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I lived by the Weehawken Reservoir in Union City. When I was commuting in at 9 am or coming back at 7/8 pm during the weekdays, it was almost never a 10 minute exercise. Bus rarely picked me up on schedule and trip typically took 30 minutes, stopping at every corner and getting stuck in the local Lincoln tunnel lanes quite regularly. Got a seat about 50% of the time.
I now take Path from Harrison to WTC at approximately the same times. Travel times are more predictable -- almost always 20 minutes -- and I get a seat about 70% of the time, though that's less important given the predictability. Also don't have to deal with PABT, which is a really horrible place to spend time. Much prefer waiting for trains at WTC.
I’m sorry but you’re just full of crap with all things Union City. I can’t allow you to spread this information. I live a block away from the reservoir. Before 9:00 am, the 123 bus passes by there (Palisade Ave) every 4-5 mins. You don’t even have to look at a schedule. You just go to the bus stop and wait and the bus will come in a couple of minutes. Even if it doesn’t come, the next one will follow and you’ll never spend more than 10 minutes waiting at the bus stop. And if that isn’t convenient enough you can walk to 30th st by the post office and catch one of probably over a dozen different NJT buses that stop there, as well as the jitneys. Will you get a seat every time ? Definitely not, but those are the breaks when you live in a city right by the tunnel. Will you get there in 10 minutes? No, but neither will anyone else crossing the Lincoln during rush hour.
Did a Union City girl burn you with an STD? That may be the only acceptable excuse for this behavior.
Isn't Union City walkable to Hoboken? Using Google Maps there's a stairway that runs down from Palisades between 6th and 7th to the 14th Street viaduct, which takes you into the northern part of Hoboken. Looks like it's 1-2 miles from most parts of Union City to most parts of Hoboken. I currently live in Pittsburgh and walk 2 miles each way to and from work, so I would personally be willing to live in Union City and walk to Hoboken for shopping/dining.
In all my years living here I only did the walk into hoboken one time. My wife and I were just in the mood to walk that day, I guess. Usually we just drive in or if we’ll be drinking and bouncing around from place to place we just take an Uber.
Yes, there's a stairway. There's also the elevator by the light rail station that comes down the cliff. There are also 2 staircases from Weehawken (the Gregory Ave area) and I have a friend that used to live in an apartment there and did walk over to hoboken for the bars. The Weehawken Shades area is also super convenient to Hoboken.
eta: I've done the opposite walk before with my kids--from Hoboken up to the Fireman's Memorial pool and splash pad (or whatever it's called). We usually just drive, but once we walked for fun.
I’m sorry but you’re just full of crap with all things Union City. I can’t allow you to spread this information. I live a block away from the reservoir. Before 9:00 am, the 123 bus passes by there (Palisade Ave) every 4-5 mins. You don’t even have to look at a schedule. You just go to the bus stop and wait and the bus will come in a couple of minutes. Even if it doesn’t come, the next one will follow and you’ll never spend more than 10 minutes waiting at the bus stop. And if that isn’t convenient enough you can walk to 30th st by the post office and catch one of probably over a dozen different NJT buses that stop there, as well as the jitneys. Will you get a seat every time ? Definitely not, but those are the breaks when you live in a city right by the tunnel. Will you get there in 10 minutes? No, but neither will anyone else crossing the Lincoln during rush hour.
Did a Union City girl burn you with an STD? That may be the only acceptable excuse for this behavior.
I agree with some of this. If you’re leaving before 9, you can just plan to wait 8-10 minutes at the bus stop, and sometimes you’ll wait less. That much is true. And yes, the Lincoln tunnel can be bad, and often is, for everyone. However, I would note that the 123 does NOT use the XBL and typically gets bogged down more often than the buses that use the XBL. More importantly, the length of a bus commute is just significantly less predictable than the length of a PATH/train commute. If you have the kind of job that involves morning calls/meetings, you’ll end up having to leave extra early just to make sure you are not late. That can get old and can make the commute feel like it’s even longer than it is.
There are of course worse places to commute from. My point is simply that the commute from UC is in many cases not some breezy experience that makes it a hidden gem or justifies the apparently high purchase prices people seem to be asking these days.
If you don’t have a ton to spend, don’t have a family and can find a cheap place to rent (there still seem to be some places), it can be fine. Not an ideal lifestyle, but you can at least make a compelling economic argument for it.
