Author Topic: Jersey Living  (Read 2690 times)

sporkman

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Jersey Living
« on: May 25, 2011, 11:12:17 PM »
I'm new so I'm posting here, but maybe this should be in the general forum.  I don't know.

Anyhow, I think there are at least a handful of people here, and of course there's Tom, who are not yet convinced New Jersey is a sewer.

Myself, I'm on the fence.

Due to some truly insane neighbors, I'm considering a move.  Maybe even out of NJ.

But on to the question - any fellow NJ residents care to rattle off a list of some places that are nice to live in NJ and don't cost zillions of dollars to rent?  So far I've been in Hoboken, New Brunswick, Montclair and Morristown.  Slowly got priced out of all but NB.  Living somewhere where the wifey and I might meet people that aren't total douchebags while out and about would be a serious bonus.  Quiet is also good.  And never want to live in a 1950's-60's garden apartment ever again.

Tall order, but humor me please...

Greggulator

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Re: Jersey Living
« Reply #1 on: May 26, 2011, 12:24:47 PM »
Caldwell/West Caldwell -- right by Montclair. It has the same amenities as Montclair (decent restaurants, movie theater) but not the name value for some reason. There's also a college so there's some house rentals.
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Emily

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Re: Jersey Living
« Reply #2 on: May 26, 2011, 11:52:30 PM »
hmm, hoboken & montclair & morristown are all kinda pricey places.

you might be able to find something affordable in weehawken, and also the iron bound district of newark is doable (i dont know about any other neighborhoods there tho) i dont live in either place, but i have friends in both.

jersey city might also be a more affordable option & has good restaurants & bars.

what weehawken lacks in entertainment, it makes up for in proximity to the city & to hoboken/jc. also, its really quiet & i'm under the impression the schools are good (if you have kids).

you could also check out bayonne, which is home to massa's tavern..

Emily

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Re: Jersey Living
« Reply #3 on: May 26, 2011, 11:56:02 PM »
i have also heard favorable things about maplewood (good schools, younger families, restaurants, etc) but i'm not sure about the cost of living there or what their renting options are like..

good luck!

Shaggy 2 Grote

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Re: Jersey Living
« Reply #4 on: May 27, 2011, 09:09:27 AM »
Maplewood and the Oranges are nice, as is Middletown.
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Greggulator

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Re: Jersey Living
« Reply #5 on: May 27, 2011, 10:15:32 AM »
Maplewood and the Oranges are nice, as is Middletown.

Maplewood's really nice. Their downtown area has a few neat places.

Both South Orange and Maplewood have train access direct to Manhattan, if that sweetens the pot.

Being a native son of West Orange, I can give a run-down on that area. Orange and East Orange are the exact opposite of nice and are two of the worst towns in North Jersey.

South Orange is mostly really nice (save for the area that borders Newark, but even around there's not that bad) and because of Seton Hall there's a lot of rentals available. Their downtown area is pretty tiny but there's a bunch of cool little places. Cryan's is one of my favorite bars (and a place where I, as an underaged 19-year-old, was accosted by a 50-year-old woman who attempted to drag me into a closet against my will.)

West Orange has the good and bad. The "down-the-hill" area that borders Orange and Montclair ranges from "super sketchy" to "decently nice." (I grew up in the "decently nice" part of Down-The-Hill.) The "up-the-hill" section ranges from "decently nice" to "obnoxiously rich." There's also no real downtown but different little commercial districts. There's some awesome Central American food places that rule.
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sporkman

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Re: Jersey Living
« Reply #6 on: May 28, 2011, 01:53:06 AM »
Thanks for the input, I appreciate it.

My head is going to explode.  Left another message with the landlord tonight - it was an hour of dogs barking 20 feet from our living room and then both repeatedly shitting on our lawn.  If he calls back tomorrow, I have to give him two options - the neighbors (on a month to month lease) go or I go.  I don't know if there's a clause in my lease that allows me to leave because the neighbors exhibit offensive stupidity or not, but I'll take my chances.  This is what sucks though - I love our place.  I have a garage, I have room for my crap, and other than the neighboring apartment it is insanely peaceful and quiet yet I'm minutes from town.

Funny thing about West Caldwell is we have friends living there that are looking to move.  Their neighborhood is infested with weird Tea Party types and haggy Snookie wannabes (oh, but they're mothers, which is a little extra barfy).  I'll look around a bit there though, maybe it's just a really strange block or something.

Will check out Middletown, never been there.  Have been through South Orange a few times, that seems like it's worth looking at too.  I suspect Maplewood is too pricey.  Jersey City is interesting, but might be a bit too busy - I work at home doing mind-numbing systems admin work and wifey is a writer - the fewer distractions the better.

Still open to suggestions - I'm not anchored here, most of our friends are on the left coast or over the river.  As long as I can still get to the city once a week or so without a huge hassle, I'm happy.

Any input on some more southern destinations like Red Bank?  Or any rural areas that are cheap but not totally white trashy?  Seriously, we're open to all sorts of ideas if we have to get out of here.  Biggest issues are quiet and price, followed by the ability to get to NYC in a reasonable amount of time (like less than 1 1/2 hours).

I'm also always looking for rich bastards with huge estates that need to rent out a nice carriage house.  We are lovely tenants - we pay on time and we don't bother anyone.  It's totally out of character for me to be calling and complaining to our current landlord at least once a week.

Greggulator

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Re: Jersey Living
« Reply #7 on: May 28, 2011, 01:40:36 PM »
A friend of mine briefly rented in Llewllyn Park, which is this crazy old money private area of West Orange that dates back to the 1800s. He LOVED it but had to move out because of some roommate squabble. I'd look into that.

West Caldwell's not some Tea Party place to my knowledge. It's a pretty quiet suburb. Verona's the same way -- there might be a few Republicans but it's the suburbs, what do you expect?

I like Red Bank enough but they also have that Kevin Smith crap comic book store.

As far as rural goes -- check out Ringwood or West Milford. I would totally move up there. They're super beautiful.
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break

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Re: Jersey Living
« Reply #8 on: May 29, 2011, 11:32:08 PM »
As far as rural goes -- check out Ringwood or West Milford. I would totally move up there. They're super beautiful.

Yeah, nice area.  I'm close by in Mahwah and enjoy the nature aspects of the area greatly. If you go up even further into New York to areas like Tuxedo and Warwick you will see carriage houses on estates come up for rent from time to time.