HOW iiS Bayonne and Jersey City? (Newark, Hoboken: rentals, condo, roughest)

[FrmAllOvaNy]

How Is Bayonne and Jersey City New Jersey also what about Roselle NJ
Some Insight Please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[confused74]

I just moved to Bayonne two weeks ago from south Florida and I love it it's way better than Jersey City it's a small town within a city, Jersey city is dirty to me, I think you will love Bayonne.

[Finski]

We lived in Jersey City for a year. I didn't like it. The only nice thing is that it is close to NYC. It is very expensive closer to Hudson river, and further towards downtown it gets crowded and dirty. A definite NO is my vote.

[CrazyJerzyKidUNO]

Bayonne is a real nice area. It looks alot some parts of brooklyn and queens. Its a really tight knit community because alot of the families there have been based there since immagrants came into New York City. So its very community based. Jersey City on the other hand is like downtown Brooklyn. Lots of things are going on there and Jersey City keeps getting more built up. Its not as dirty as people say it is, except for the greenville section and some parts of Journal Square. If you stay in The Heights or Downtown or Hamilton Park you should be perfectly safe.

[tahiti]

Originally Posted by FrmAllOvaNy

How Is Bayonne and Jersey City New Jersey also what about Roselle NJ
Some Insight Please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

it really all depends on what you're looking for. i lived in bayonne for 25 years and *loved* it. however, i'm real wary recommending it because it's almost a place you don't "get" unless you grew up there. people can be nasty (my brother coined it "the town without laughter") and not too welcoming of those not having generations upon generations living there for the past 100 years.

another thing to note about bayonne is you almost *always* need to pay to get out of there. it's a peninsula, so to get to staten island and south you need to pay $6 to go over the bayonne bridge. if you don't want to pay $6, you can drive up to the turnpike to go south. to go north or to NYC you also pay for the tunnel or the turnpike. you can go on 440 for free, but for most destinations it's out of the way. there are busses and the light rail too to get into JC.

because of refineries, there can be a pungent easterly wind

the best sections are downtown (below 8th street) and right near Hudson County park, around 36th street. Avenue B from 36th - 45th is really nice too. I'm not a big fan of the area east of Avenue E (inclusive).

but, it's proximinity to NY and relatively cheap rentals can't be beat. broadway (main shopping drag) is starting to be revamped, and there are a few nice parks. i really do miss bayonne.

[tjb1970]

just want to throw in a little defense of jc. it is a large city, so there are many different neighborhoods, but quite a few are nice. you really need to drive around and get a feel for them yourself to decide. hamilton park is quite nice. paulus hook is pricey, but nice too. other parts of the downtown/financial area are more modern but pretty cool in their own way. newport is like it's own little city, somewhat sterile, but quite clean and safe. journal square is undergoing some pretty major redevelopment and has a pretty cool feel to it.

i don't know much about bayonne, but it seems like a nice place, lots of waterfront exposure and still quite convenient to nyc.

[mead]

Where are you coming from? If NYC then go to Jersey City. If not, then I would highly reccomend Bayonne over JC.

Some neighborhoods in Jersey City are downright nice, but the town is setup a little bit weird. You can have really nice looking brownstones and row houses on one block and then you go a couple of blocks over and there will be some big ole' burned out factory. I mean this is definitely going to change in the long run as rents continue to increase in Manhattan and more people keep on moving into Jersey City, but JC is still a work in progress in my mind.

If you have to move to JC check out the neighborhoods near Hamilton Park and the Grove St Path Station.

Bayonne is a really nice town. With the Light Rail you can get into Lower Manhattan in 30 minutes. You take the light rail north to the Exchange Place PATH station and then ride that one stop to the World Trade Center. The town itself has lots to do with plenty of little stores and restaurants. There is also a big Stop & Shop and Movie theater that is east of 440. If you ever get bored you can take the light rail to NYC, JC, or Hoboken. You should definitely check it out.

[downtownjc]

It's unfair to lump all of Jersey City together--it's a large city both geographically and in population, and its neighborhoods are quite different.

Downtown Jersey City has some very nice areas with among the highest prices per square foot in NJ (approaching $1000 per square foot at the waterfront) and is seeing a crazy amount of new condo construction and renovation of historic brownstones). It's probably a bit closer in character to Hoboken than to Bayonne, mainly because of the large influx of yuppies who work in NYC. And downtown Jersey City has among the best transit links in all of NJ--you can be in Newark in 15 min, NYC in 5 min, Hoboken in 5 min all on the PATH or light rail. If you're coming from NYC, this would probably be your best bet if you want access to the city.

The Heights area has good and bad parts but seems to be undergoing a bit of a renaissance, with access to the light rail and some parts that have great views of Manhattan. It also has a number of nice 1- and 2- family homes that are drawing people looking for more space and that don't mind a neighborhood a bit rough around the edges.

Journal Square is just beginning to improve, but it isn't the greatest neighborhood at the moment. Good transit though. Greenville and Bergen-Lafayette are the roughest parts of JC and are probably the main contributor to JC's bad reputation. Aside from a few nice blocks around Lincoln Park that have some great Victorian homes, the area isn't the most desirable.

[Mike from back east]

Visited often on bizness for the Army, when the Army Terminal was open.

Bayonne people are GREAT, real people, not yuppie pukes like in DC.

Food was awesome. If it's still there, Restaurant Rincone on Broadway (down around 43rd St?) had incredible paella and freshly made Sangria. Ohhh the meals. The Broadway Diner up at the north end of Bayonne served great food in large quantities. I recall a bakery up there too, put the sausage and pepperoni right in the bread, man, that was a meal in itself.

In a few years we won't know the place, it will be as popular, and maybe as expensive as Manhattan, sinces people gotta live somewhere and the prices in NYC are to the moon now.

s/Mike from back east

[NDL]

Can anyone tell me the names of the sections within Bayonne? Some look higher -end residental; some not so hot. Some areas are largely populated by residental housing, while others sections look more commercial/industrial.

What about ethnic groups in Bayonne? Is there any one majority?