Thanks, all. Yes, I'm single...so JC and Hoboken have more appeal. I will have a car with me, and parking will be an issue.

I use to live in Maplewood, South Orange and Orange (before coming to JC). The reverse commute isn't bad, the best option with less headaches is the turnpike/78. 1&9 to 280 in my experience though cheaper, ran more of a risk of having traffic (particularly on the return trip to JC). It is doable!

I drive from Jersey City to Moonachie, which is up towards teterboro airport, each day and its not too bad. About 45 min on a bad day 30 min on a good day. I can either take tonnelle ave up to RT 3 or take the turnpike. If Im running late I jump on the Turnpike.

Fully concur with equ regarding living choices for family/single. Here in JC it takes me minutes from Hamilton Park to swing in 1&9, arrival in Kenilworth in 20-25 min. Return is usually the same although there has been more incoming Holland Tunnel traffic recently which, according to my traffic readout over the years, is a clear indication of the economy picking up. The advantage of JC over Hoboken in that regards is that there are more entry points to chose from, and certainly parking is way better.

Maplewood is a good choice , just make sure to stay further away from Irvington. Give yourself a couple of block buffer zone.

If you have family, consider Maplewood and surrounding areas. If you are single or part of a younger couple, JC or Hoboken would be perfect, with JC having the slight edge for driving ease and parking options.

I reverse commute from JC to Newark. I can take the 1/9 Skyway or Truck. It is a dream drive. There is never any traffic unless there is an accident or construction and usually takes me 15 minutes. I drive at 60 while cars in the opposite direction are parked still. Morning and night.

PS- "Maplehood"--funny!

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jmiz wrote:


Maplewood is nice, depending on the neighborhood. You're either up against East Orange (shit) or on the other side (nice). The residents claim there's "Maplegood," "Maplewood," and "Maplehood."

This is all really encouraging! Thank you all for the route suggestions. The job is very close to the East Orange stop....the train is looking good.

I'm looking forward to apartment hunting and exploring the city!

I live in JC and do a reverse commute to Millburn each morning. I love it! I start work at 7:00, so I leave earlier than the norm, but I rarely have traffic problems on the way there -- takes 25 minutes on 78.

When work begins a little later -- like 8:30 or 9 -- I have to leave a few more minutes earlier to account for traffic, but it's still quite easy.

I also have the option of taking the train from Hoboken, which I frequently choose to do. On those days, I take the 6:15 train and arrive in Millburn at 6:55. I prefer the train, and I'm lucky to work within walking distance from the station.

East Orange has 2 stations -- Brick Church and East Orange. I don't know if your office will be close to either station, but I'd highly recommend commuting by train. The ride from Hoboken to East Orange is roughly 20 minutes.

If this is an option for you, I'd look for an apartment in the Hamilton Park or Newport neighborhoods in JC.

I used to work in Parsippany and took Rt 7 to 280. There usually was a bit of a bottleneck at the bridge in Newark (as mentioned), but my commute was 35 to 40 minutes, so getting to East Orange should be well under that. It really wasn't a bad commute at all!

There are a wealth of options getting there from JC as mentioned: 78, Pulaski, truck 1-9, 7, even as far north as Secaucus Road. Any one route should get you there in under 30 mins. Traffic is going to be highly situational based on accidents, weather and roadworks - I'd advise investing in a decent GPS with real-time traffic, or using traffic.com on your iphone/droid/pc. Traffic within JC, along with anything near Newark airport will be your biggest hassle.

I lived in East Orange for a while, and there are some decent neighborhoods, but I don't think you'd want to live there.

The reverse commute shouldn't be so bad. I still go out that way fairly regularly, and I always go rt 7 -> 280 (280 goes straight through East Orange). The only bottleneck would be in Newark, when 280 goes from 5 lanes to 2 instantly. But it shouldn't be too bad doing it reverse.


South Orange and Maplewood are more suburban. There's some nice downtown areas, but it's not as urban or walkable as Jersey City.

Of course, depending on where your office is, there is a train station in East Orange, which would take care of traffic altogether.

To get there,

You can either do the Turnpike Extension to Rt. 78. There is an Irvington / Hillside exit which essentially puts you right next to East Orange.

You can also do Rt 1&9 (Pulaski, etc..) south and transfer to Rt. 78 right before the airport. This will help you avoid tolls.


Maplewood is nice, depending on the neighborhood. You're either up against East Orange (shit) or on the other side (nice). The residents claim there's "Maplegood," "Maplewood," and "Maplehood."

South Orange is nice as well, but very trendy. You'll likely be seeing Hoboken-like prices in South Orange.

I'm moving for a job from way out of state...the job is in East Orange, NJ. I've visited NYC/North Jersey several times lately for interviews, etc...I hear East Orange is sketchy, and I'd rather live in an urban type area with walkable restaurants/shopping and a train station nearby for when I don't feel like driving into the city for fun on weekends.

Bear me me...I don't know the roads at all and can't really judge commute...is it insane to think of reverse commuting from an apartment in Jersey City to East Orange, by car? Google maps says 20 minutes (but that might really be 45 minutes in traffic)...

Other areas I'm considering outside of JC: Maplewood/South Orange. Thoughts?