Moving to NJ?

M-J

Member
Thanks everyone for the input. I have a growing list of places to check out on my next visit. I may even try to rent a bike and go for a ride.
 

Paul H

Fearless OOS Poser
Not sure why ppl say PABT so bad... do you guys have an apartment in there? I probably spend 30 minutes at most in there per commute. There is a bar right across the street from it if you really can't handle it.

My place is a 5 minute walk to the bus stop. Door to door is an hr for me as my office is on 37st.

I rather sleep on the bus for an hr than deal with 1hr traffic on the 80. But that's just me.
 

Ryan.P

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Bloomfield seems to check most your boxes. Less than hour commute . Some mild single track within 10 min or so . Plenty of Good riding spots within an hour . Affordable rent as if that's even a thing in NJ 🤣
 

rick81721

Lothar
I lived in Jupiter. I actually liked it there but but got sick of the long, hot summer. I'd go back if I could live on the intracoastal and own a boat, next to Tiger's house. The mountain biking is actually surprisingly good in Florida. I raced XC all over the state back in the mid-90s and the race series were huge back then.

The only tax that is relatively cheap in CA is property tax, at least if you bought a house back before prices became ridiculous.

We aren't fans of the east coast. A boat is coming after we ditch the nj place. And yeah there are some great mtb parks. Closest for me is Alafia State Park and Balm boyette
 
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Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Did anyone mention Summit or Maplewood? Also Edison/Metuchen area has direct trains and lots of rentals

Someone mentioned Summit.

Edison is a black hole for mountain biking given the context of this thread.
 
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Cole

Well-Known Member
Hey Everyone, I am working for a company based out of mid-town Manhattan that will require me to move from CA next spring. I'll be going back and forth the first year as my family will stay in CA while my daughter finishes high school. I should have a good amount of time to ride since I'll be by myself most of the time. So, I thought I'd try to find an apartment out in NJ for the first year. I'd like to be closer to riding but still within a reasonable (1 hour) commute on public transportation to mid-town as I will have to go into the office 3 days a week.

Any suggestions for locations?

I spent my first 22 years living outside of Pittsburgh, but surprisingly have never been to NJ outside of Newark airport. FWIW, I'll probably bring a couple of mountain bikes and a gravel/cross bike. Thanks.
Welcome... The 'outside of Newark airport' caught my eye. I hope you know the vision you got from that is not what NJ is... Thats just the part that gives us a bad name.
 

UtahJoe

Team Workhorse
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Man I got in on this one late.... Nevermind all of these negative fucking Nancy's trying to bring you down... You are from Cali... So you are already used to shitty traffic and everything being expensive.... Now you will just have to deal with shitty weather as new jersey only gets 5 great weather days per year.

BUT... the mountain biking in this state is absolutely fantastic, especially if you like technical riding.... And it's everywhere... Where I live in rockaway there are at least a dozen different parks within 30min of driving.
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Utah is overstating things a little. There were 7 great weather days in 2022.
 

icebiker

JORBA: Morris Trails
JORBA.ORG
BUT... the mountain biking in this state is absolutely fantastic, especially if you like technical riding.... And it's everywhere...
This. There is also great riding in neighboring PA, NY and CT, each doable as day trips. Added bonus: unlike in California, the riding here is 99.9% in the shade (should you care about too much sun exposure, like I do) 😉
 

Victor I

aka Ridgehog
So is Elvis. Supposedly.
I think you will fit right in here😂. Welcome. Another possibility is parts of Bergen country as fairly close to some great places such as Ringwood(a little of everything about 25 minute drive), Sterling(less than a half hour) and High Mountain(well maybe a little too much chunk for some-about 10 minutes away). Fairlawn for example has a 20 minute express train to Secuacus and apartment rentals within walking distance. Paved bike path with some crappy (and limited) cross county trails down the street. Ultimately it will depend on what you want to compromise. Do you want to essentially roll out your door to the trails and have a longer commute or a shorter commute with a reasonable enough drive to some trail systems…
 
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Jmann

Never gonna let you down.
Personally If I was your shoes and only looking to rent, I’d be looking at tarrytown/sleepy hollow and dobbs ferry area. (NY not NJ).
IMO the Hudson line is more dependable than Jersey transit and grand central is much better than penn station. My wife commuted for a few years through penn and couldn’t handle it anymore. The commute time wasn’t terrible but that station is like going to a terrible airport twice a day. And then the fight to get to your track is ludicrous. They call your track and if you don’t run and elbow people down a narrow escalator you’ll miss your train.
Westchester has some great riding spots (blue mountain, graham hills, sprain, tarrytown lakes) and is still close to the north Jersey stuff. And the road riding is good and there’s some actual gravel to be found.
 

JerseyPete

Well-Known Member
Personally If I was your shoes and only looking to rent, I’d be looking at tarrytown/sleepy hollow and dobbs ferry area. (NY not NJ).
IMO the Hudson line is more dependable than Jersey transit and grand central is much better than penn station. My wife commuted for a few years through penn and couldn’t handle it anymore. The commute time wasn’t terrible but that station is like going to a terrible airport twice a day. And then the fight to get to your track is ludicrous. They call your track and if you don’t run and elbow people down a narrow escalator you’ll miss your train.
Westchester has some great riding spots (blue mountain, graham hills, sprain, tarrytown lakes) and is still close to the north Jersey stuff. And the road riding is good and there’s some actual gravel to be found.
Hands down the best advice given. Grand Central Terminal puts all other transit hubs to shame. And you will only be dealing with NY taxes if you live in the same state.
 

Soundguy

#SenditGuy
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Another vote for Morristown. I did that commute for 8 years. Yeah it sucked at times but it’s a good balance of easily accessible transit and still close to all the north jersey gnar. Get some good lights and squeeze in some after work rides. Nothing cures commuter rage like smashing tech in the dark.
 
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