Boston (Greater Boston) versus Hudson County, NJ (Greater Region of North + Central Jersey) (living, state)
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Boston (Greater Boston) versus Hudson County, NJ (Greater Region of North + Central Jersey)
The definition for the broader region will be Greater Boston CSA versus North + Central New Jersey (only applying to the counties of New Jersey in the Greater New York CSA).
Core Comparison (Land Area):
- Hudson County, NJ: 46.19 square miles of land
- Boston: 48.42 square miles of land
Core Comparison (Population Density):
- Hudson County, NJ: 14,610 people per square mile
- Boston: 13,903 people per square mile
Population of the Greater Regions:
- Greater Region of North + Central New Jersey: 7,402,381
- Greater Boston CSA: 8,176,376
Land Area Comparison of the Greater Regions:
- Greater Region of North + Central New Jersey: 7,600 square miles
- Greater Boston CSA: 9,300 square miles
Primary CBDs and/or Commercial Zones:
- the Greater Region of North + Central Jersey): Downtown Jersey City, Downtown Newark, Downtown Patterson, Downtown Elizabeth, so on and so forth.
- the Greater Boston CSA: Downtown Boston, Back Bay, Core Cambridge, Downtown Providence, Downtown Worcester, so on and so forth.
Primary Transit Agencies:
- Greater Region of North + Central Jersey: NJ Transit and PATH
- Greater Boston CSA: MBTA, R.I. PTA, and Worcester RTA
There is first the comparison of the core of each region, represented by Hudson County, NJ and Boston-proper, both of similar population, similar physical size, and similar population density. Then the comparison evolves into the broader region as a whole, the neighboring counties that make up the broader metropolitan region. In that comparison, we use the full extent of the Greater Region around Boston by using the census-defined Greater Boston CSA with just shy of 8.2 million people. In the other direction, we only use the counties of New Jersey that are in the Greater New York CSA, so that includes all the areas in North + Central Jersey that are apart of Greater New York CSA. The Greater Regions of North + Central Jersey account to a little over 7.4 million people. In the grand scheme of things, the comparison is quite close between the two areas in 'nearly' every facet on the statistical basis.
Which brings the comparison into the public sphere, given that both areas offer nearly equal amenities on an extremely large and broad spectrum of things, this comparison should be good and close.
I've gone ahead and laid out the ground work that serves as the basis of the comparison between these two areas. Now all you have to do is fill in which area (Greater Boston or Greater Regions of North + Central Jersey) take each criteria point.
Compare them on the following:
- Transit Infrastructure (heavy rail, light rail, commuter rail, tram networks, monorails, bus rapid transit, bus systems):
- Airports, Destinations Available, and Airline Services:
- Higher Education Institutions (colleges and universities):
- Public and Private K-12 Institutions (Elementary, Intermediate, Middle, High):
- Cultural Institutions (Museums, Zoos, Theaters, Symphony, Ballet, Libraries, Live Theater Venues, Live Music Venues):
- Arts (Public Art, Murals, Private Art Galleries, Art Workshops):
Location: Watching half my country turn into Gilead
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- Transit Infrastructure (heavy rail, light rail, commuter rail, tram networks, monorails, bus rapid transit, bus systems): Greater Boston. The MBTA is far more expansive and comprehensive in its services than NJ Transit (obviously no slouch), and maintains a higher daily ridership.
- Airports, Destinations Available, and Airline Services: North/Central Jersey. Slightly busier and has more international flights.
- Higher Education Institutions (colleges and universities): Greater Boston. Princeton is about equal to Harvard, but NJ has no answer for Brown, MIT and the rest. Rutgers, Seton Hall, Fairleigh Dickinson and the like are no match for Tufts, BU, Brandeis, etc.
- Public and Private K-12 Institutions (Elementary, Intermediate, Middle, High): Greater Boston, though North/Central Jersey is right behind it.
- Cultural Institutions (Museums, Zoos, Theaters, Symphony, Ballet, Libraries, Live Theater Venues, Live Music Venues): Greater Boston. Many of those elite institutions are over the Hudson River in NYC.
- Arts (Public Art, Murals, Private Art Galleries, Art Workshops): Greater Boston.
- Stores and Shops: Greater Boston.
- Climate (Weather Conditions, Natural Disasters): North/Central Jersey is milder, but this is a matter of preference.
- Geography and Scenery: Subjective. I'd say Greater Boston is more maritime in feel.
- Public and Private Beaches: Greater Boston. The Jersey Shore has warmer water temperatures and has some nice resort towns. Though Greater Boston is famous for Martha's Vineyard and Newport, RI.
- Theme Parks and Amusement Parks: North/Central Jersey. Six Flags Great Adventure is the premier park (along with Magic Mountain) in the Six Flags system, and is a top draw. Six Flags New England has had a lot of accidents.
- Local Culture (Local Events, Traditions, Values, Expectations, Accents, Politics): Greater Boston. More politically important, both currently and historically (Camelot). Chris Christie is a vile human being, though Corey Booker is great.
