The thing about living in New Jersey is that many of the cities are so close together, you can purchase a living spot wherever you find the right house and commuting to work from there is really not a big deal. It's not like buying a piece of Brampton real estate and having a job in Toronto; residents of New Jersey often commute to work in New York or even Connecticut every day.

Many people think about moving to an Elizabeth zip code in New Jersey because of the lower prices there. It is certainly true that Elizabeth offers very low rents and purchase prices when compared with Leslieville Toronto homes and those in other parts of the city.

Not only are the prices good, the housing stock is quite diverse too. If you are a fan of older architecture, you can find a range of Elizabeth (get it?), new American, colonial, and newly constructed homes all over the city. You'll find that putting a house for sale in Scarborough and moving to Elizabeth gets you quite a lot of home for the dollar.

There are also the usual assortment of condos and apartments for sale throughout the Elizabeth area, as most of it qualifies under the definition of downtown. Again, people used to talking to a real estate agent in Mississauga, New York, and other cities will probably be shocked at the affordability of a unit in the city of Elizabeth.

Before you jump at those prices, though, it is important to get the whole picture of what Elizabeth is really like. You don't want to put your house for sale in Oshawa and move south, only to find you hate what you came to.

Well, it's safe to say that Elizabeth is somewhere in the middle range as far as livable cities in the United States. There are gangs, though violence is not as frequent as in centers such as LA and Dallas. There has, however, been traditionally high rates of auto crimes in the city.

How exposed you are to the risks of Elizabeth will depend on the neighborhood you select. Westminster is the most architecturally diverse as well as the safest, with Elmora and Frog Hollow also in the running. The Point is a neighborhood in transition, but families generally stay away from places such as Elizabethport and Keighry Head.