Need info on Jersey City neighborhoods (Union City, Bayonne: for rent, lofts, condos)

[thecityofangels]

Hello,

I am moving from LA to Jersey City for work. I was wondering if someone could break down the areas, neighborhoods and streets by safety in Jersey City.

I would appreciate any feedback on safety in Jersey City.

[DarkWolf]

Stay away form Greenville and Bergen - Layette neighborhoods the 2 worst in the city , the rest are decent to great neighborhoods. East of I-78 is really nice , the Heights are is also nice. JSQ , is the Transportation hub , and is about to get overhauled in the coming years with new buildings. JSQ is an area of the city where you can find cheaper rents.

[thecityofangels]

Originally Posted by Nexis4Jersey

Stay away form Greenville and Bergen - Layette neighborhoods the 2 worst in the city , the rest are decent to great neighborhoods. East of I-78 is really nice , the Heights are is also nice. JSQ , is the Transportation hub , and is about to get overhauled in the coming years with new buildings. JSQ is an area of the city where you can find cheaper rents.

Here is a list of the neighborhoods in Jersey City according to wikipedia. Could you list the neighborhoods to stay away from? I just thought this would make things easier.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...ty,_New_Jersey

* Also, when you stated "bergen". Is this the same area called bergen HILL?

[DarkWolf]

Bergen-Layette & Greenville are the main neighborhood names , but are both bad neighborhoods. The worst of the worst.

The Heights , is a decent neighborhood
Downtown is a very good Neighborhood
Journal Square is a decent , but very busy Neighborhood
West Side is a decent neighborhood , although your kinda cut off and its very busy.

You could live in neighboring Bayonne which is another city along the Light Rail , same can be said for Weehawken , and Union City. The Light Rail makes commuting to the heart of JC a piece of cake or you can live in Harrison near the PATH station. Just something to think about incase you don't find anything nice in JC.

[thecityofangels]

I believe my search is going into Journal Square. Thanks for the tips nexis4jersey.

[babo111]

Honestly best bet is to take a day and drive around Jersey city and see for yourself. But considering you are in LA I guess that's not really possible...

I don't know the neighborhoods by their name but I'll fire off some building complex and address that I been checking out for past few months.


77 Hudson st/15 Warren st area
- About few blocks from Exchange Place Path station and Goldman Sachs building (Downtown? Paulus Hook?)
Pro: Ton of high rise and most are luxury condo (has lot of amenities) with easy access to NYC via ferry or Path/Light Rail. Close to waterfront/view.
Con: Pricey (highest $ per sq ft and rent in Jersey City out of places I saw). If you need to drive to work, traffic will be hellish and you will need parking spot in form of garage or lot.

Canco Lofts area
- It's few blocks from Journal Square Path and I did check out Little India as well as Journal Square area.
Pro: Good bang for your buck in terms of rent and not as pricey. Very diverse and active area ("very busy" like Nexis4Jersey said). Path is available as well as bus.
Con: Traffic will be bad by car and there are not real public spaces. Canco park is being built but you can see (google satellite and streetview) that there isn't really a public space like waterfront or parks you can access nearby by foot. Will take long time before it 'gentrifies' so it's like blue collar that has some part of area transforming into more luxurious white collar yuppie area. It is also noisy.

East Shearwater Ct area
- Next to some national golf course and army reserve base. It's detached and pretty much directly across from brooklyn over water.
Pro: Secluded and resort town feel. Very quiet and if you can afford it, you can dock your boat there (complex is built with water channels and boat docks). There is no direct service to NYC except ferry I think. Need to drive out to lightrail if you want to take Path. Most stores you'll need is there except a large grocery store. There is small deli for something small.
Con: Seclusion and quietness. I personally enjoy it very much but my spouse pointed out to someone like her. This place was lethargic because it was so quiet and secluded. Also pointed out fact that unless she had a car or another way to get to lightrail or ferry. It wouldn't be possible for easy commute. If you drive, there is toll you need to pass through.

