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I would move to Denville or to Hackettstown. Denville would be closer but they have limited apartment complexes. Perhaps rent a home.......
Take the train or bus from there. About 45 minutes, but worth the wonderful location of lakes and good fresh air.......
Just wanted to mention that I finally took a walk all around Port Liberte and the surrounding area today. It's beautifully laid out, it's very aesthetically pleasing in general, access to some areas is completely controlled as you have to go through a guard and that part is otherwise surrounded by water, there's a nice pool, there are tennis courts, there's a much better--and longer--walk along the Hudson than I expected there, and it's adjacent to a very nice and interesting-looking golf course. I see there are also apartments available there for the low 200s, even, as well as plenty of larger, more luxury condos, townhomes, etc. I'm sure the maintenance isn't cheap, though.
On the negative side:
(1) At least when I was there--I started my walk shortly after 8:00 a.m. and finished shortly after 11:00 a.m., the walkway along the Hudson River was almost completely deserted (unfortunately, because it's lovely), and there are some very secluded spots, especially as you go further towards the main part of Liberty State Park (so between Port Liberte and LSP along the golf course, essentially). The reason I mention that is that I don't know how safe I'd feel walking there if I were a woman by myself (as opposed to a the big, biker-looking guy I am, with lots of martial arts training and street smarts who probably comes across more as someone that other folks need to be leery of). I believe it's safer for a woman to walk/jog/etc. in an ghetto-like urban area with very seedy-looking people, as long as there are plenty of people around. If something happened in the secluded areas of this walkway at a time like when I was there, no one would see anything and no one would hear anything. It might be a bit more busy on the walkway between, say 6:00 and 8:00 a.m. and about the same time at night--because there are probably residents getting exercise before and after work, but I don't know. Folks might just stick to the gym in their building or something.
(2) If you lived there, you couldn't use the pool when I walked by, as apparently there needs to be a lifeguard on duty to use it, and there was no lifeguard there--there was a sign announcing this. I don't know what the lifeguard hours are like. Maybe they don't bother during weekdays after Labor Day or something.
(3) As beautiful as the development is, it's in a fairly bizarre and inconvenient location:
(a) Just to the south are the remains of the military port and a commercial port and industrial complex. I don't know what the heck they're doing there, but it looks literally like a dump. Kinda like a huge Sanford & Son-style junkyard. So anyone in Port Liberte with a view to the south is going to have that as a major portion of their view.
(b) To the north is Liberty State Park . . . although that's pretty far around the bend, along that deserted walkway. It's about a 1.5 to 2 mile walk from Port Liberte to get to the main part of Liberty State Park (so for many folks in PL, about a 4-mile round trip just to get there and back), and otherwise to the north is more industrial blah--just big warehouse-type buildings and extremely potholed streets.
(c) To the west are some big wasteland-like fields (I suppose they're building something there, but I do not know what, or when it might be done . . . or even started [later edit: I actually noticed on the satellite map now that some of that was a hidden-from-view extension of the golf course]), then there are the JC atheletic fields for the school system, then the Turnpike, then the heart of Greenville. Just to get to the Turnpike bridge from Port Liberte (and that's not an entrance to it) was close to a mile, too. It's also quite the haul on foot to the nearby Light Rail stops--maybe a mile and a half, maybe a bit more. Most folks wouldn't walk it, partially because of where you have to walk. Maybe there is a shuttle to the light rail, otherwise, you'd actually need to drive to it (which would be most practical at the Liberty State Park stop at Johnston Ave. near the Turnpike extension, as there is a huge Park & Ride lot there).
(d) In all of that, there appear to be absolutely NO STORES of any kind. No grocery stores, no convenience stores or delis, no restaurants (except one that was closed when I went and looked like it would probably be expensive), no gas stations, nada. Maybe there are some stores within Port Liberte that I didn't see and/or couldn't access, but I actually doubt it. There are definitely no stores in the industrial areas. That means that if you lived there, you'd ALWAYS have to drive for even the smallest thing you need at the store, and you'd really have to go either about 5-6 miles south into Bayonne or about 4-5 miles north into Jersey City, or the same distance west to the 440 strip on the west side of JC. There are probably delis and such within maybe 2 miles in Greenville, but I can't imagine most folks who would live in Port Liberte being comfortable in that part of Greenville, which is the roughest part of JC. To me it seemed like effectively living on an island . . . an island with no services. Also, walking (or jogging, or bike-riding, etc.) in any direction other than the deserted walk along the Hudson means walking far along heavy industrial roads with lots of big trucks, and sometimes having to walk IN the road, as the sidewalks just end, or they're all overgrown, etc. Some people are uncomfortable walking on streets like that (I know my wife is, for example--she worries that it's not safe because of the traffic, and she may have a point).
There is a ferry to New York in a pretty convenient location there, by the way. I'm not sure where it goes in New York exactly, but if you time it right, that might be just as convenient to go shopping as driving into Bayonne or further north into Jersey City. The ferry would be expensive to take for a daily commute, though.
At all of that, I'd actually consider living there, as long as the maintenance wouldn't be too outrageous, but I'm kinda weird, I'm not afraid to walk anywhere as I mentioned (including along those industrial roads with the trucks), I like walking far (I generally walk 6-10 miles per day), and I'm not at all uncomfortable in Greenville, either--I'd actually consider living there, too, but my wife wouldn't. Other than folks like me, it only seems suitable for people who do not care or need to feel very integrated into their city overall. It's best for people who want to feel isolated from Jersey City, and who like to either stay cooped up at home/in their small, cloistered neighborhood or alternatively, drive a good distance (for this area) to do things. It's also perfect for pleasure boat owners who use their boats a lot, by the way--parts of it look like Venice with waterways winding their way through living areas. It would be extremely convenient for that.
Last edited by TheLuckoftheDraw; 09-14-2010 at 01:04 PM..
How safe is the area off the Blvd East in West New York and Guttenberg. I understand that Blvd East is good but I am wonder if a couple of blocks off the East Blvd is Ok or not?
is there affordable independent housing for seniors in new york city ? I presently live in down town Chicago which is neary as expensive as NYC. I travel every 8 months to NYC on vacation. Thanks for any advice. I love your city.
I would move to Denville or to Hackettstown. Denville would be closer but they have limited apartment complexes. Perhaps rent a home.......
Take the train or bus from there. About 45 minutes, but worth the wonderful location of lakes and good fresh air.......
DO NOT move to Hackettstown. Way too far for a city commuter. You will be out of the house from dawn till dusk and you will have no time for anything.
I would look at places like E. Rutherford, Little Falls, Verona, the Caldwells, Summit, Westfield, Cranford, Maplewood. ya know.. places like dat
is there affordable independent housing for seniors in new york city ? I presently live in down town Chicago which is neary as expensive as NYC. I travel every 8 months to NYC on vacation. Thanks for any advice. I love your city.
PJ
Ask the moderator to move this. You are in the NJ forum.
Wierd that nobody mentions Kerney which is on the PATH line and you can rent for $1500.
PATH has no stop in Kearny.
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