In the last few places that I have lived, I have been drawn to density. I don't have much need for putting holes in things, so I am not worried about gun restrictions.
In the last few places that I have lived, I have been drawn to density. I don't have much need for putting holes in things, so I am not worried about gun restrictions.
That's good.
It's just a little different kind of density.
Inner city is one thing. Mass transit, corner groceries, significant arts and cultural centers. That's not Woodbridge.
It's more like a never ending suburbia, with streets that are never quite wide enough to handle the load they carry, and some of the finest restaurants in the country. 
They also have a really nice mall.
ryanty22 wrote:mad_machine wrote: indeed.. the difference between North Jersey and South almost warrant the two being separate states. How to tell where somebody is from in NJ.. ask them what part of NJ Trenton is in. If they say "north" they are from Southern New Jersey, if they say "south" then they are from North JerseyWhat if they say central nj?
They are from Trenton. Or PA.
It's also more culturally diverse than most people expect.
It's not unusual to hear 10 different languages spoken daily. But there is not much overlap. Italians hang with the Italians, Koreans hang with the Koreans, Pols hang with the Pols.
That's what makes the restaurants so good. Jewish delis, Thai, Japanese, Greek, you name it.
Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote:ryanty22 wrote:They are from Trenton. Or PA.mad_machine wrote: indeed.. the difference between North Jersey and South almost warrant the two being separate states. How to tell where somebody is from in NJ.. ask them what part of NJ Trenton is in. If they say "north" they are from Southern New Jersey, if they say "south" then they are from North JerseyWhat if they say central nj?
Truer words have never been spoken (said as a former Hamilton Township resident).
SVreX wrote: It's also more culturally diverse than most people expect. It's not unusual to hear 10 different languages spoken daily. But there is not much overlap. Italians hang with the Italians, Koreans hang with the Koreans, Pols hang with the Pols. That's what makes the restaurants so good. Jewish delis, Thai, Japanese, Greek, you name it.
That and there just aren't any chain restraunts. That's the biggest change the wife went through. Growing up, you went to mom-n-pop joints. Moving to the Midwest there aren't many and you go to chain resteraunts.
Well, I love living in my little corner of NJ.
Avenel is 21 miles from my house, which is situated in a quiet wooded neighborhood in Middletown about 2 miles from the Garden State Parkway, one of the two major North-South arteries in NJ. I am 7000 feet from a train station (I measured it :)), 15 minutes from the beach, <2hr from skiing, 1/2 mile to my closest park.
Basically, once you get a little south of the Driscoll Bridge (<5 miles from Avenel), it becomes a different world IMHO. There are lots of great places to eat and shop (I personally like Red Bank). Monmouth county has more than 30 parks. There's a good culture of fitness around here if you're into that. Tons of runners and cyclists, always a group ride to join. We have a new climbing gym in my town.
Yesterday, I hopped on my MTB, rode 20 minutes to a a local park, crossed over another local park (with awesome views of the ocean) to meet some friends for a couple hours, then rode to the beach to meet my wife and daughter. Just a great day. To be fair, they had the first-beach-weekend-of-the-season blues sitting in traffic as everyone bought their season passes.
Not much good motorcycling though, unless looking at girls in bikinis from your bike counts.
Well, I just had my 4 hour interview. It felt like it went well; now, it's just a matter of time. If nothing else, it was excellent interview practice.
At your age, if you get the job, take it. You may decide you don't like the area, but who cares. Stick it out for a few years, take the experience and the money and then look elsewhere. It certainly doesn't have to be a long term move if it turns out you don't like it.
Well, I didn't get the offer in Woodbridge, but I was told by the recruiter that I would be a really good fit for a slightly different position in San Bernardino, CA. Looks like a quick phone interview separates me from an offer.
The saga continues....
Woodbridge NJ...San Bernadino CA...
Potato...PoTAto...they're exactly the same. 
Only complete opposite corners of the country, no big deal. I'm young, rent, and can be flexible. Why not be?
Bringing this back from the dead, because I was offered a position in my company in the Woodbridge Township area.
mfennell, your area looks like a great area to start my search. I will be traveling quite a lot, so proximity to a train (to EWR) will be a huge plus. I could survive a 20 mile commute; I just do not want another 50-60 mile drive.
Does anyone familiar with the area have any other recommendations within a 25 mile radius of Avanel, NJ? I know that many commute from PA, but I would prefer not to make that trek. I will be renting - possibly just a room for the first six months.
Taking the train to EWR is a PITA. Will your company kick in for car service?
Will they pay for temporary housing after the move? When I first moved up here from Baltimore, I got 6 weeks in a Residence Inn, which gave a good opportunity to get a feel for the area (Eatontown, in my case).
I can't imagine a young, single person sucking up a nasty commute to save a few $$$. Get a smaller place to make up the difference. I'd pull your radius in a bit myself. That's a pretty busy area in the morning.
25 mile commute in that area could be neat an hour at rush hour.
I plan to rent a room for my first 6 or so months in town, and getting my own place once my girlfriend moves up in the summer - early fall of next year (she's finishing up her phD in the southeast). I would definitely prefer a place <10 mi from work.
What makes the train to EWR so bad? Unreliable? Poor timing?
https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/mx-5-as-a-winter-daily/107627/page1/
See my related thread about wintering an MX-5.
Can someone provide some insight into the type of weather conditions I will be seeing in NJ? This will help me choose the most appropriate winter tires. I suspect that I will be facing mostly rainy conditions, rather than deep snow. For this reason, I'm leaning towards some 16" performance winter tires.
To add to the complexity, I am considering driving across the country rather than shipping the car, simply because I've never made the cross-country drive. If I drive in December, I think that having the performance winters shipped to CA and packing my summer tires for the move makes the most sense. My research indicates that studless snows would get pretty badly worn from the cross-country drive, since I would be driving quite a few miles in warm and/or dry weather. Performance winter tires appear to be a lot more resilient in these conditions.
Ixnay on snow tires for a cross country trip.
Just take a more Southern route.
Look into the New Brunswick area (at least as a temp spot). This will put you fairly close Woodbridge, plenty of housing (new condos going up constantly) a quick hop on NJ transit will take you right up to Newark Airport (EWR) (you are right on the north east corridor line and you'll have express trains). As well as being pretty much right on top of Rt.1, NJ Turnpike and close to the GSP as well as 287. Basically you can get to anywhere pretty quickly whether by car or train (NYC, Philly, Princeton, Jersey shore, Upstate NY)
Traffic can get bad but if you are in the office that early you'll never see much in the morning. Afternoons might be a different story.
Mitchell wrote: What makes the train to EWR so bad? Unreliable? Poor timing?
Just the timing. Not all trains stop there so it can easily be an hour wait and the ride itself is 45 minutes to my local station, about 5 minutes longer than it takes to drive!
New Brunswick will have some good restaurant options since it is such a melting pot of people.
mfennell wrote:Mitchell wrote: What makes the train to EWR so bad? Unreliable? Poor timing?Just the timing. Not all trains stop there so it can easily be an hour wait and the ride itself is 45 minutes to my local station, about 5 minutes longer than it takes to drive!
Good to know! If the fare is reasonable, I'm sure that expensing cab fare will be fine.
You're going to work next to the prison, aren't you. Give me a buzz internally. I'm at ewr at least once a month.
If y'all ain't figured it out. We work for the same company.
Yep, I will be working just around the corner from the prison. I'll get in touch over the next few days. Hoping to keep my laptop closed for the holiday.
Sent you pm.
You'll need to log in to post.