- Cosmopolitanism and Diversity: North/Central Jersey, by far.
- Ethnic Neighborhoods, Corridors, or Enclaves: North/Central Jersey, by far.
- Quality of Suburbs: Greater Boston.
- Quality of pedestrian friendly high-urbanity neighborhoods: Greater Boston. Many of North/Central Jersey's high urbanity neighborhoods aren't very friendly or of high quality.
- Housing Prices and Rental Rates: North/Central Jersey is cheaper.
- Architecture Quality: Greater Boston. Older and more European in feel.
- Nightlife Options: Greater Boston. North/Central Jersey has far too much competition with NYC.
- Employment Outlook: Greater Boston.
- Quality of the roads, interstates, highways: Not sure, but Greater Boston did finish its Big Dig. Central Jersey still hasn't routed I-95 to Philly yet.
- Sports Culture (primary education, college, professional): Greater Boston. All 4 major sports who have been on a championship tear. North/Central Jersey has three teams that aren't even theirs, with only the currently mediocre Devils really representing New Jersey.
- National or State Parks: Greater Boston.
This may seem like a fair comparison on paper, but it really isn't. At the city proper/county level, Boston is far superior than Hudson County, as it is both a state capital and hub for an entire region (New England). Hudson County isn't even unquestionably the leader of its North Jersey region, as Essex County makes a very strong case (larger, more populous, historically more significant, has the port/airport, and Newark is still larger than Jersey City).
At the metro level, the comparison is more fair, but North/Central Jersey is hampered by the fact that a lot of elite institutions it would have for its size are across the Hudson in NYC. Greater Boston runs an entire region, while North/Central Jersey is massively second-fiddle to NYC proper, and has to compete against SW CT and Long Island as well. Still an apples-to-oranges comparison, but if we're going by liking one more, I'll go with Jersey, if only to its proximity to NYC and Philly.
Boston hands down. I have family that live in Hudson County, and with the exception of Hoboken and Jersey City it's a corrupt hell hole (and I can safely say that since I grew up in NJ.)
Overall, Boston, but I'd like to add a few details to the topic.
The Jersey side of things does also include a capital, that of Trenton which is capital of New Jersey, though it's not the core municipality.
I assume that we're roughly going by the reach of commuter rail for Central and North Jersey and so I think it's reasonable to include the parts of New York which are served by Metro-North commuter rail lines west of the Hudson which run from Orange and Rockland counties in New York through northern New Jersey to terminate in Hoboken (and not Manhattan).
For infrastructure, aside from the usual New Jersey Transit rail operations which is the second busiest commuter rail operation in the US (even when subtracting the ridership of the sole South Jersey line) after the Long Island Railroad and just before Metro-North, there are a lot of other rail operations within Central and Northern New Jersey. There are the aforementioned Metro-North lines running through New Jersey and terminating in Hoboken. There is the portion of PATH rapid transit service that runs within New Jersey. Finally, there's Hudson-Bergen Light Rail and Newark Light Rail.
Weird Comparison.
I dont really like North or Central New Jersey though.
Boston is a cuter-more fun city and theres a lot more to do in Greater Boston. Much better beaches, mountains, etc nearby.
Plus who can beat Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, Newport RI, and Nantucket all within 2.5 hours
It may be that my view is slighted since I am from Boston, but North/Central NJ is kind of gross.
- Transit Infrastructure (heavy rail, light rail, commuter rail, tram networks, monorails, bus rapid transit, bus systems): Boston... it has great commuter rail and T lines
- Airports, Destinations Available, and Airline Services: North/Central NJ Plethora of airports nearby in NY
- Higher Education Institutions (colleges and universities): Boston (MIT, BU, BC, Babson, Harvard, Brandies, etc)
- Public and Private K-12 Institutions (Elementary, Intermediate, Middle, High): Boston , no contest.
- Cultural Institutions (Museums, Zoos, Theaters, Symphony, Ballet, Libraries, Live Theater Venues, Live Music Venues): Greater Boston, most are across the Hudson
- Arts (Public Art, Murals, Private Art Galleries, Art Workshops): Greater Boston, because they are all in NYC
- Stores and Shops: Greater Boston, Northern/Central NJ has a lot of malls like Boston Area, but shopping in general is better in Boston. Theres just more.
- Climate (Weather Conditions, Natural Disasters): Northern NJ. Boston winters and cold is harsh
- Geography and Scenery: Boston by far.
- Public and Private Beaches: Greater Boston. Jersey Shore really is no contest for Gloucester, Duxbury, Cape and Islands.
