Looking for a safe place to live with a small child, working at University Hospital in Newark. (Jersey City: apartment)

[Avienda]

My husband and I will be moving to New Jersey for a year, starting in July. He will be working at University Hospital in Newark, and we are looking for advice on good neighborhoods within 20-25 minutes and public transit.

We would like to rent a 2-3 bedroom apartment or duplex that has a park nearby (we have an 18-month old), and would prefer one with a garage. We'd like a safe neighborhood where we could go for walks. Our price range is up to $1700 a month, but that would make things very tight, and we'd like to keep it much lower if possible.

We had hoped that my husband would be able to take public transit so we could just bring one car, but it looks as though if we lived in Hoboken or Jersey City, he would still have a 10-15 minute walk. He'll sometimes be working odd hours, so we are concerned about safety. If we lived in the suburbs and he came from the west, would there be a better option for public transit? Also, what would be the best place to live to give him a good commute? We aren't really used to bad traffic, and would rather not have to deal with it.

[zas]

I work there: UMDNJ has free transporation from newark penn station to UMDNJ

[ottomobeale]

For get "much lower" and not being killed by your neighbors. Maybe "A bit lower"
$1700 probably doable especially if 2 BR
20 Mins might not be all that doable. Longer commutes are just a fact of life in NJ.
Looking at above post by Zas. Look along the NJ Trains lines that go direct in Newark Penn Station.

Crime in NJ is different than say FL. Its more concentrated in places like Newark. Newark is worse than many places. Many suburbs are much much better.

Look at the crime stats on this site for guidance.

Dont forget you trade distance for things like lower car insurance. Bergen is VERY high. I live in Sussex Co and pay much less than my co-workers in nice suburbs in Bergen Co. My commute is a female dog tho...

NJ has LOTS of tradeoffs like that.

[clevedark]

Maplewood and South Orange are two nice towns bordering Newark, along a train line. But I think the stop on that train line (midtown direct) is Broad Street, not Penn, which is where a poster above said the hospital runs a bus from.

Other nice towns bordering or close to Newark are West Orange, Montclair and Verona. Montclair is on a train line, I'm not sure about Verona, and West Orange is not.

There is an extensive bus system. You should really check out the NJ Transit website for schedules and maps for the towns I listed above.

Some of the other towns you'll come across are East Orange and Irvington, Belleville, I can't remember the rest.... They are more urban, but probably a lot cheaper. There will be higher crime and you'll have less of a feeling of peace than you'll get in the leafy suburbs I listed above. You said you wanted some nice parks for your child....