I am moving to New Jersey! Anything I should know?
Hi Tildeans,
Today I accepted an offer in New Jersey situated in New Brunswick. My partner and I will be moving out there likely late July/early August. We will be bringing two dogs, one cat, and one snake with us. For those that live around the area, is there anything I should know about finding places to rent (e.g. places to avoid)? We are willing to be a little bit away from New Brunswick, but I would like to have easy access to the rail line that goes through the city so I can commute in without the use of a car.
Also, what are some recommendations for places to check out when we get there? We have pretty broad tastes when it comes to art, food, outdoor activities, and all of that. Lastly, if there is anything else you think I should know about the broader East coast area please feel free to share!
Hello future neighbor! New Brunswick is a very college town, it's nice, but I personally wouldn't live there (personally not a huge city person in general though). Jersey rent is definitely up there depending on where you're coming from though!
Nearby New Brunswick there's a lot of great towns though! Edison for great ethnic food (H-mart and 99 Ranch are basically right down the street a little past Highland Park, and a great Indian place as well!), Metuchen is also a really cute classic American downtown area. Princeton isn't too far of a drive, nor are places like Somerville!
Honestly feel free to DM me for anything specific, but I'm literally right around there and grew up around here as well :)
Edit: I will say that Metuchen and some places in Edison are also building up a lot of higher density residential areas, if you're looking for places like that. Metuchen is super walkable and you can use the train to get anywhere else including New Brunswick.
This is exactly the type of stuff I'm looking for, thank you! We mainly were looking at renting around New Brunswick, but knowing other good locations is a great help. I'm sure I will bug you once I narrow down some more specifics.
RU Rah Rah :) I have a couple of friends working over at Rutgers too (my alma mater) so feel free to message me about anything about there too. If you don't mind me asking, do you know what campus you're gonna be spending most your time at? That actually kinda makes a difference too, generally the grouping is Cook/Douglass, College Ave, and Livingston/Busch.
Spare thoughts before I forget about places outside of New Brunswick.
The Northeast Corridor line goes directly to NYC, so I'd say if you end up looking outside of New Brunswick, I'd try along that line.Highland Park is also right outside of New Brunswick, has a nice downtown area, and is only about a two minute drive from New Brunswick for the most part.
East Brunswick is a nice town for families for the most part, just a couple minutes out of New Brunswick on Rt 18, but the traffic gets really bad during normal rush hours.
I'll try and think of more things about my home state, but for sure, feel free to message me directly about any specifics you might want to know!
I'm not sure yet, but I believe I will be primarily at College Ave or Livingston/Busch,
Oh yeah, in that case, Somerset, Middlesex, and Franklin Township are all places to consider outside New Brunswick as well. Nonetheless I keep on throwing out ouside of New Brunswick suggestions so feel free to ignore! Closer to when you move I'll get together a good bagel/ethnic food/things to do list for you when I have time!
Good luck on your move! I spent most of the first 18 years of my life in Piscataway just across the river from New Brunswick and although I moved to Maine 6 years ago I still find myself down in the area 5 or 6 times a year.
There are lots of towns around like my hometown, Highland Park, Franklin, and Edison. Some of those are not super navigable without a car. There are NJ Transit bus services and the university bus system for Rutgers. You can walk a lot in New Brunswick itself (and in a denser place like Highland Park) but Edison and Piscataway are a little more spread out.
As far as things to do it depends on what you like - there's always stuff going on at the university and New Brunswick is full of music and art ranging from underground basement shows to the NJ symphony orchestra. The Zimmerli art museum is nice if you like that, or if you just want to get out there are parks and the university nature preserves on either side of the river.
There's also plenty of food around, particularly good Hispanic foods in New Brunswick proper (away from downtown where all the college kids geared bars and fast food type places). Plus you can always take the NE corridor trains down towards Trenton or up towards NYC if you're looking for something in particular.
Happy to help answer any questions if I can, although to be fair I very consciously moved away from NJ and up here to the woods so take that as you will :)
Thanks so much! We are moving from a place that has a lot of beautiful nature, albeit in a very different biome. From my understanding there are several parks throughout New Jersey, but if I wanted to get to some real nature I would have to drive a bit. Someone I talked to said going about two hours west takes you to some forests and the Appalachian mountains - are there any other good outdoorsy spots within a reasonable drive?