In all my years living here I only did the walk into hoboken one time. My wife and I were just in the mood to walk that day, I guess. Usually we just drive in or if we’ll be drinking and bouncing around from place to place we just take an Uber.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Annikan
Yes, there's a stairway. There's also the elevator by the light rail station that comes down the cliff. There are also 2 staircases from Weehawken (the Gregory Ave area) and I have a friend that used to live in an apartment there and did walk over to hoboken for the bars. The Weehawken Shades area is also super convenient to Hoboken.
eta: I've done the opposite walk before with my kids--from Hoboken up to the Fireman's Memorial pool and splash pad (or whatever it's called). We usually just drive, but once we walked for fun.
Thank you. That adds to the appeal/desirability of a place like Union City to me and can partially explain its expense. I mean the neighborhood I live within now in Pittsburgh is close enough for me to walk Downtown for work. We also walk to some other more "happening" neighborhoods for restaurants, nightlife, etc. I own a car but only use it on the weekends to get groceries (I live in a food desert and don't like schlepping tons of bags on the bus). The benefit is that despite being so close (<2 miles) from everything the neighborhood is quieter, safer, and a bit cheaper---I see Union City: Hoboken being similar in that Hoboken is busier, more lively, more expensive, etc., but Union City is still close enough that its residents can enjoy the benefits of being near Hoboken.
You better check out many neighborhoods in Manhattan too far to walk to a subway station and see how they commute from upper east side to Wall Street each day. And $2M for a condo.
Then compare with condo price and commute here
Quote:
Originally Posted by TaxProf
I agree with some of this. If you’re leaving before 9, you can just plan to wait 8-10 minutes at the bus stop, and sometimes you’ll wait less. That much is true. And yes, the Lincoln tunnel can be bad, and often is, for everyone. However, I would note that the 123 does NOT use the XBL and typically gets bogged down more often than the buses that use the XBL. More importantly, the length of a bus commute is just significantly less predictable than the length of a PATH/train commute. If you have the kind of job that involves morning calls/meetings, you’ll end up having to leave extra early just to make sure you are not late. That can get old and can make the commute feel like it’s even longer than it is. Ow
There are of course worse places to commute from. My point is simply that the commute from UC is in many cases not some breezy experience that makes it a hidden gem or justifies the apparently high purchase prices people seem to be asking these days.
If you don’t have a ton to spend, don’t have a family and can find a cheap place to rent (there still seem to be some places), it can be fine. Not an ideal lifestyle, but you can at least make a compelling economic argument for it.
You better check out many neighborhoods in Manhattan too far to walk to a subway station and see how they commute from upper east side to Wall Street each day. And $2M for a condo.
Then compare with condo price and commute here
Odd comparison. There are plenty of people who don’t bother optimizing their commutes, but that doesn’t mean you should make that your base case for purposes of assessing the UC value proposition. If you were thinking about a downtown commute, the more apt comparison would be to a place like Harrison. If it’s bus in UC vs path in Harrison, I’d take the latter every day of the week. If you’re walking distance to Port Imperial Ferry (as some places in UC are), the comparison is more difficult, but I’d still give the edge to Harrison, given frequency and cost of public transit.
I agree with some of this. If you’re leaving before 9, you can just plan to wait 8-10 minutes at the bus stop, and sometimes you’ll wait less. That much is true. And yes, the Lincoln tunnel can be bad, and often is, for everyone. However, I would note that the 123 does NOT use the XBL and typically gets bogged down more often than the buses that use the XBL. More importantly, the length of a bus commute is just significantly less predictable than the length of a PATH/train commute. If you have the kind of job that involves morning calls/meetings, you’ll end up having to leave extra early just to make sure you are not late. That can get old and can make the commute feel like it’s even longer than it is.
There are of course worse places to commute from. My point is simply that the commute from UC is in many cases not some breezy experience that makes it a hidden gem or justifies the apparently high purchase prices people seem to be asking these days.
If you don’t have a ton to spend, don’t have a family and can find a cheap place to rent (there still seem to be some places), it can be fine. Not an ideal lifestyle, but you can at least make a compelling economic argument for it.
The only thing needed to justify a high purchase price is the fact that people are paying for it.
The only thing needed to justify a high purchase price is the fact that people are paying for it.
Just saying that the value proposition seems pretty questionable at the moment. I suppose you can just say markets are efficient and forget about fundamentals, but that’s certainly not how I approach anything as illiquid as real estate.
But of course a predominately minority and low income city can't have good schools.
For such an "open minded and tolerant" state, sometimes the racism in NJ is laughable and indeed scary.
I spoke Spanish to my mom and apparently a white woman seemed to be bothered by it!
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