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After recently being hired by Morgan Stanley I have to give my preference for which location I want work at, or say either is fine. My options are the buildings in Manhattan (downtown or midtown) or Jersey City. I am not very familiar with Jersey City. I am also concerned that i wont be able to move up through the company as fast in Jersey City compared to Manhattan. I live around Parsippany, NJ.
If anyone has any advice/opinions on Jersey City/Manhattan or if anyone could talk about how nice the area is in Jersey City, that would be great. Thanks a lot.
For me personally if I was living in Parsippany I would rather work in Jersey City, simply to avoid having to take the train/bus into NYC every day. I think you would be happier just being able to drive to JC. I used to live in JC and I believe Morgan Stanley is in the Exchange Place area near the waterfront. It's pretty nice over there...Goldman Sachs has a huge office tower there as well as many other companies.
As far as moving up through the company you should probably talk to people that work there and see what the culture is like. I don't think it would make much difference where you are.
If the commute to the two offices was the same, I'd take Manhattan hands down- lots more places nearby to eat, easier to get to meetings at other firms if necessary, and just a better "vibe" than Jersey City. Unfortunately, the commutes aren't the same, so you've got to factor that into the equation. And if you truly believe that you'll be held back from advancement by being in the JC office, obviously that becomes a factor as well. Lastly, you'll have to look at the tax ramifications of working in NYC, assuming they don't pay you more there to offset that.
After recently being hired by Morgan Stanley I have to give my preference for which location I want work at, or say either is fine. My options are the buildings in Manhattan (downtown or midtown) or Jersey City. I am not very familiar with Jersey City. I am also concerned that i wont be able to move up through the company as fast in Jersey City compared to Manhattan. I live around Parsippany, NJ.
If anyone has any advice/opinions on Jersey City/Manhattan or if anyone could talk about how nice the area is in Jersey City, that would be great. Thanks a lot.
Your state income taxes will be significantly less in NJ. After 9/11 my office worked in JC for about nine months--the hit we Jerseyans took in our paychecks when we moved back to Manhattan was a little painful. It was easy to get used to having the extra money.
Of course New York is New York and Jersey City is not. There are some nice business areas now where you have a great view of the skyline, but it will depend upon where you are. I don't imagine Morgan Stanley is located in the worst area, though.
Unless the salary at the Manhatten office is MUUUUCH better I would go with JC. You can't pay me enough to go back to the grind that is working in the city. First off the commute is longer and while in your car you ALWAYS have a reserved seat sometimes you get on the bus/train, it's crowded, you have to stand, the person next to you smells bad, the other person is talking loudly on their cell phone, someone else is listening to their ipod so loud you can actually hear the words, the a/c is broken... UGH. I can go on and on. At least in the car if there's traffic, you take a deep breath put on some tunes YOU like and enjoy the ride.
Another thing is everything in NYC is more expensive, you will certainly pay more for lunch and you will already be paying more taxes just for the "priviledge" of working there. I doubt there will be advancement hold backs if you chose NJ, I'm sure there are plenty of ambitious people who work in JC. If they provided less opportunity for advancement in JC, they'd have to close the location, who would work there?
I work at a company that has a corporate office in NJ and another in NYC, if they closed NJ today and moved everyone to NYC I'd quit in a heart beat.
Our top 3 execs are in NY but most of the rest are here in NJ. The vibe in the NJ office is a little more laid back and I've gotten to know a lot more top execs than I would have in the NYC office where they have their own floor and are not mixed like they are here.
The one and ONLY thing I miss about working in NYC is happy hour, in NYC I didn't have to worry about driving since I took the subway home, if I got really drunk I just grabbed a cab.
Obviously you can see i hate working in NYC, but whatever you chose CONGRATS ON THE NEW JOB!!!!
If I may presume that Morgan Stanley is in the Newport area of Jersey City, you will get most of the advantages of NYC there, with few of the disadvantages.
As others have mentioned, your state income taxes will be lower, your commuting costs will be lower, your commuting time will be shorter (you pretty much have to go right through the Newport area to get to the financial district in NYC).
Someone mentioned more restaurants in NYC, but there are enough trendy, upscale restaurants in the Newport area to allow you to eat in a different place every day for at least a month.
My vote would be for the Jersey City office, hands down. And remember, this isn't the old west, where a trip to the next town was an adventure. Nowadays, we videoconference and/or conference call with other countries routinely, so it's not as if you will be in some cultural or business backwater in Jersey City. If you have the requisite talent, it will show up in your job performance, and your location shouldn't hamper future advancement.
Oh yeah one more thing, not sure if you are male or female but... dressing for work in NJ is much eaiser. I don't care if it's raining out I have a covered garage, I don't care how high my heels are I don't have to walk 5 city blocks at 15mph, it's okay to wear a skirt on a cold day, or long pants on a hot day, it's climate controlled DH on the other hand I feel so bad for his job dicates he needs to wear a jacket EVERYDAY, ick. Some times he is so sweaty in the summer after walking to PA and waiting in line. If it's really hot and he takes his jacket off holding while trying not to get it wrinkled and still holding his brief case. In NJ you hang the jacket up in the back seat, briefcase has a comfy spot on the passenger seat... ahhh....
My seem minor but after you do it for a long time it starts to bother you.
Morgan Stanley is in the Newport/Exchange Place/Financial District of JC. The Mall is close by, along with a couple restaurants. So under normal circumstance I would choose JC and not just because of my distaste for NYC. If you're near Parsippany and work the normal 9-5 you don't have to drive. You could even take the trains if you want.
Jersey City is Jersey's Dubai , they keep building everywhere. So you will get an every changing landscape and cityscape. Also its less congested then Manhattan, more peaceful. On lunch break you have alot cheap , good restaurants to choose form. As for Transport , the Waterfront area of Jersey City , its great. That area of Jersey City has a Light Rail aswell as PATH , running through it, and they both connect to Hoboken Terminal were you can grab a Morris & Essex Train to Parrsipany area.
Will they pay for your monthly parking spot in Jersey City? That could sway the decision.
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DH on the other hand I feel so bad for his job dicates he needs to wear a jacket EVERYDAY, ick. Some times he is so sweaty in the summer after walking to PA and waiting in line. If it's really hot and he takes his jacket off holding while trying not to get it wrinkled and still holding his brief case. In NJ you hang the jacket up in the back seat, briefcase has a comfy spot on the passenger seat... ahhh....
