Hello!

I'm a college student that will be moving to New Jersey after I graduate in the next few months for work. I've secured a job, and I just wanted to ask questions about the culture difference or location / living things.

I'm a black man, and I honestly am somewhat fearful of possible racism. I understand that 'racism lives everywhere', but from the standpoint of coming from a very liberal area of Southern California, that statement somewhat makes me cautious haha. Does anyone have experience with a similar move, and has any input on their experiences?

The job I have will be based in Gladstone / Somerset County (?). In order to maximize my chances of making friends and stuff along those lines, is that city a good location for that? Or would living in a surrounding city be more preferable (I'll have a car!)?

How's the standard of living? What would a 1 bedroom apartment run me in a pretty decent area? I'm assuming it'd be much less than San Diego haha ($2.7-2.9k over here).

That's kind of all I have to ask! If anyone has any other advice they'd like to provide, it'd be very appreciated. Thank you so much.

Also - I'm not the.. straightest person around. How bad is that taken within the state, and in Somerset County (?)/ surrounding cities?

Comments

kzapwn t1_jdts7ln wrote on March 27, 2023 at 3:12 AM

#2,383,749

I’ve never even heard of it. Based on the Wikipedia article it doesn’t seem like a city. Like 2000 people

My_user_name_1 t1_jdtw0oi wrote on March 27, 2023 at 3:48 AM

#2,384,287

That area is $$$$$$$$$$$$$. That said I think your best options for housing is Bridgewater, Summerville, Hillsborough.

Gullible_Chocolate95 t1_jdu0tn1 wrote on March 27, 2023 at 4:37 AM

#2,384,881

I’m a brown guy who came to NJ in 2019 from my home country. Not even ONCE have i face racism or even the slightest hint of it. People on this side of the country will be DIRECT and not sugarcoat their words but that’s because there’s an underlying care or concern, and NOT racism. If you find yourself on the side of the road with a flat tire, they’d go ‘oh god how can you not have a jack in your car or know how to change your tires. But dw i’ll help you out’.

People in NJ are by far the MOST open-minded I’ve come across. This probably stems from that fact that NJ has a HUGE number of immigrants and growing up, an American might be interacting with people from all races colors nationalities and cultures which makes them very easy to get along with.

I’ve knwon some friends who’ve had to hear stuff like ‘hey go back to your country’ but I’ve personally never heard anything of that sort.

NJ is among the best places to live in if you’re concerned about racism (obv excludes certain parts).

Franklin Park, Somerset, Bridgewater are all fabulous places to live in.

HighCaliberBullet t1_jdu99kv wrote on March 27, 2023 at 6:18 AM

#2,385,815

Replying to Gullible_Chocolate95 (#2,384,881)

Lucky you, but It’ll happen eventually. I’ve lived here 30 of 34 years of my life. I spent almost two years in Great Lakes, IL and then another two in San Diego. Served on Coronado, in the Naval Air Station.

I’ve faced racism in all three places I’ve lived. Especially in New Jersey; specifically Jersey City , Newark and Elizabeth. I still get that to this day when my fiancé and go to Jersey Gardens. The black youth there mockingly speak some form a Chinese language or shout a Chinese dish to my Korean fiancé.

You must not play basketball. The level of racism , especially in an outdoor court is unbelievable. It’s justified as trash talk apparently, but it’s still annoying. Hearing that I should be playing soccer or baseball because they think I’m Latino. Or call my younger brother Jeremy Lin on the court because he’s Asian. He’s gotten called Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee, even Shang Chi more recently.

But enough about the race stuff…Moved from SD back to Jersey City, and man the cost of living is way higher. Had to buy a place in Newark. Sorry for the long reply

fullofhotsoup t1_jducpk4 wrote on March 27, 2023 at 7:05 AM

#2,386,225

It might be a little more of a commute but check out the New Brunswick area. Fun college town and easy train access to NYC. It’s super liberal there.

NZXTNike OP t1_jdul0rv wrote on March 27, 2023 at 9:09 AM

#2,387,226

Replying to HighCaliberBullet (#2,385,815)

The cost of living in New Jersey is worse than SD? That's alarming :[

Also, thank you for sharing your experience! Sorry that you had to deal with this.

