Moving to New Jersey from India (Edison, Wayne: apartments, health insurance, crime)

[dabhi]

Hi Everybody,
I am moving to New Jersey with my family (me, wife, kid - 1.5 yrs). I shall be working at West Orange area and will be driving to work. I am looking for a 1-2 bed apartment in an area with the following characteristics.
Rent: Upto 1600 k/month ( My salary approx 55000k/annum)
Area: Preferably suburban with open spaces. Parks for kids, good schools are essential.
safety: Very important. My first priority.
Shopping : Target/Costco would suffice. Do not need malls or high end places.
Drive to work: Around an hour oneway. ( Frankly, I have no idea about NJ traffic)
Can you suggest me an area where I should look and whether my budget is sufficient or not for a good apartment or not.
Your opinions will be very much appreciated. Anyone with similar experience ??

[dhanu86]

I wouls suggest one of the surrounding towns but they're not safe, except maybe South Orange. For 1600 U should be fine though, that's enough for a safe area. How far are u willing to commute time wise?

[dabhi]

Thanks a lot. I am looking to drive for 1 hr max. I was looking to compare Edison/Cranford/Piscataway vs Wayne/Verona/Montclair. Any ideas about cost, parks for children, schools etc.

[Ninasimonejr]

For some facts about crime in the towns, as opposed to large generalizations, check out these reports.
New Jersey State Police - Crime Reports & Statistics
I think the Uniform Crime Reports are the most comprehensive, with stats by town (searchable).
http://www.state.nj.us/njsp/info/ucr...008-sect-7.pdf
If you search this forum you'll find positive comments in this forum about all the towns you name. Based on what I've read here my hubby and I are planning to check out S. Orange and some others that have short commutes to NYC. I have an elderly friend in Cranford and she considers it very safe. On your budget you should be able to find something good with well under a 1-hr commute. You might add Westfield to your list. We have family there - it seems very pleasant with excellent shopping.

[dabhi]

Thanks a lot. That data is really helpful. Any idea which town will be best to walk around with my daughter and wife after returning from work or in weekends? That is exactly what I am looking forward to do in a new country.

[davenj08]

dabhi, i strongly recommend Parsippany. it is a very safe neighborhood with good schools and open space. it has a considerable percentage of Asian Indians and lots of indian grocery stores, restaurants, etc. it is within 20 mins from West Orange. you should be able to find 1BR apartments well within $1000.

as a side note, if your annual salary is going to be around $55,000 do not spend more than $1200 on rent. after health insurance, deducations & taxes your take home pay would be about $3500 per month.

[dhanu86]

Originally Posted by davenj08

dabhi, i strongly recommend Parsippany. it is a very safe neighborhood with good schools and open space. it has a considerable percentage of Asian Indians and lots of indian grocery stores, restaurants, etc. it is within 20 mins from West Orange. you should be able to find 1BR apartments well within $1000.

as a side note, if your annual salary is going to be around $55,000 do not spend more than $1200 on rent. after health insurance, deducations & taxes your take home pay would be about $3500 per month.

I agree. Not sure about "within 1,000" but Parsippany is more of a family town and cheaper than Westfield. I think that commute is also much better with traffic. Unless you live in a town with a good Asian population, it becomes difficult to buy the weekly groceries u want. Edison/Cranford has far more Asians than Verona/Montclair and Wayne is too far.

But for walking, its harder to find a good home, u usually have to drive to walk in town unless you live in a nice community setting with sidewalks and grass.