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Hudson County is criminally underrated. There is no area that compares to Hudson County in the US when talking about secondary urban cores. This is an area that is arguably more urban than almost every other major city in the US besides the one it is directly across from. No other place outside of NYC captures the NY feel like Hudson County (for obvious reasons). Very few cities have Hudson County’s diversity, history, density, or transportation infrastructure. There’s lowkey a lot to see & do in Hudson County as well. There’s delicious food (largely because of its diversity), beautiful parks and walking areas along the Hudson with incredible views of Manhattan, beautiful walkable brownstone neighborhoods in Hoboken & Jersey City, historic places like Hamilton Park & Ellis Island (although not as much history as Boston admittedly), and a wide variety of easily accessible transportation options, with PATH, HBLR, NJ Transit, buses, ferries and 2 tunnels to Manhattan. If the County was consolidated as a single city (which it essentially is, as a contiguous stretch of dense urbanity from Bayonne to North Bergen) it would be the 19th largest city in the US in 46 sq miles. Jersey City, the 71st-largest city in the US, has a top 15 skyline (which is still growing at a fast pace). Hudson County doesn’t have all the big city perks that Boston has, like universities, airports, large venues and pro sports, but it has easy access to whatever perks it’s missing in New York (as well as easy access to Newark’s perks, without having Newark’s crime rate). Jersey City and Hoboken are easier to get into Lower & Midtown Manhattan from than most parts of Brooklyn, Queens & The Bronx and are more connected to the city than any part of Staten Island is. For all intents and purposes, this is a borough of New York that happens to be across state lines. It is the only fully urbanized county outside of NYC at the heart of one contiguous urban megacity that extends from NYC into Southern Westchester, Southern Bergen, Southeastern Passaic, Eastern Essex, and Northeastern Union Counties. I’m not saying it’s better than Boston, but as a biased NJ native (who still has a fondness for Boston & New England) I’d surely live in Hudson County all day.
Wow, last time I did this was in 2018. 4 years ago. In that time I have moved out of Boston (again) and have been living in Jersey for more than a year now ... Somerset County. Disclaimer, this was hard because Massachusetts and New Jersey are my favorite states.
Transit Infrastructure (heavy rail, light rail, commuter rail, tram networks, monorails, bus rapid transit, bus systems): Greater Boston: Although the MBTA has its issues, it is more comprehensive and far more affordable. It got me where I wanted to go 80% of the time. NJ Transit does not. Its like a feeder into NYC. I use my car a lot in NJ. Its no slouch, but MBTA edges it.
Airports, Destinations Available, and Airline Services: Greater Boston: Delta+jetBlue/AA>United
Higher Education Institutions (colleges and universities): Greater Boston
Public and Private K-12 Institutions (Elementary, Intermediate, Middle, High): Greater Boston
Cultural Institutions (Museums, Zoos, Theaters, Symphony, Ballet, Libraries, Live Theater Venues, Live Music Venues): Greater Boston. This isn't fair because you go to NYC for this stuff.
Arts (Public Art, Murals, Private Art Galleries, Art Workshops): Greater Boston, by a slight edge?
Stores and Shops: New Jersey the malls are fantastic here. Paramus alone.
Climate (Weather Conditions, Natural Disasters): Greater Boston for summers/fall, NJ for winters/spring
Geography and Scenery: Tie. NJ has rolling hills, cliffs and a beautiful shoreline. Greater Boston has a very scenic coastline with more dramatic hills.
Public and Private Beaches: Tie. Its all what you want. MA has the more beautiful beaches, but NJ has better beach towns that are more fun.
Theme Parks and Amusement Parks: New Jersey. The tallest, the fastest roller coasters in the world are in NJ. Morey's Pier, Casino Pier... come on, NJ kills it here.
Local Culture (Local Events, Traditions, Values, Expectations, Accents, Politics): Greater Boston because the city of Boston has a lot of events. Jersey City has some events, but they are a lot less fun than Boston's.
Cosmopolitanism and Diversity: New Jersey. My town is plurality Puerto Rican, neighboring a plurality Indian city, a plurality Jewish town, a plurality WASPy town, a plurality black town and a plurality Mexican town.
Ethnic Neighborhoods, Corridors, or Enclaves: New Jersey. Boston only is strong on Carribean and Italian neighborhoods... and a few others.