[thecityofangels]

Originally Posted by babo111

Honestly best bet is to take a day and drive around Jersey city and see for yourself. But considering you are in LA I guess that's not really possible...

I don't know the neighborhoods by their name but I'll fire off some building complex and address that I been checking out for past few months.


77 Hudson st/15 Warren st area
- About few blocks from Exchange Place Path station and Goldman Sachs building (Downtown? Paulus Hook?)
Pro: Ton of high rise and most are luxury condo (has lot of amenities) with easy access to NYC via ferry or Path/Light Rail. Close to waterfront/view.
Con: Pricey (highest $ per sq ft and rent in Jersey City out of places I saw). If you need to drive to work, traffic will be hellish and you will need parking spot in form of garage or lot.

Canco Lofts area
- It's few blocks from Journal Square Path and I did check out Little India as well as Journal Square area.
Pro: Good bang for your buck in terms of rent and not as pricey. Very diverse and active area ("very busy" like Nexis4Jersey said). Path is available as well as bus.
Con: Traffic will be bad by car and there are not real public spaces. Canco park is being built but you can see (google satellite and streetview) that there isn't really a public space like waterfront or parks you can access nearby by foot. Will take long time before it 'gentrifies' so it's like blue collar that has some part of area transforming into more luxurious white collar yuppie area. It is also noisy.

East Shearwater Ct area
- Next to some national golf course and army reserve base. It's detached and pretty much directly across from brooklyn over water.
Pro: Secluded and resort town feel. Very quiet and if you can afford it, you can dock your boat there (complex is built with water channels and boat docks). There is no direct service to NYC except ferry I think. Need to drive out to lightrail if you want to take Path. Most stores you'll need is there except a large grocery store. There is small deli for something small.
Con: Seclusion and quietness. I personally enjoy it very much but my spouse pointed out to someone like her. This place was lethargic because it was so quiet and secluded. Also pointed out fact that unless she had a car or another way to get to lightrail or ferry. It wouldn't be possible for easy commute. If you drive, there is toll you need to pass through.

Thanks for this information. All three of these areas are safe, correct?

[G.Costanza]

What's your budget and where/how do you intend to commute to work?

[babo111]

Originally Posted by thecityofangels

Thanks for this information. All three of these areas are safe, correct?

77 Hudson/15 warren st area - totally safe. it's pretty much all yuppies, people passing through to commute to city, or white collar folks working in that are of jersey city (finance/IT of big banks). Many if not most of luxury condos have doorman and/or security guard. i think white collar crime (fraud) and drunk yuppies are probably the biggest crime here.

canco loft/journal square/little india area - safe but need to be cautious and have some street smart. this area is closer to 'ghetto' area of jersey city than either areas so you can't be dumbass and flash wad of cash then expect no trouble. while as in other two areas i mentioned. u can flash a wad of cash, hell even drop the wad of cash and you would not have any problem.

east shearwater ct area - totally safe. it's so secluded and out of way from anything that no one would bother. there's gate house with security guard you need to pass in order for you to drive into complex. if i had to guess, neighbor disputes and old folks hurting themselves in a fall are probably the worst you'll see here.

one of the posters in city forum nj is former jersey city police officer so if you can find him or her through search function. they would know better

please remember though, safe is relative to what you are comparing to so your view of safe may be totally different. that said, in my opinion if you venture outside journal square area...it's crap and i would avoid it. especially if i was a female. there are muggings, murders, and some perverts around journal square area. i think last year there was some mentally troubled pervert that was peeing on women. a gunfight broke out between police and criminal around there happened few years back.

edit: oh and as costanza mentioned. budget is going to play big part. you'll need at least couple thousand for rent if you want to live in downtown/paulus hook area. for buy, you'll need pretty much 400k + there. journal square you can do in about a grand but it won't be in nicest buildings.

[thecityofangels]

Originally Posted by G.Costanza

What's your budget and where/how do you intend to commute to work?

I want to pay as little for rent as possible, but still be safe.

I will be working all over Manhattan because I'm in sales.