ANYBODY FROM NEW JERSEY???

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Yeah if you're not in Midtown, you gotta be atleast 30 minutes away.

We were thinking of moving to Connecticut or something when we end up buying a house. Though the wife and I really are thinking about moving back to CA. Pipe dream at the moment I fear...

[The Molinas 0]

Thanks guys I will keep looking...

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

I don't think I could afford to buy a house in CT suburbs of NYC... definitely a nice place to live though. Better than NJ.

Thanks guys I will keep looking...

Good luck. There are tons of condos/townhomes in Middlesex and Somerset County that were on-sale but didn't sell... many of those are available for rent now.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

I don't think I could afford to buy a house in CT suburbs of NYC... definitely a nice place to live though. Better than NJ.

A hairdresser I used to go to before I found a (cheaper & better) walk-in place near my work) told me that "NJ was expensive for no reason". Certainly its expensive considering the relative lack of benefits you get - congested, inadequate roads riddled with pot-holes, and local supermarkets in which you have to pick through the fresh produce looking for the least rotten looking items.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

It's not expensive because of what NJ provides. It's expensive because of what the average resident in NJ can bear. Fact: NJ has the nations highest average household income.

And I don't seem to have problems with grocery stores. I do hear you on the roads, though.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

It's not expensive because of what NJ provides. It's expensive because of what the average resident in NJ can bear. Fact: NJ has the nations highest average household income.

And I don't seem to have problems with grocery stores. I do hear you on the roads, though.

I work in NYC, the wife does too - although she has a travelling job. She can change her "home office" location to NJ which means she doesn't have to pay New York City tax.

I need to find better ones - Shoprite and A&P aren't too bad, but a far cry from what you get in California.

Regards the roads - we've a headlamp bulb shatter from the vibration. You realise its extremely sad changing lane only to avoid a pot hole you know to be there. Add to that going through the toll booth at the NJ turnpike and having to steer around a gigantic pot hole is really the ultimate insult.

Edited February 10, 2007 by erekose

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

I've found that Shoprites vary widely in quality. Do your grocery shopping in a better neighborhood. Near where I am, the Pathmark sucks, the Shoprite is ok and the Wegmans kicks butt (but is expensive).

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

I've found that Shoprites vary widely in quality. Do your grocery shopping in a better neighborhood. Near where I am, the Pathmark sucks, the Shoprite is ok and the Wegmans kicks butt (but is expensive).

We've found a Whole Foods (again expensive), but our local Shop & Stop stinks - partly because of the groceries, but also because of the other shoppers. They've recently put in "self check-out" counters - and I've lost count of how many times some stupid ####### in front gets confused by the machine. Really illustrates the general education standard of some of these people.

Case in point - at my local bank I recently saw a guy try to take $5.60 out of the ATM (he forgot the decimal point), and couldn't figure out why it wouldn't give him any money. He tried it 4-5 times, called his mother and yelled at her down his (speakerphone enabled) cell for "not putting the money in his account". Finally, he took his card out, muttered something about the machine being broken (which caused the two people in front of me to curse loudly and leave) and proceeded to go inside the bank and join the back of a monster queue to withdraw money over the counter. Go figure...

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Speaking of Elizabeth:

ELIZABETH, NJ-This city of 125,000 people is set for a new round of redevelopment in the wake of its designation by the state, this morning, as a transit village. The New Jersey Department of Transportation’s transit village program focuses of fostering commercial and residential development around the state’s transportation hubs.

With nearly 10,000 people moving through this city’s midtown train station on a daily basis, it’s one of the state’s busiest. The transit village designation brings with it eligibility for a variety of state grants, beginning with an initial grant of $100,000 for planning purposes. Other benefits include planning assistance and a streamlined approval process. This city is the 18th to win transit village designation from the state.

“The transit village initiative enable the New Jersey DOT to invest in our quality of life by reducing congestion, increasing mass transit use and building more economically viable and pedestrian-friendly town centers,” says NJDOT commissioner Kris Kolluri.

Officials say the designation will help jumpstart redevelopment of the city’s midtown area. According to a spokesman for the department of planning and community development, general plans being drawn up include more than 700 new residential units and 70,000 sf of commercial space around the train station, which serves as a hub for both NJ Transit and Amtrak service. The spokesman also says that the city will most likely tap into the private developer community for additional ideas for the redevelopment.

A focal point will be the renovated pedestrian plaza fronting the train station. “Our vision for this location was to create a meeting place, as well as a cultural hub for residents and travelers alike,” the spokesman says, noting that the plaza includes coliseum-style seating for performing arts presentations.

“In recent years, Elizabeth has experienced a renaissance through economic development, new market-rate and affordable housing and neighborhood revitalization,” says Mayor Chris Bollwage. “The transit village designation will complement and contribute to the city’s ongoing efforts to renew its Midtown area.”

http://www.globest.com/news/840_840/newjer...-1.html?type=pf

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

If it's experienced an "economic renaissance" I dread to think what it was like before...

Perhaps:

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Hey you said you're moving to Union, right? I drove by Union train station this morning and noticed a construction job going on right in front of it. Any idea what they're building?

Edited February 10, 2007 by Gupt

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Hey you said you're moving to Union, right? I drove by Union train station this morning and noticed a construction job going on right in front of it. Any idea what they're building?

Sorry - no idea.

[The Molinas 0]

Ok I have been looking around and thats what i have found so far:

1. The mews at princeton junction

2. avalon at aberdeen station

3. Carriage Run apartments

4. Forest view

5. oxford arms

6. pleasantview gardens

7. rivercrest apartments

8. riverside plaza

9. somerset mews

10. somerset park apartments

11. valley manor apartments

12. carlton club apartments

13. wyndmoor and royal garden apartments

[sunandmoon 450]

another online site is http://www.rent.com/

[sparkofcreation 0]

Our apartment in Highland Park (next to New Brunswick, awesome little town) at Harper House was $1150 for about 750sq.ft., officially a 2BR but one was about the size of a closet. Just don't let them give you apartment 120-1B. You'll regret it come winter.

AFAIK the three biggest complexes in HP are pretty cheap--Harper House, Old Queens, Highland Montgomery.

If I ever have cause to move back to NJ, I will totally move heaven and earth to move back to Highland Park. I lived there four years and absolutely adored it. Everything is walking distance, there are parks, people say hello to one another, you can even walk to the train to NYC if you live at the right end of town. HP borders New Brunswick but is across the river, and the point where you can go between the two is at the downtown area, so I totally would walk there (although there certainly are parts of NB I wouldn't walk around).

In Highland Park, I and my roommate as single females used to go out for walks at 1 or 2 am by ourselves and neither of us ever had a single problem (well, she was once playing on the swings at the park and the park was officially closed and a police car stopped and told her the park was closed, but that's it).

Edited February 11, 2007 by sparkofcreation