Piscataway or surrounding area neighbourhood info (New Brunswick, Somerset: renting, condo, low crime)

[Princessda601]

Moving from Toronto to NJ. We are looking for neighbourhood info in or around Piscataway. Somewhere with a downtown, restaurants, low-crime, not bothered about schools as we have no kids. Will be renting either a house or condo with a budget of $2500. Any help would be appreciated.

[Retriever]

Piscataway, like so many Central NJ towns, has no discernible downtown.
It is also not noted for restaurants.
Overall, it is a decent & safe place to live, but I don't think that it fits most of your criteria.

You might want to take a look at Somerville, which is the county seat for Somerset County. (Piscataway is in neighboring Middlesex County). Somerville has been "gentrifying" for the past several years, and it has a constantly-developing, walkable downtown with a number of good restaurants. Because it has a small...not-so-good area...the crime rate is higher than in...let's say...Piscataway...but the crime rate is still low, overall. Somerville is a town on the way up, so to speak, and it also features an active art community.

Highland Park also comes to mind. Its downtown is not as nice as that of Somerville, IMHO, but it is walkable, and the town is definitely safe.

The only other places that I can think of in Central NJ with "downtowns" are New Brunswick (which has a high crime rate), Woodbridge, and Princeton. Personally, I am not particularly fond of Woodbridge, but it does have a small downtown area and it offers good accessibility to NYC--if that is important to you.

Princeton is not really close to Piscataway, but it is within commuting distance, and has a very nice downtown, a few very good restaurants, and an extremely low crime rate. Additionally, the campus of Princeton University is a beautiful and historic place to take walks, and the campus also features the (free) Princeton U. Art Museum and the excellent McCarter theater.

[ansky]

I would also recommend Highland Park. It has a nice, walkable downtown and a very close-knit feel. I lived there 10 years ago and I think many businesses downtown have closed in recent years due to the economy, but it's still a nice area and extremely safe. New Brunswick is a good option if you want more of an urban feel. As long as you don't venture too far from downtown (which there really isn't reason to), then you won't have much problem with crime. Piscataway is just your typical suburban sprawl and strip malls. The town is very "blah" in my opinion.

[ballintrees]

i would say the area around Princeton Uni is really nice...in terms of affordability IDK though...New Brunswick is mainly a college town to Rutgers University (off campus housing) though its not a bad location in terms of serious crime.

Somerset which is right near Piscataway is a suburban area...no downtown there now that i think about it

if you want a nice downtown Id check out New Brunswicks downtown

any more questions PM me