RivChk t1_jdurkob wrote on March 27, 2023 at 10:40 AM

#2,388,006

Ha ha ha! Gladstone is not a city….. it is rich horse country. Estates on hundreds of acres. The King of Morroco used to have an estate there.

I can’t speak to the racism question, but check out Morristown. It’s a cool little city.

New_Stats t1_jduxl61 wrote on March 27, 2023 at 11:48 AM

#2,388,783

Somerville is one of the safest counties in the entire country. I'm sure there's racism here just like there is everywhere but the tri state (NJ, NYC, CT) has a pretty great culture of acceptance and the racists are few and far between

>What would a 1 bedroom apartment run me in a pretty decent area? I'm assuming it'd be much less than San Diego haha ($2.7-2.9k over here).

Oh honey. I mean sure, a little less, maybe 1,800 to 2,300 but it's still expensive here

>Also - I'm not the.. straightest person around. How bad is that taken within the state, and in Somerset County (?)/ surrounding cities?

We're an LGBT friendly state.

The fuck kind of reputation do we have that ppl don't know this? We were the first state to ban gay conversion therapy, and that was under our republican governor.

Gullible_Chocolate95 t1_jduyye2 wrote on March 27, 2023 at 12:02 PM

#2,389,027

Replying to HighCaliberBullet (#2,385,815)

I’m so sorry you had to go through this, especially in a place with a huge diversity like Jersey City.

Capable_Elk_3070 t1_jdv03su wrote on March 27, 2023 at 12:13 PM

#2,389,207

Hi, I can address the queer issue but not the race one from personal experience. I'm gay and my partner is trans. I have been to San Diego, and feel more comfortable being queer in NJ. Parts of NJ are less ideal and more Trumpy, but most is not. I am seconding Somerville and New Brunswick as places that are diverse, particularly queer friendly, and have fun things to do for a person in their twenties. I now live in a more rural area nearby, and I love it, but that would not have been my preference in my early twenties.

fuck_ccp_8964 t1_jdv654u wrote on March 27, 2023 at 1:07 PM

#2,390,192

Nothing racist or anti-LGBT here, we hate everyone equally.

gnitsuj t1_jdvhvjy wrote on March 27, 2023 at 2:35 PM

#2,392,151

> I'm a black man, and I honestly am somewhat fearful of possible racism.

Don't be. NJ is one of the most diverse places in the country, very blue, and very highly educated. The more rural counties in the northwest of the state and Monmouth/Ocean Counties are pretty uh...Trumpy, but most of the state is not.

> I'm assuming it'd be much less than San Diego

Oh my sweet summer child

> I'm not the.. straightest person around. How bad is that taken within the state

Again, NJ is very diverse and accepting. Sure there are shitty racists/homophobes anywhere, but you definitely won't find that's the norm here.

HighCaliberBullet t1_jdviizj wrote on March 27, 2023 at 2:40 PM

#2,392,271

Replying to NZXTNike (#2,387,226)

It is what it is. Just have to move forward. Doesn’t stop me from competing on the courts. Thank you

jackietreehorn313 t1_jdw0ude wrote on March 27, 2023 at 4:40 PM

#2,394,892

I would live in New Brunswick and start looking at switching jobs for a position in NYC or North Jersey ASAP.

jackietreehorn313 t1_jdx4miy wrote on March 27, 2023 at 8:53 PM

#2,400,342

Replying to kzapwn (#2,383,749)

You must be living in a basement. I’m sure most have never been, but most have heard of it if you’ve taken the train, considering it’s the terminus of the Gladstone Line from NY Penn.

kzapwn t1_jdx6cgr wrote on March 27, 2023 at 9:04 PM

#2,400,575

Replying to jackietreehorn313 (#2,400,342)

I don’t have a basement & every place I’ve lived has been a stop on the NJCL line so I’ve never taken the Gladstone line

New_Stats t1_jdzljo6 wrote on March 28, 2023 at 10:46 AM

#2,412,975

https://np.reddit.com/r/newjersey/comments/123rb27/it_is_idiotic_for_small_businesses_to_do_shit/

You'll be fine. Bill spada is an asshole conservative radio "news" host on our asshole radio station NJ 101.5. There's a small amount of crazy here, but we outnumber those fuckers and they know it.