- Theme Parks and Amusement Parks: Northern/Central NJ
- Local Culture (Local Events, Traditions, Values, Expectations, Accents, Politics): Greater Boston (JFKs, Bahston Accent, etc)
- Cosmopolitanism and Diversity: Boston for cosmopolitan, Diversity for Northern NJ by far
- Ethnic Neighborhoods, Corridors, or Enclaves: Northern NJ by far (East Brunswick, Jersey City, Hoboken, etc)
- Quality of Suburbs: Greater Boston by far. (Weston, Wellesley, Newton, Concord, Lexington, Milton, Dover, Sharon, etc)
- Quality of pedestrian friendly high-urbanity neighborhoods: I feel like Boston would win this. Brookline, Newton, Allston, Brighton, Somerville, Southie, etc
- Housing Prices and Rental Rates: Northern NJ (Boston is way too expensive)
- Architecture Quality: Greater Boston (Older, More European, I feel like I am actually in Europe)
- Historical Significance, Monuments, Landmarks, Sites: Greater Boston
- Nightlife Options: Northern NJ (Hoboken and Boston are similar, but the Jersey Shore definetly has more than the rest of MA combined alone)
- Employment Outlook: Greater Boston (Northern NJ has been on the decline since the 80s)
- Quality of the roads, interstates, highways: They both are really bad. This is a Tie
- Sports Culture (primary education, college, professional): Greater Boston by far
- National or State Parks: Greater Boston (This is unfair like stated above)
- Local Food Scene: Northern NJ (Boston has equal/better Italian dishes, but more of a variety is found in NJ)
A lot of these are given to Boston because Northern NJ is a suburban area of NYC. Had we included NYC in this..it would be different. Northern NJ doesnt have much when you exclude NYC
NJ doesn't get enough respect on this site. The criteria laid out in the initial post of this thread is kind of silly in my opinion given the NJ area is only a portion of a much larger urban area.
That being said I rather live in North Jersey. Boston has that whole new englander boat vibe, but I much prefer the big city vibe of NYC. I have spent a good amount of time in JC/Hoboken/Weehawken before, and they offer great urban living if I wanted that, and there are a bunch of very nice suburbs along NJT lines if I was looking for a more family oriented place.
Boston (Greater Boston) versus Hudson County, NJ (Greater Region of North + Central Jersey)
The definition for the broader region will be Greater Boston CSA versus North + Central New Jersey (only applying to the counties of New Jersey in the Greater New York CSA).
Core Comparison (Land Area):
- Hudson County, NJ: 46.19 square miles of land
- Boston: 48.42 square miles of land
Core Comparison (Population Density):
- Hudson County, NJ: 14,610 people per square mile
- Boston: 13,903 people per square mile
Population of the Greater Regions:
- Greater Region of North + Central New Jersey: 7,402,381
- Greater Boston CSA: 8,176,376
Land Area Comparison of the Greater Regions:
- Greater Region of North + Central New Jersey: 7,600 square miles
- Greater Boston CSA: 9,300 square miles
Primary CBDs and/or Commercial Zones:
- the Greater Region of North + Central Jersey): Downtown Jersey City, Downtown Newark, Downtown Patterson, Downtown Elizabeth, so on and so forth.
- the Greater Boston CSA: Downtown Boston, Back Bay, Core Cambridge, Downtown Providence, Downtown Worcester, so on and so forth.
Primary Transit Agencies:
- Greater Region of North + Central Jersey: NJ Transit and PATH
- Greater Boston CSA: MBTA, R.I. PTA, and Worcester RTA
There is first the comparison of the core of each region, represented by Hudson County, NJ and Boston-proper, both of similar population, similar physical size, and similar population density. Then the comparison evolves into the broader region as a whole, the neighboring counties that make up the broader metropolitan region. In that comparison, we use the full extent of the Greater Region around Boston by using the census-defined Greater Boston CSA with just shy of 8.2 million people. In the other direction, we only use the counties of New Jersey that are in the Greater New York CSA, so that includes all the areas in North + Central Jersey that are apart of Greater New York CSA. The Greater Regions of North + Central Jersey account to a little over 7.4 million people. In the grand scheme of things, the comparison is quite close between the two areas in 'nearly' every facet on the statistical basis.
Which brings the comparison into the public sphere, given that both areas offer nearly equal amenities on an extremely large and broad spectrum of things, this comparison should be good and close.
I've gone ahead and laid out the ground work that serves as the basis of the comparison between these two areas. Now all you have to do is fill in which area (Greater Boston or Greater Regions of North + Central Jersey) take each criteria point.
Compare them on the following:
- Transit Infrastructure (heavy rail, light rail, commuter rail, tram networks, monorails, bus rapid transit, bus systems):
- Airports, Destinations Available, and Airline Services:
- Higher Education Institutions (colleges and universities):
- Public and Private K-12 Institutions (Elementary, Intermediate, Middle, High):
- Cultural Institutions (Museums, Zoos, Theaters, Symphony, Ballet, Libraries, Live Theater Venues, Live Music Venues):
- Arts (Public Art, Murals, Private Art Galleries, Art Workshops):
You can leave out “on this site”. NJ doesn’t get enough respect anywhere. It gets picked on a lot. It’s always been that way. It definitely has an image problem. Probably more than any other State out there.
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