Quality of Suburbs: New Jersey. Denser, cleaner, more walkable. MA's high level suburbs are sprawling mansions with smaller downtowns and hit/miss with transit. NJ is far less reserved (ie, Summit, Short Hills, Westfield, Ridgewood etc)
Quality of pedestrian friendly high-urbanity neighborhoods: Greater Boston: Urban Boston is far more walkable.
Housing Prices and Rental Rates: New Jersey
Architecture Quality: Greater Boston
Historical Significance, Monuments, Landmarks, Sites: Greater Boston
Nightlife Options: NEW JERSEY. Trust me... the Shore towns (Belmar, Seaside Heights, Long Branch, Asbury Park), Jersey City/Hoboken, New Brunswick and Morristown but Boston/Camberville to shame.
Employment Outlook: Greater Boston
Quality of the roads, interstates, highways: New Jersey. MA looks like they stopped paving and fixing potholes in 2006.
Which one do you like more? It depends on the day. I like NJ and the GBA for different things. Some days I want to be back in Boston, but some days I want to be down the Shore at a club or hanging out in North Jersey. I don't use NYC, like at all, so Im indifferent with the proximity to there since we don't go there unless needed. I think because of that, I would say Boston by a smudge. Hmmm, wait New Jersey. Actually, Boston. No no... NJ. f it, both?
But overall, two fantastic places... the best of the bests.
Hudson County is criminally underrated. There is no area that compares to Hudson County in the US when talking about secondary urban cores. This is an area that is arguably more urban than almost every other major city in the US besides the one it is directly across from. No other place outside of NYC captures the NY feel like Hudson County (for obvious reasons). Very few cities have Hudson County’s diversity, history, density, or transportation infrastructure. There’s lowkey a lot to see & do in Hudson County as well. There’s delicious food (largely because of its diversity), beautiful parks and walking areas along the Hudson with incredible views of Manhattan, beautiful walkable brownstone neighborhoods in Hoboken & Jersey City, historic places like Hamilton Park & Ellis Island (although not as much history as Boston admittedly), and a wide variety of easily accessible transportation options, with PATH, HBLR, NJ Transit, buses, ferries and 2 tunnels to Manhattan. If the County was consolidated as a single city (which it essentially is, as a contiguous stretch of dense urbanity from Bayonne to North Bergen) it would be the 19th largest city in the US in 46 sq miles. Jersey City, the 71st-largest city in the US, has a top 15 skyline (which is still growing at a fast pace). Hudson County doesn’t have all the big city perks that Boston has, like universities, airports, large venues and pro sports, but it has easy access to whatever perks it’s missing in New York (as well as easy access to Newark’s perks, without having Newark’s crime rate). Jersey City and Hoboken are easier to get into Lower & Midtown Manhattan from than most parts of Brooklyn, Queens & The Bronx and are more connected to the city than any part of Staten Island is. For all intents and purposes, this is a borough of New York that happens to be across state lines. It is the only fully urbanized county outside of NYC at the heart of one contiguous urban megacity that extends from NYC into Southern Westchester, Southern Bergen, Southeastern Passaic, Eastern Essex, and Northeastern Union Counties. I’m not saying it’s better than Boston, but as a biased NJ native (who still has a fondness for Boston & New England) I’d surely live in Hudson County all day.
ironically, the place its being compared to have some of the most urban bordering cities in the nation (cambridge, somerville, chelsea, ...).
