Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I recently got a job in Oradell and I am looking for a young trendy place to live. I am a 22 year old recent grad (female) and want to live in a place where there are people my age with a decent bar scene. I have heard Montclair or Ridgewood are good places. I want to be able to walk to the trendy downtown area for shops and restaurants.
I was thinking about Hoboken, but i think it would be too much of a commute with the traffic.
I just don't really know where to go!
I need help!
Where are you coming from?
Hartford, CT
Why are you moving?
Job relocation
Where will you be working ?
Oradell, NJ
Will you buy or rent?
Rent
What is your budget ?
$1,500
What kind of place are you looking for ?
Young, trendy with a walkable downtown area. Decent restaurant and bar scene. I don't want to be bored.
List three things that are important to you in order of importance.
downtown area, nightlife, charming
If possible, you should make Hoboken your first option. At 22 years old you want to be around a lot of people your age and you want to meet people. That will be no problem in Hoboken. Plus, you will have excellent access to the city.
I lived in Ridgewood and there is no bar scene. It is a nice family town, but no nightlife for a 22 year old. I think you could do the commute to Oradell and be ok. It will probably take you about 45 minutes one way. Well worth the trade-off to live in a town where there is so much to do. My advice is that you spend a weekend in Hoboken. See if you can get a cheap rate at the W Hotel in Hoboken. When I was looking at buying in Hoboken versus Jersey City, I stayed at the W. It really helped me to stay there for a weekend and understand what it is like at night and day. I walked around a lot and got a good feeling for neighborhood. If I was 22 there is no question Hoboken would be the choice. It's a no-brainer. If you move to Ridgewood, you'll just end up driving to Hoboken anyway to find something to do.
My advice is that you spend a weekend in Hoboken. See if you can get a cheap rate at the W Hotel in Hoboken. When I was looking at buying in Hoboken versus Jersey City, I stayed at the W. It really helped me to stay there for a weekend and understand what it is like at night and day. I walked around a lot and got a good feeling for neighborhood. If I was 22 there is no question Hoboken would be the choice. It's a no-brainer. If you move to Ridgewood, you'll just end up driving to Hoboken anyway to find something to do.
Why should the OP get a "cheap rate at the W"? If the OP really wants to know Hoboken, the OP should pay the average rate at the W and spend an entire week in the city. As I've said before, I think it is misleading to sell Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights as the ONLY Hoboken experience. What is it like to be there on a weekday afternoon? In AM and PM rush hours? Crossing the streets during rush hours? With all due respect, everyone pushing the OP toward Hoboken is completely ignoring ANYTHING negative about living there.
I am not arguing its excellent location via transportation to NYC. I am not arguing its vibrant nightlife. I am not arguing it is an experience unparalleled to any other in NJ. But to describe Hoboken as a paradise for any 22-year old is a stretch longer than the GSP.
A lot of people have listed other places where there is stuff to do outside of Hoboken and NYC, and there is stuff to do there for someone in their early twenties. However, what there isn't in those places in sufficient quantity are other people in their early twenties looking to meet and hang out with people they don't already know. For that, NYC and Hoboken are the only significant games in town.
You will want to socialize in one and/or the other - you don't need to live in either necessarily, but you do need (well, will really want, you don't really *need* it) to have a convenient way to reach at least one of the two, and you'll want to make sure if it's public transit it runs late at night (for example, some bus routes run until 1:30 a.m. plus a 3 a.m. emergency-I-missed-the"last"-bus run, others shut down at the end of rush hour).
If you don't make Hoboken your first option at 22 years old you should punch yourself in the face and then start your search again. Hoboken is a no-brainer, compared to Ridgewood or Hackensack. Hoboken is a thriving community filled with a bunch of people your age, lots of activities, places to eat, great access to the city. Ridgewood is families and old people. Do yourself a favor and go for a walk along the waterfront in Hoboken overlooking Manhattan on a weekday say 6:30 p.m. and watch all the people your age running and walking and sitting outside. Then, go to the duck pond in Ridgewood and go for a walk around the duck pond. After you do that, go punch yourself in the face again if you're still not sold that Hoboken is the right choice for you.
