Hillside, West Orange, Springfield, Newark- quick move!

amother

Sun, Dec 02 2012, 1:34 am

I am sort of freaking out here... My husband just got placed in a new job :-) But it is in Newark, NJ! I am expecting my first child in March 2013, and his start date is in mid-January! I am totally overwhelmed. Where are good locations for a young, modern Orthodox couple? Where are the young couples (mid-20s) located? Are there restaurants in any of these places? Would I be made to feel welcome or is there opportunity for me to meet new friends? If you live of or know of any of the above-mentioned places, please let me know asap by PMing me. If we are moving, we'd move within the next month! After that, I am too near my due date and so would be afraid to take on too much (moving + new baby + getting used to new place). Should I wait to move until baby is bigger, or does that only make things harder?

jackiejoel3

Sun, Dec 02 2012, 2:22 am

I would also consider Highland Park. Its a wonderful community from my experience (although I have never lived there). Very welcoming and close to Newark.

mandksima

Sun, Dec 02 2012, 2:57 am

We lived in Hillside while commuting to Newark. Hillside/Elizabeth has lots of young couples. I would suggest going for a Shabbat. For restaurants, you are still within traveling distance to Teaneck and Manhattan. There are scattered ones all around NJ but no one city has much of a variety. How far away do you live now? For instance, if you are in Brooklyn, your dh could travel for a while until you have the baby. You don't have to make the decision too quickly if you are still in the Tri-State area.

Raindropsonrose

Sun, Dec 02 2012, 8:04 am

I would suggest you try Springfield. The community is amazingly welcoming, a bunch of young couples have recently move in, there's two kosher places in town and more very close by, and last but not least, the rabbi, Rabbi Marcus, is incredible. Pm me if you have any questions.....

amother

Sun, Dec 02 2012, 8:05 am

Hooray for the new job! Hillside (the part immediately next to Elizabeth), Elizabeth, West Orange, Livingston, Springfield and maybe Maplewood are right near by and have nice communities, but each is a little different and it would help if you could visit. I don't have recent experience so I will leave the details to others. Highland Park is great - diverse, warm - but is a little farther away. Depending on where in Newark the job is, it could be up to 45 minutes in traffic. I agree with the previous poster who suggested giving yourself more time if you are not too far away now. Newark is commutable from Northern NJ and NYC both by car and mass transit.

amother

Sun, Dec 02 2012, 12:30 pm

so exciting!

IMHO the place to be for young MO is teaneck. DH is from teaneck and every time I go back we have the best time. There is so much to do, so many young people, and great restaurants. There are also lots of housing (different price ranges) and school choices.

There is also elizabeth/hillside - the think that bothered me here though was the planes! I always heard them. it may not matter to you.

West orange/livingston are also nice places but not as many young couples (20s). more 30s from my experience. its also a different crowd than the teaneck. Highland Park or Edison or East Brunswick migh also be an option, your just much farther from the city then - which may or may not matter to you.

I would suggest choosing a place that sounds good and renting than checking out other communities once you are there.

smiledr

Sun, Dec 02 2012, 2:42 pm

Highland park/Edison is fantastic. A few places to eat , decent shopping. The community, schools and shuls are great. pm me if u want to know more.

calaflower

Sun, Dec 02 2012, 3:16 pm

I think alot of it depends on your income level, in addition to where you're coming from (I.e. more city like vs. a quieter, more suburban area) I would definitely recommend visiting the area if you cannot spend a Shabbos there, go there on a Sunday to a local pizza store during lunch time that can give you a good idea of the community.... have you also considered the Passaic/ Clifton area?

ilovethecold

Mon, Dec 03 2012, 11:40 pm

Hi all :-) I was the person who posted the topic. Sorry it was my first post here and so had no clue how to pm or whatever. We are goung for Shabbos to check out Springfield, which apparently has a fabulous Rabbi, dozens of young couples (10 of whom are expecting a child with a 4 month range of my due date!), and is quite close to my husband's new job. We looked into Bergen county, but price and location drove us away (45+ minutes for a commute). So we called this sort of community liaison who immediately welcomed us, invited us for Shabbos, and seemed super nice. The shul's website lists a $500/month incentive program (2 be used towards rent) for a year, which is a huge added bonus! We are in the process of showing our apartment to people so we can leave our lease early with no penalty and simultaneouslt finding a January 1st move-in date in Springfield. We are looking for a 2 bedroom within walking distance of the shul. :-)

ilovethecold

Fri, Dec 07 2012, 10:24 am

We will be moving to Springfield, NJ. Tons of young, friendly couples, nice properties, growing shul, not "ghetto"-like, safe, pretty, surrounded by Target, Costco, Home Depot, etc., and the community has an incentive program of $500/month for the first of two years you spend there (to be used towards rent). The incentive is a pretty great bonus for us, but regardless, the city itself looked quite pretty when I went to visit it to check out apartments. We are going to visit the frum part of the community (I.e. shul, etc.) on Shabbos Chanukah, but from everything I have heard from many different sources, they are warm and welcoming and just small enough to have one shul where you can actually make a difference!