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Hello, I am coming from Nassau County, NY (Long Island). originally from Queens.
I am considering moving to Bayonne or Jersey city because I cannot afford to own a house in LI by myself (mostly due to taxes and closing costs).
I am currently working in Queens but I have the option to work in Newark, Jersey City or Northern Jersey.
Right now I have $80,000 saved up roughly and was pre-approved for up to $400,000 for a house.
Ill be moving by myself for now, I will want a decent school district when I have kids (later on).
I would like a neighbor hood that I can go for a jog, possibly fitness trails, gyms. I would like a safe neighborhood no ghetto!
I believe the most important things in my decision is Safety, Outdoor activities and urban enviorment.
Main reasons I am considering Jersey City and Bayonne is because the affordability and urban life which I miss being able to walk to the store as opposed to driving a lot.
Can anyone tell me the good areas of JC and Bayonne to look into as I dont want to live in a bad area? (Specific blocks or neighborhoods)
You want to be downtown in JC but you might be under budget with 400, but it's certainly worth looking. Your money will go farther in Bayonne and it's urban without being "ghetto." It has a nice park for jogging.
Downtown Jersey City is the best area of JC but you’ll need $425k-450k to get a bottom-of-the-barrel one bedroom condo there. I haven’t seen any listings there under 400k since Spring.
Journal Square or the Heights areas of JC will have some nice units in your price range. The neighborhoods aren’t as nice as downtown but they’re not ghetto either. Bayonne is quieter, and a little less urban. Its schools might be a little better than JC but not great. Also Bayonne has pretty high property taxes.
Great neighborhood, but 319 square feet is hard to live in. You could perhaps fit a twin bed next to the stove and a small seating area across from the refrigerator. Or maybe put the bed on posts and create a closet/storage underneath.
Like the ad says, it probably works better as a pied a terre than as a full time residence.
Also I’d want to be sure the unit is not on the ground floor. That area is prone to flooding.
OP. NJ prop taxes are on par with LI. JC as an example is about ~2.2%.
Entire state of NJ is ballpark 2-2.5% for prop tax. Which is pretty much what LI prop taxes are as rule of thumb. So you are not going to get away from low prop taxes that's anywhere near NYC. There's only two real way which are either bldgs with tax abatement or live in NYC which has low prop taxes but NYC income taxes (so kinda same shiet)
Anyway, you can remove JC from your list. With your budget of 400k and need for good public school district, JC is not possible.
Typically people cite Downtown JC as most desirable area of JC and that area is about $800 per sq ft on average and luxury bldgs are charging $900-1100 per sq. With 400k, your looking at 500 sq ft for downtown for non-lux unit which is no way for a family.
JSQ and Heights are more affordable but are getting more expensive as well. That said public schools in JC suck. Yes, yes people will often point out McNair as that's not true. Its actually perfect example of why public schools in JC suck. McNair is one of the best but its like science schools in NYC such as Sty, Sci, Tech. Not everyone can get in. If your kid is not of certain ethnicity and not book smart, sh*t out of luck. So aside from McNair, what about the rest...
Bayonne is more affordable and has better public schools. Honestly though if public school would be important for you. You'd be better off moving further out in NJ with towns with even better schools.
Hello, I am coming from Nassau County, NY (Long Island). originally from Queens.
I am considering moving to Bayonne or Jersey city because I cannot afford to own a house in LI by myself (mostly due to taxes and closing costs).
I am currently working in Queens but I have the option to work in Newark, Jersey City or Northern Jersey.
Right now I have $80,000 saved up roughly and was pre-approved for up to $400,000 for a house.
Ill be moving by myself for now, I will want a decent school district when I have kids (later on).
I would like a neighbor hood that I can go for a jog, possibly fitness trails, gyms. I would like a safe neighborhood no ghetto!
I believe the most important things in my decision is Safety, Outdoor activities and urban enviorment.
Main reasons I am considering Jersey City and Bayonne is because the affordability and urban life which I miss being able to walk to the store as opposed to driving a lot.
Can anyone tell me the good areas of JC and Bayonne to look into as I dont want to live in a bad area? (Specific blocks or neighborhoods)
Thank you !
waterfront jersey city has exactly what you are looking for, but you are not going to get even a studio for 480k. So that's a no go.
Certain parts of bayonne (north by the water) can meet your criteria, the area is generally safe but it's also not in the same league as waterfront jersey city - it's a very different feel, with little in term of shopping/hip restaurant and price reflects that. 480k will get you a decent house there.
You need to walk around in bayonne to see if it's what you want, noone can tell you through online posts. When we were shopping for a property, I was ok with the area given the price but my wife / parents all said they feel depressed as soon as they drive into bayonne, like a town stuck in the past and continue to deteriorate. And we all know happy wife = happy life, so we ended up in edgewater which makes the wife very happy, but added 10 extra years to my retirement plan :|
Also if you are single or just a couple with no kid, why you need to buy a house? If i were you with 480k budget, i would just buy a 1-2br condo/coop in weehawken, edgewater, fort lee area. It has everything you looking for also and good inventory to choose from.
@newdude05, I am mainly looking into a house because I feel as if this is 100% mine and with a co-op your owning shares and if a co-op costs around 400 - 450k and a house costs just 350 - 400k I feel as if its better bang for buck. I don't want to have to deal with maintenance fees and since I work around the clock, If I'm coming home from work after a 16 hour shift at 8AM I don't want to have to deal with people running around upstairs or a neighbor who smokes cigars in the unit next to me, etc.
I also notice houses in Bayonne are on the market for 100+ days, in LI, NY houses are usually gone after 20 days and they go way above the asking price. I just see a bunch of people walking in open houses and its very disappointing since they all have more money on hand than I do.
@newdude05, I am mainly looking into a house because I feel as if this is 100% mine and with a co-op your owning shares and if a co-op costs around 400 - 450k and a house costs just 350 - 400k I feel as if its better bang for buck. I don't want to have to deal with maintenance fees and since I work around the clock, If I'm coming home from work after a 16 hour shift at 8AM I don't want to have to deal with people running around upstairs or a neighbor who smokes cigars in the unit next to me, etc.
I also notice houses in Bayonne are on the market for 100+ days, in LI, NY houses are usually gone after 20 days and they go way above the asking price. I just see a bunch of people walking in open houses and its very disappointing since they all have more money on hand than I do.
For your budget and needs, I would recommend Harrison, the Dey St condos over Bayonne. They have pretty reasonable HOA fees and good size. You can buy the upper floor units so there's no noise. I don't feel Bayonne has the appreciation potential that being next to a PATH has and your budget is too hard in the desirable parts of Jersey City. Builders are snapping up lots so you won't be able to find a good condition house in your price range and the HOA fees in the better prewar condos are really high, at least 50 cents per sq ft.
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