A lot of people have listed other places where there is stuff to do outside of Hoboken and NYC, and there is stuff to do there for someone in their early twenties. However, what there isn't in those places in sufficient quantity are other people in their early twenties looking to meet and hang out with people they don't already know. For that, NYC and Hoboken are the only significant games in town.
You will want to socialize in one and/or the other - you don't need to live in either necessarily, but you do need (well, will really want, you don't really *need* it) to have a convenient way to reach at least one of the two, and you'll want to make sure if it's public transit it runs late at night (for example, some bus routes run until 1:30 a.m. plus a 3 a.m. emergency-I-missed-the"last"-bus run, others shut down at the end of rush hour).
Great point and another reason the OP should be giving first consideration to Hoboken. If the OP can swing the cost of Hoboken, they will never regret that decision. It will be one of the most fun times of their life. On the otherhand, if the OP goes on the cheap, they will always look back and wonder how much fun it would've been to live in Hoboken for a couple of years.
Sorry but I do not understand what the current political problems in Hoboken have to do with anything. Prices have been going up there and in JC where we had a mayor mirred in scandal for basically his entire tenure.
I live on the 6th floor. Barring a tsunami, I'm not exactly concerned with mold and tearing up my floors.
Overdevelopment is a problem in ALL of NJ. Every square inch. Again, in Monmouth County, look at the roads and flooding REGULARLY in places not by the beach.
Even assuming that the flooding was regular and I was inconvenienced, it is a small price compared with the hassle of dealing with NJT and/or traffic getting to NYC or Hoboken/JC.
There are a lot more parks here. I live in JC, I can walk not only to the park and pier in Newport, but also Hamilton Park in JC and Sinatra and all the waterfront parks in Hoboken.
The number of Zagat and similar ratings in Hoboken and DTJC is staggering compared to the rest of NJ. Within a few blocks in JC you have places like Satis and 30 Acres...and that's in places that 10 years ago would have been shunned, nevermind Hoboken.
You also have a lot more ethnic diversity in the choices. 5 corners for Filippino food. Little India for Indian food. REAL pizza at Grimaldi's in Hoboken or Rustique in JC, not cardboard in the suburbs.
Not to mention the choice of bars for someone at 22. Outside of Morristown, New Brunswick, and some shore towns, you can't walk to nightlife in most of the rest of NJ. Good luck meeting single people or socializing unless you like mom and dad's living room. Not to mention the dearth of cabs- particularly reasonably priced ones- in the rest of the state. A ride in Hoboken costs a whopping $5.
I can give you a laundry list of places with regular prices. Burger King by the tunnel has a dollar menu. Taco Bell in Newport has the regular value menu. Target, Shop Rite, A&P all have the same prices as in the rest of NJ, as does every other big box. Not to mention the fact that all the mom and pop places haven't changed their prices much over the years.
Also, Paramus has 4 malls. That is ONE place. And I'm not sure you can WALK to them. I can walk to Newport. I do not pay for parking. I can walk to Target. Can you do that in Ridgewood? Good luck walking to Freehold or Short Hills or Menlo or Woodbridge or Monmouth without getting run down and trudging through grass, nevermind treking on 17.
For the love of God stop comparing JC to the s*** show that is Hoboken. Two very different places. Do you really think that someone who wants to live in Hoboken is going to have any interest in visiting Journal Square or the Heights? And downtown JC we already lost to gentrification which is a damn shame, however it still isnt that bad along the gentrification scale, and is mostly NYC commuter families. I agree Hoboken is probably great for 21-25 but after that it just gets obnoxious.
Sorry but I do not understand what the current political problems in Hoboken have to do with anything. Prices have been going up there and in JC where we had a mayor mirred in scandal for basically his entire tenure.
I live on the 6th floor. Barring a tsunami, I'm not exactly concerned with mold and tearing up my floors.
Overdevelopment is a problem in ALL of NJ. Every square inch. Again, in Monmouth County, look at the roads and flooding REGULARLY in places not by the beach.