Hudson County is criminally underrated. There is no area that compares to Hudson County in the US when talking about secondary urban cores. This is an area that is arguably more urban than almost every other major city in the US besides the one it is directly across from. No other place outside of NYC captures the NY feel like Hudson County (for obvious reasons). Very few cities have Hudson County’s diversity, history, density, or transportation infrastructure. There’s lowkey a lot to see & do in Hudson County as well. There’s delicious food (largely because of its diversity), beautiful parks and walking areas along the Hudson with incredible views of Manhattan, beautiful walkable brownstone neighborhoods in Hoboken & Jersey City, historic places like Hamilton Park & Ellis Island (although not as much history as Boston admittedly), and a wide variety of easily accessible transportation options, with PATH, HBLR, NJ Transit, buses, ferries and 2 tunnels to Manhattan. If the County was consolidated as a single city (which it essentially is, as a contiguous stretch of dense urbanity from Bayonne to North Bergen) it would be the 19th largest city in the US in 46 sq miles. Jersey City, the 71st-largest city in the US, has a top 15 skyline (which is still growing at a fast pace). Hudson County doesn’t have all the big city perks that Boston has, like universities, airports, large venues and pro sports, but it has easy access to whatever perks it’s missing in New York (as well as easy access to Newark’s perks, without having Newark’s crime rate). Jersey City and Hoboken are easier to get into Lower & Midtown Manhattan from than most parts of Brooklyn, Queens & The Bronx and are more connected to the city than any part of Staten Island is. For all intents and purposes, this is a borough of New York that happens to be across state lines. It is the only fully urbanized county outside of NYC at the heart of one contiguous urban megacity that extends from NYC into Southern Westchester, Southern Bergen, Southeastern Passaic, Eastern Essex, and Northeastern Union Counties. I’m not saying it’s better than Boston, but as a biased NJ native (who still has a fondness for Boston & New England) I’d surely live in Hudson County all day.
what you said didn't even sound biased.
Not only Hudson County NJ, but NJ in general, is criminally underrated. Keep it that way though. It's busy enough lmao.
Wow, last time I did this was in 2018. 4 years ago. In that time I have moved out of Boston (again) and have been living in Jersey for more than a year now ... Somerset County. Disclaimer, this was hard because Massachusetts and New Jersey are my favorite states.
Transit Infrastructure (heavy rail, light rail, commuter rail, tram networks, monorails, bus rapid transit, bus systems): Greater Boston: Although the MBTA has its issues, it is more comprehensive and far more affordable. It got me where I wanted to go 80% of the time. NJ Transit does not. Its like a feeder into NYC. I use my car a lot in NJ. Its no slouch, but MBTA edges it.
Airports, Destinations Available, and Airline Services: Greater Boston: Delta+jetBlue/AA>United
Higher Education Institutions (colleges and universities): Greater Boston
Public and Private K-12 Institutions (Elementary, Intermediate, Middle, High): Greater Boston
Cultural Institutions (Museums, Zoos, Theaters, Symphony, Ballet, Libraries, Live Theater Venues, Live Music Venues): Greater Boston. This isn't fair because you go to NYC for this stuff.
Arts (Public Art, Murals, Private Art Galleries, Art Workshops): Greater Boston, by a slight edge?
Stores and Shops: New Jersey the malls are fantastic here. Paramus alone.
Climate (Weather Conditions, Natural Disasters): Greater Boston for summers/fall, NJ for winters/spring
Geography and Scenery: Tie. NJ has rolling hills, cliffs and a beautiful shoreline. Greater Boston has a very scenic coastline with more dramatic hills.
Public and Private Beaches: Tie. Its all what you want. MA has the more beautiful beaches, but NJ has better beach towns that are more fun.
Theme Parks and Amusement Parks: New Jersey. The tallest, the fastest roller coasters in the world are in NJ. Morey's Pier, Casino Pier... come on, NJ kills it here.
Local Culture (Local Events, Traditions, Values, Expectations, Accents, Politics): Greater Boston because the city of Boston has a lot of events. Jersey City has some events, but they are a lot less fun than Boston's.
Cosmopolitanism and Diversity: New Jersey. My town is plurality Puerto Rican, neighboring a plurality Indian city, a plurality Jewish town, a plurality WASPy town, a plurality black town and a plurality Mexican town.
Ethnic Neighborhoods, Corridors, or Enclaves: New Jersey. Boston only is strong on Carribean and Italian neighborhoods... and a few others.
Quality of Suburbs: New Jersey. Denser, cleaner, more walkable. MA's high level suburbs are sprawling mansions with smaller downtowns and hit/miss with transit. NJ is far less reserved (ie, Summit, Short Hills, Westfield, Ridgewood etc)
Quality of pedestrian friendly high-urbanity neighborhoods: Greater Boston: Urban Boston is far more walkable.
Housing Prices and Rental Rates: New Jersey
Architecture Quality: Greater Boston
Historical Significance, Monuments, Landmarks, Sites: Greater Boston
Nightlife Options: NEW JERSEY. Trust me... the Shore towns (Belmar, Seaside Heights, Long Branch, Asbury Park), Jersey City/Hoboken, New Brunswick and Morristown but Boston/Camberville to shame.
