This section of Indianj.com is designed to help those people new to New Jersey in finding an apartment.  Whether you just came from India on a work visa or are moving from another state you may not be sure were the best place to live in New Jersey is.

A large percentage of workers in New Jersey commute to New York City or work in Newark, Somerset, Morristown, Homdel and the surrounding areas.
To find an apartment can be a very time consuming task.  It took over two months for a friend that I work with to find an affordable apartment with a reasonable commute and another one is still looking.  One bedroom apartments can range from $500 to $1000+ a month in New Jersey.   Middlesex county and Newark were ranked as two of the most difficult places to find an apartment in the entire United States by USA Today.   We will try to help you by pointing out a few central points in the state and additional resources.

If you are going to commute to New York City you may consider living in a city that has direct train or bus service.  Your four main choices to live are  Union, Essex, Hudson and Middlesex county.

Union county is probably one of the most underrated places to live. It is as close as two train stops away from New York City and one stop away from Newark, NJ.  In Elizabeth and the surrounding cities there are a large number of apartments buildings.  The rent can be a low as $500 a month.  It is also easy access by car or train to Edison and Jersey City for your Indian grocery needs.  A hidden place to find apartment listings in Elizabeth is Deepa Grocery, you can find advertisements on their door.

Essex county has a large Indian and Pakistani student population.   A large number of students live in Newark, Harrison and Kearny.  Since the college semester ends every winter and spring, students are always looking for new roommates.  The rent can be quite low if you have a few roommates.  Newark is the central transportation hub in the area, you can find a bus or train connection to almost anywhere.  A hidden place to find apartment listings is at the Rutgers Univ. and New Jersey Inst. of Tech. student centers in Newark.

Hudson county is Jersey City.  It boasts a large Indian population, ample apartments and is very close to New York City... maybe to close.  You an find apartment listings by taking a walk to Little India and looking in the store fronts, however rent is at an upward trend as a large number of people are choosing it instead of Manhattan and Hoboken.   The public transportation is frequent and reliable.

Middlesex county (Edison, Iselin, Metuchen, New Brunswick, etc) though farther to NYC then the other locations it is probably the first choice to most Indians, as I have seen.  It attracts people because of relatives and friends, the school system for kids, Oak Tree Road, the spaciousness and its central location.  It is not easy to find a resonably priced apartment in Middlesex county, in fact the rent is probably higher than the other counties.  You can find apartment openings by word of mouth,  visiting the Oak Tree Road store fronts or by visiting a real estate agent.

Besides our above mentioned resources here are a few other excellent online resources for finding the perfect apartment. Good Luck.