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Yeah? I have 4,500 square feet of living space in my brownstone. And 12-foot high ceilings. How many square feet do you have in your Cranford house? I have a hunch I would feel claustrophobic in YOUR house!
FYI, I grew up in Cranford...great town. Just...boring for my tastes.
4,500 sqft??? Wow. You must be referring to the entire building...
Anyway, it's pretty silly to be arguing suburbia vs. city as though the other person is crazy. It all comes down to personal preference. Personally, as a soon-to-be first-time homebuyer, what draws me to a less urban setting is that you can get a lot more bang for your buck, as far as the size and quality of the house/unit goes, e.g. more sqft, updated, etc. But obviously everyone will have different priorities.
Post WWII, in the 50's, 60's (read: racial riots, white flight), 70's, and 80's...it WAS the trend to flee cities for the calm of the suburbs. That time is gone...now it is exactly the opposite. People are moving from the suburbs TO the city. Hoboken and Downtown Jersey City are filled with moms pushing strollers.
I really doubt it...first of all, that article talks about a slight increase in the proportion of non-hispanic whites in NYC, NOT that there is this mass exodus of people INTO the city from nice suburbs..and this increase proportion is mainly because many immigrants are actually moving out of the city to suburbs.
Most people will always want to get out of the city if they can and into nice suburban homes once they start families. My sister is one such. As a younger person she liked living in jersey city, but now that she wants to start a family they are trying to get out and find a nice sprawling home where kids will be safe and they can live a less frenetic and better life.
It makes absolutely no sense for people living in nice suburban homes who are starting a family or with kids to suddenly uproot their kids and go into the city, where crime is generally much higher, rents are more expensive, pollution is worse, and schools are worse. Not when they can simply take the train or drive into the city for a few hours or for the weekend for a vacation if they want some excitement.
Last edited by kalim2008; 04-14-2009 at 08:01 PM..
I lived in Hoboken for 14 years. I hopped on he Path and got to work in 25 minutes. I hung out with friends, went to NYC a lot, did fun things in town. Things were ok until my friends started to move away and the town changed from a more middle class artsy community to a very different kind of trendy place. I guess I just felt too old for it. I sold my home there and financed two subsequent homes from selling that place. I prefer the peaceful suburbs where I don't have to fight for a parking space and deal with noise and traffic. I don't work in NY anymore, my friends are in the burbs,so there is no reason to miss Hoboken. I did really like the time I spent there, though. I really loved it in the late eighties to mid nineties. Apartments for 600-800 dollars were available. You didn't have to have a high paying job to afford to live there without a roommate. I left in 2001, I was ready.
Hmm... don't know the history behind this thread, but the stats wouldn't clue one in that Hoboken was crappy, or Hudson county for that matter.
Could it be the fact that it's in the vicinity of Newark (generally) that causes the bad rep.
That is to say, so what if Hudson county is a nice little spot if it's surrounded by malaise?
No, it has nothing to do with proximity to Newark. I could walk from Newark to many of the nicer parts of Essex county, but Newark is separated by a few bodies of water from Jersey City and Hoboken.
I think it's in part because many people on this board have a preference for more suburban environments. They want "good schools", lots of space, and a safe neighborhood. They are quite happy to make very long commutes, and to live in a place that doesn't have a real downtown.
I really doubt it...first of all, that article talks about a slight increase in the proportion of non-hispanic whites in NYC, NOT that there is this mass exodus of people INTO the city from nice suburbs..and this increase proportion is mainly because many immigrants are actually moving out of the city to suburbs.
Most people will always want to get out of the city if they can and into nice suburban homes once they start families. My sister is one such. As a younger person she liked living in jersey city, but now that she wants to start a family they are trying to get out and find a nice sprawling home where kids will be safe and they can live a less frenetic and better life.
It makes absolutely no sense for people living in nice suburban homes who are starting a family or with kids to suddenly uproot their kids and go into the city, where crime is generally much higher, rents are more expensive, pollution is worse, and schools are worse. Not when they can simply take the train or drive into the city for a few hours or for the weekend for a vacation if they want some excitement.
In a month from now, when the weather is nice, take a walk down Washington Street in Hoboken, or through Van Vorst Park and Hamilton Park in Jersey City...and let's see your opinion then. You'll see more moms with strollers there than in Nomahegan Park in Cranford.
For your life, suburbia may be right, but more and more familes are moving back to cities to raise families...the facts are there.
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