Moving to New York on the cheap? Consider Jersey City

[Kefir King]

I lived for 23 years at Newport, the last 8 without a car. Lovely apartment with Manhattan views. I could get to most places on the West Side of Manhattan faster than I do now from the UES. I also lived in the Heights before that but that was a bit more of a pain in the ass because I usually used my car to get to Journal Square and the PATH. Of course I had rent control there and I had 4 pre-war rooms (crown and picture moldings, real oak floors) for less than $200 a month.
Heat and hot water, not so much. Slumlord milked a nice building to death.

[vision33r]

JC is no longer cheap, your're looking at $1300 for a room these days. It's extending all the way to areas all over the PATH to Newark.

[UrbanAdventurer]

Originally Posted by fedguy2

Reminds me of an article in the New York Times where someone moved in from the Midwest with a job at Harborside Plaza in Jersey City. She opted to pay more and quarduple the commute to live in LIC instead. LoL

That's what all the tri-state/NYC noobs do when they don't know anything about the area. I'll admit I was just as guilty. Then I wised up after a few years and realized stuff like taxes and commute times make more of a day to day quality of life difference than living in the trendy state/borough/neighborhood and suffering it's consequences. And all the fun stuff is still right there for when I have extra time to go play.

[fedguy2]

Originally Posted by UrbanAdventurer

That's what all the tri-state/NYC noobs do when they don't know anything about the area. I'll admit I was just as guilty. Then I wised up after a few years and realized stuff like taxes and commute times make more of a day to day quality of life difference than living in the trendy state/borough/neighborhood and suffering it's consequences. And all the fun stuff is still right there for when I have extra time to go play.

I guess it's just the hard way people have to do before they appreciate that there is a better way.

The first Journal Squared tower is about to start leasing. It will be interesting where they open rents at. Down the street at Grove Station, studios start at $2,700. Crazy high for Jersey IMO, but the Journal Square ones should be a lot less since the area isn't yuppified yet.

Journal Squared - Brand new luxury apartment rentals in Journal Square, Jersey City, NJ

Cool video: [vimeo]191682399[/vimeo]
https://vimeo.com/191682399

[Michael3512]

I couldn't agree more with this post... some parts of Jersey that are super close to NYC (Hoboken, Weehawken, Fort Lee, etc.) are really great places to live. They are all very "urban," but much more relaxed than NYC. I especially like Hoboken.. so many shops and restaurants (similar to Brooklyn in some ways). Fort Lee is great too - great Korean food and super cute downtown area!

One thing to consider (and I know this may sound trivial to some) - the tap water is NOTHING like NYC. I noticed this when I was in a restaurant in Hoboken, the tap water made me sort of ill. So, don't expect to be able to drink straight from the tap like you can in NYC.