Certainly - a variety of things depending on what you want. The university itself has all sorts of nature areas (a lot on Cook/Douglass but a few on my old side of the river near Busch campus) which do a decent job if you just need a moment away. A nice local park-type park is Colonial Park which is just maybe 15 minutes to the west driving, that's in Franklin. If you head to the east for a half an hour or so you can go to Cheesequake park which is wetlands and the like, and a little further east and you'll start to see some beaches. But if you want proper woods and (east coast) mountains you can head about an hour and a half to two hours north and north west and get some good quiet spaces - I was always partial to Stokes state forest, but the Delaware Water Gap is just a little bit further and has lovely mountain valley and forest hikes. If you head north in the other direction you can make your way up to the lower part of upstate NY and into the Catskills which are also full of nice places to hike.
I see other folks are mentioning all the food, which is the only thing I really miss about living in the area. It is beautiful and quiet up here but I have many fewer food options if I want to go out and get different kinds of food made by all sorts of people from all sorts of places. NJ also has a long tradition of 24 hour diners, where you could have breakfast, lunch, or dinner any time of day - the closest one to New Brunswick would probably be the Somerset diner like 10 minutes drive west up Easton Ave.
Rutgers is also my alma mater (at least for the master's degree) and it is a big school - both in size and area. I'm glad I had a bit of a smaller state school for my undergrad work because the university can be a lot sometimes if you grew up next to it.
Where are you moving from? If not from within the Northeast/Midwest, you may want to be prepared for culture shock.
I am originally from the Midwest, but I currently reside in the Southwest. My partner has been here most of her life so I think it will be a big change for her, particularly when winter time hits.
You might want to email Dr. Alex Wellerstein (of Nukemap fame). He grew up in California before moving east for grad school. He’s a professor at Stevens in Hoboken, so he might have more insight on moving and culture shock.
As far as things to do, my main recommendation would be to visit Cape May, specifically for fall bird migration. Tons of interesting birds fly through there, including species that are hard to look for otherwise.
So, I don't live in NJ anymore, but I did for a few years right out of college. I lived in Highland Park and worked in Piscataway, so very familiar with where you're talking about working. I loved riding my bike at Johnson Park. From the Midwest originally, so there were some culture shocks for me when I moved!
I just want to touch on a few for you real quick so you at least know what to be on the look for.
NJ jug handle turns. Often times to make a left in NJ, you have to take a turn from the right. The path somewhat resemble the handle on a jug which is how it got its name. They aren't everywhere, but be prepared to look on the right side of a road to make a left turn.
Can't pump your own gas. Attendants help you. No tipping required, but sometimes they may clean your window or something in an effort to get a small tip. Not common, though.
The drivers are aggressive! You will need to be aggressive to change lanes, merge, etc.
Ticks are very common in outdoor areas, even on manicured lawns depending on where you go. You mention you like outdoor stuff, so be extra cautious to look for ticks if you go on trails.
Down the shore! Everyone loves going to the ocean beaches in the summer which is referred to as going "Down the Shore". Rental houses are very common. The Garden State Parkway, commonly called "The Parkway" is well known for beach-going.
Small pizza restaurants in NJ are amazing. Don't bother with pizza chains. There's amazing pizza to be found everywhere. Personally, I think NJ style pizza is some of the best. I miss it!
Congratulations! Hope you have a great experience at your new job!
I don't have any New Jersey tips, but I am interested in what job you ended up going for. Did you take the CC job or a University one?
So the decision was ultimately made for me - the CC position ended up going with a different candidate. I felt pretty good in my interview with the president and faculty chair, but I guess someone else did even better.
Looking on the plus side, it was in Northern California and I was a little worried about wildfires up there, so don't have to worry about that. So now I will be teaching at Rutgers!
Rutgers is a high status school. Congratulations
Thank you! All of the teaching faculty I talked to have been working there for 12+ years, and it seems like they offer a lot of freedom for how you teach your courses and opportunities to still pursue some research. I'm very grateful they gave me the opportunity.
Obligatory Wawa post.
Becoming a local prerequisite, fall in love with that gas station chain haha
Congrats on the job, and welcome to New Jersey!
I grew up in and now again live in central Jersey. I don't have much insight into the towns directly around New Brunswick, though as other folks have mentioned, New Brunswick itself is very much a college town and is not necessarily where you would want to actually live full time. Metuchen and Edison both have train stations on the Northeast Corridor line, which goes through New Brunswick and up to the Newark airport and New York City as well.
There are loads of fun restaurants and activities in New Brunswick. though! My wife and I just did a Turkish lamp-making class up there the other week (I'll have to ask her what the place was called), and our favorite Ethiopian restaurant is up there too (Dashen Ethiopian Cuisine).
If you're into hiking, you'll probably enjoy the Delaware Water Gap. You're also not far from the Jersey Shore; there are some great beach towns like Asbury Park that are pretty close to New Brunswick.
Feel free to ask if you have any other questions, either here or via DM!