Employment Outlook: Greater Boston
Quality of the roads, interstates, highways: New Jersey. MA looks like they stopped paving and fixing potholes in 2006.
Which one do you like more? It depends on the day. I like NJ and the GBA for different things. Some days I want to be back in Boston, but some days I want to be down the Shore at a club or hanging out in North Jersey. I don't use NYC, like at all, so Im indifferent with the proximity to there since we don't go there unless needed. I think because of that, I would say Boston by a smudge. Hmmm, wait New Jersey. Actually, Boston. No no... NJ. f it, both?
But overall, two fantastic places... the best of the bests.
This is a great post. I couldn’t agree more. These are absolutely 2 of the best places to live in the US bar none, and all the stats point to that, as we are always ranked in the top 5 as 2 of the wealthiest, most developed, most educated, highest quality of life states. If I were ever to leave the tri-state, the Boston area is is one of the first areas I would consider (easily one of my fav cities). It’s just a bit colder up there but that’s not too much of an issue cause it ain’t like Jersey is Florida lol. Despite the fact that our teams bitterly hate each other I think there are a ton of similarities between our states, and a lot of crossover between our states. My father is from Belmont Mass originally so I still have family up in the Boston area and have been lucky enough to visit Boston more than enough times throughout my life. I’ve gone on plenty of vacations to Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Newport RI, so I can say from experience that New England has some of the most beautiful coastal areas in the country, and being from New Jersey, I’ve also been lucky enough to easily make that ride down the shore to places like LBI, Point Pleasant, Long Branch, Seaside Heights & all of our state’s awesome shore towns. There’s really no place to go wrong with either. Both places have an abundance of pluses and cost a lot because of it.
- Airports, Destinations Available, and Airline Services: Hudson County
- Higher Education Institutions (colleges and universities): Boston
- Public and Private K-12 Institutions (Elementary, Intermediate, Middle, High):
(if this is Boston vs. Hudson County?) Hudson County.
Greater Boston vs Greater North jersey? Greater Boston
- Cultural Institutions Boston
- Arts (Public Art, Murals, Private Art Galleries, Art Workshops): Boston
- Stores and Shops: North Jersey
- Climate (Weather Conditions, Natural Disasters): North Jersey
- Geography and Scenery: Boston
- Public and Private Beaches: Boston
- Theme Parks and Amusement Parks: North Jersey
- Local Culture (Local Events, Traditions, Values, Expectations, Accents, Politics):Boston
- Cosmopolitanism and Diversity: North Jersey
- Ethnic Neighborhoods, Corridors, or Enclaves: Boston
- Quality of Suburbs: Jersey
- Quality of pedestrian friendly high-urbanity neighborhoods: Tie
- Housing Prices and Rental Rates: North Jersey
- Architecture Quality: Boston
- Historical Significance, Monuments, Landmarks, Sites: Boston
- Nightlife Options: Boston (when excluding NYC)
- Employment Outlook: Boston
- Quality of the roads, interstates, highways: North Jersey
- Sports Culture (primary education, college, professional): Boston
- National or State Parks: Boston
- Local Food Scene: North Jersey
I agree with most of this.
But my biggest negate is Airlines.
EWR only has United (And a wee bit of jetBlue now), which is not nearly as good as BOS' Delta+jetBlue+American combination. There may be more destinations out of EWR but it is very expensive to fly to places from EWR and the EWR airport in general is absolute garbage. It is so inconvenient.
EWR only has United (And a wee bit of jetBlue now), which is not nearly as good as BOS' Delta+jetBlue+American combination. There may be more destinations out of EWR but it is very expensive to fly to places from EWR and the EWR airport in general is absolute garbage. It is so inconvenient.
I’ve never flown out of EWR. But for airlines I kind of included everywhere because the airport is relatively low frequency in terms of personal use and it’s customary in many areas to travel a bit to reach one. So I’m giving them NYC options too in ways I don’t for more ‘everyday’ things.
I'll read through the thread later but Hudson county as a "Core" region of North/Central Jersey is a bit odd to me as a North/Central Jersey native. JC/Hudson County is separated geographically from the rest of Jersey and probably the most NYC centric part of NJ (along with Bergen). Newark/Essex County is the core of North Jersey.
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