Even assuming that the flooding was regular and I was inconvenienced, it is a small price compared with the hassle of dealing with NJT and/or traffic getting to NYC or Hoboken/JC.
There are a lot more parks here. I live in JC, I can walk not only to the park and pier in Newport, but also Hamilton Park in JC and Sinatra and all the waterfront parks in Hoboken.
The number of Zagat and similar ratings in Hoboken and DTJC is staggering compared to the rest of NJ. Within a few blocks in JC you have places like Satis and 30 Acres...and that's in places that 10 years ago would have been shunned, nevermind Hoboken.
You also have a lot more ethnic diversity in the choices. 5 corners for Filippino food. Little India for Indian food. REAL pizza at Grimaldi's in Hoboken or Rustique in JC, not cardboard in the suburbs.
Not to mention the choice of bars for someone at 22. Outside of Morristown, New Brunswick, and some shore towns, you can't walk to nightlife in most of the rest of NJ. Good luck meeting single people or socializing unless you like mom and dad's living room. Not to mention the dearth of cabs- particularly reasonably priced ones- in the rest of the state. A ride in Hoboken costs a whopping $5.
I can give you a laundry list of places with regular prices. Burger King by the tunnel has a dollar menu. Taco Bell in Newport has the regular value menu. Target, Shop Rite, A&P all have the same prices as in the rest of NJ, as does every other big box. Not to mention the fact that all the mom and pop places haven't changed their prices much over the years.
Also, Paramus has 4 malls. That is ONE place. And I'm not sure you can WALK to them. I can walk to Newport. I do not pay for parking. I can walk to Target. Can you do that in Ridgewood? Good luck walking to Freehold or Short Hills or Menlo or Woodbridge or Monmouth without getting run down and trudging through grass, nevermind treking on 17.
Excellent points. I would just say that I think Hoboken is better for a 22 year old than JC. The demographics in Hoboken are a jackpot for a 22 year old. I live in JC and love it, but I am no longer 22 so it suits my needs perfectly. If I was 22 I would be wanting a little more nightlife and that is what a younger person will get in Hoboken. But, your points are well taken. The choice of living in a suburban town (Ridgewood, Morristown, etc.) or a true urban town has to be considered in the context of transportation (excellent point you made about taxi service) and access to people and things to do. JC and Hoboken win that hands down, especially once you throw in the 24 hour access to the city. And as far parks in JC, Colgate Park is going to be great once it is open. Looks like the walkway is almost complete. Probably the best view of NY and the Statue of Liberty in the area.
ps
Satis is my favorite restaurant in the nabe! Haven't been to 30 Acres. Been meaning to get in there.
I live in DTJC on the border of Hoboken- first renting, now owning- so that is why I combine the two.
While the demographics are different, they are not as different as people here (or who live in both) like to think. There are a lot of 20 somethings in DTJC, and plenty of families and older people in Hoboken, especially uptown Hoboken. The differences are sometimes exploited (ie, Hoboken people will say DTJC is ghetto or hipster- I guess they forget about Newport, or their own ghetto on Jackson St) OR DTJC people will say Hoboken is so fratty and commercial- don't mind the beer garden or our big box stores.) Pretty stupid if you ask me. My address says JC but I live closer to the Hoboken nightlife than lots of people who address is Hoboken.
Both are pretty naively deadpanned as fratty Hoboken or ghetto Jersey City by those on the outside who don't know.
DTJC is hardly too gentrified, however. Newark Avenue needs plenty of assistance. There are plenty of buildings, especially west of Jersey Avenue, that are totally blighted. There are spots north of the tunnel that are not so hot. Also, while most "gentrifiers" live downtown, there are plenty who don't and also, if I want to go to JSQ or West Side or whatever for some reason (mostly ethnic food but there are some OK stores and stuff elsewhere) we can easily get there on PATH or HBLR and so can anyone from Hoboken.
While I find the naysayers to be misinformed, I don't mind. I know what the values are here, and I know what the amenities are here, and so do 100,000 others and plenty more do each day. That is just fine by me.
'
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
