Condo next to Westside station in Jersey City (Clifton, Bayonne: rentals, crime)

[techieguy]

I'm planning to rent a condo near Westside station in Jersey City. My questions are listed below
1. Is it safe to live near Westside station ? Its going to be one block from Westside station .
2. I'm going to rent from a private owner. Any things I should keep in mind before I sign a lease with the owner of the condo.
3. Is it safe to walk outside in the night near Westside station.
4. How's the commute to JC downtown ?
5. Any other issues or concerns ?

Thanks for your help.

[mead]

Next to the Westside light rail station?

Its not a horrible area, but there definitely are better neighborhoods that I could think of in that area. That area near Communipaw Ave & 440 is largely a black area with large numbers of Asian immigrants (Phillipinos specifically but also a lot of others). I wouldn't mind living there, but the average person on this board would probably have issues with it.

That commute isn't bad, but the trains are often filled with punk teenage black kids who always make a lot of noise. I also have a feeling that a lot of them are taking advantage of the fact that rarely does anyone check whether you have a ticket or not, so a lot of them are stealing a ride.

If you're not black or Phillipino and are trying to commute into Jersey City you should definitely look into Bayonne. Bayonne also has a light rail line and the rents in town are fairly cheap. Bayonne is definitely nicer than Westside JC and also the Greenville section of JC. The town is completely safe, unlike much of Jersey City, and has a nice downtown area.

Take a look here: http://www.njtransit.com/images/hb_final_1031.gif

Bayonne is at the bottom of the map and the stops in town are 45th st, 33rd st, and 22nd st. From Bayonne to Exchange place in Jersey City it takes between 15-20 minutes depending on what station you are leaving from.

[techieguy]

Thanks for your thorough response. Renting in Society Hill is also an option.
But I may have to drive to Westside Ave light rail station and park at this station. Do you know what the parking situation is at Westside station ?????

[mead]

I really dont' know about the parking situation at Westside. In Bayonne at one of the station (I think it is the 34th st station) there is a daily lot and a monthly permit parking lot. Plenty of parking at that station.

Why are you so interested in the Western part of Jersey City? The society hill development is nice and all, but its kind of far removed from everything. It also seems a little bit out of place since it looks like a development that belongs more in a suburb outside of Atlanta or Houston than in Jersey City.

If you want to move to Jersey City stay east of the Turnpike and South of the Holland tunnel. The areas around Exchange Place and Grove St station are nice. Otherwise I would suggest you check out a different town.

[techieguy]

I'm interested in Western part of JC because the rental price for 2 br is within my budget. Also commute to Exchange place will be shorter. Bayonne I heard is rough and that I did not see enough 2 br rentals on Craigslist. I'm looking at gated community wherever I go. I'm also looking for apts near Princeton Junction. Any ideas for JC or Princeton Junction. ?

[mead]

No no no.....you are coming about this all wrong. People in New Jersey do not live in gated communities. This whole gated community idea is a Southern thing, and is considered out of place up here.

Bayonne is not rough, its filled with Irish/Italian/Polish people. Western Jersey City on the other hand IS rough. Westside and Greenville are where most of the crime occurs in JC. I would advise you to stay away from that area of Jersey City.

I see quite a few 2br in Bayonne here: http://newjersey.craigslist.org/sear...max&bedrooms=2 Price range seems to be $900 and up for a 2br in Bayonne.

[techieguy]

I haven't heard bad things about Westside condo or Society Hill. Do you think that these two locations will be not safe. I'm concerned because I liked the condo because its closer to the station. Can you please suggest some other towns to commute to Jersey City ? (excluding Bayonne).

[mead]

Its not that the Condo won't be safe, but you have to leave the gates of the condo eventually and that is when things go downhill.

I honestly don't understand all of this anti-Bayonne bias. Definitely look into the town. Have you even visited it?

If you need to look into other towns, just look into towns that have trains going into Hoboken. From Hoboken you can transfer to the light rail and take that down to exchange place. If you get a monthly NJ Transit pass for the commuter train, then taking the light rail is included in that price, so you don't have to pay an extra fare.

Nice towns that are somewhat close by train to Hoboken are places like Rutherford, Clifton, Glen Ridge, Montclair, South Orange, Summit, Millburn.

Rutherford is quite nice. Have you looked into there? It has a nice little downtown area that is next to the train station. The train ride from Rutherford to Hoboken is only 20 minutes. The light rail platform at Hoboken is directly to the right of the train platforms and then the light rail takes 10 minutes to get from Hoboken to exchange place.

Also have you considered living in a place like Kearny or North Arlington? From these towns you can drive to Harrison and park in one of the many parking lots and take the PATH to Exchange Place. From Harrison the ride on the PATH to Exchange place takes about 15 minutes. Keep in mind that PATH is going to receive a lot of new train cars soon, so the ride will become a lot more comfortable in the next few years. Currently the PATH trains operater perfectly fine, but a tad bit dated in their appearance.

Here is some info about the new PATH cars coming out in 2008: http://www.panynj.gov/CommutingTrave.../new_cars.html

[Jza]

You're lucky techguy. I live in Jersey City and Mead is pretty much giving it to you straight and accurate. You found the right guy for your questions indeed.

[downtownjc]

Originally Posted by Jza

You're lucky techguy. I live in Jersey City and Mead is pretty much giving it to you straight and accurate. You found the right guy for your questions indeed.

Mead is definitely right -- there is a reason that Society Hill and Westside Station are two of the relatively rare gated communities in NJ. The Greenville/West Side area of JC isn't great (although there are okay parts) and most of the serious crime in the city happens in those areas.

Bayonne on the other hand is a fair bit safer and nicer than Greenville and there are plenty of areas close to the light rail. You will also find the crowd on the light rail to likely be a bit less rough on the Bayonne than on the West Side Ave. line.

I will put it this way--I would feel more comfortable renting in Bayonne and walking to the light rail than renting at Society Hill and parking at the WSA light rail.