will you have a car? Do you want an urban type setting? Need more info.
To ask about apartment communities in such a huge area you have to be very specific as far as the locations you are interested in.
we would like to be within reasonable commute time ( either public transport or drive ) to Manhattan. We do not have a job in NJ/NY area as of now . I have a consulting job , so I can be based out of anywhere. But our main criteria is to have a decent place w. as little crime as possible. We're planning on buying a house within a year at most.
If you are interested in a suburban area you should be able to rent a place fairly easily and most of those areas are very safe in NJ. It is hard to rec just one w/o knowing more info though. Towns along the train route into NYC will tend to be more $$ overall. Take a look at a map and try to narrow this a little.
you have so many options. It seems like you need to do a little more research on the area first. But right off the back if you want good transportation I would say stay within Essex,Union,Passaic,Bergen and Hudson County(hudson county being the easiest with transportation) however if you are really against living in a place with crime than Essex you will stay away from Newark,East Orange,Parts of Orange and Irvington. In Union (these areas are not as bad ) Elizabeth, parts of Roselle park, some parts of Plainfield and maybe some parts of Rahway. In Passaic you will want to stay away from Paterson(although Eastside park section is extremley nice), Passaic City, parts of Clifton and Prospect Park. In Bergen County there is not EXTREMLEY dangerous areas but stay away from "The Big Three" which are Hackensack,Teaneck and Englewood. And in Hudson County the majority of the areas are extremely urban and while not dangerous you just have to be careful. And truthfully anywhere in North Jersey you have to just be careful when traveling(its not like the midwest) you can be in the richest neighborhood in the USA and then cross a border and your in a very dangerous neighborhood.
I would classify almost any town not listed above as very safe however is that what you are basing your decision on? The more info you can provide the better.
Not sure if there are kids in the mix here? But that would make a huge difference in NJ recommendations! The train line from NJ to NYC will take you through Newark, so right there is a dangerous part of your day! But almost everywhere along the train line west of the Oranges should be pretty ok. New Brunswick can be a little shady, but also really nice... depending on the area of town. Most of Morris County is really nice.
I have to say, I'm a little biased...I'm basically a lifelong NJ resident trying to leave. And once we leave, I'm not sure we'll even return to visit!
mann, my recommendation is find a job first and THEN decide where to live. It's not enough to get a place with a reasonable commute to that place called Manhattan. Depending on where in the city your job is, it could be very difficult to get to from certain locations. For example, if your job is in Midtown West, you can take trains that go to Penn Station or buses to the Port Authority Bus Terminal. If your job is on the East Side, you'll want to get to Grand Central instead, which the NJ trains don't go to. So Westchester County, NY would be a better match for you than New Jersey. If you work in Lower Manhattan, you'll want to be close to the PATH trains or subways from Brooklyn.
People in the New York region have long commutes. You don't want to get an apartment in New Jersey that advertises "ONLY 30 MINUTES FROM NYC!" and think, "wow, I could be at work in 30 minutes." In 30 minutes you'll get to Penn Station on the West Side. If you land a good job on Park Avenue on the East Side, add a 25 minute walk to that (no subways will help you). So now you have an hour commute instead. Finding a place where it's as easy as possible to get to work is key!
Furthermore, I wouldn't want to guess how much rent I could afford if I didn't know what my income would be. On $1600 you can find a reasonable 2-BR in many towns. But say a job offer comes in higher than you thought. Now you can afford $2000 and get a place much closer to work in a more desirable neighborhood.
Therefore I advise, fly in for some interviews, work out the job situation, then find appropriate housing once you know where you need to commute to and how much you can or want to spend on housing.
In 30 minutes you'll get to Penn Station on the West Side. If you land a good job on Park Avenue on the East Side, add a 25 minute walk to that (no subways will help you).
I'm not sure why people on this forum keep saying that the only way to get from Penn Station to the east side of Midtown is to walk. Do the S or 7 trains really scare you that much?
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