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My husband's new job is in Hoboken and we'll be moving there from TX.
We are looking to rent a 2 or 3 BR 2 BA for ideally $4500 or under, but will go up to $5K if needed
We have 2 dogs and a one-year old so if there's any kind of private yard (am I dreaming? does this even exist?) that would be preferable because otherwise I'm walking 2 dogs with a baby while my husband works.
I would also like to live in Hoboken so he can walk to work and for proximity to NYC, however am open to suggestions.
Also, what's up with the whole broker fee thing? Is this the way to go in finding a place? I've looked at a bunch of rental apps/sites but they are largely the hi-rise apartments.
We've moved around quite a bit over the years, but this is by far the most nerve-wracking move yet. Any advice/reassurance is appreciated!
Hoboken is full of apartments, condos, and old brownstones which are often split into apartments. You may have shared outdoor space that is not public but reserved for those in your complex/brownstone/whatever, but not quite private as in your own. You can find some really nice apartments for rent in your price range, but most available listings from what I can tell seem to be apartments or something similar and not private homes with private yards. The good thing is you have a really reasonable budget (maybe even high) for Hoboken and other parts of NJ in general, especially if you're looking outside of Hudson County and want a single family home with a yard.
Northern NJ has extensive train lines that end in either New York Penn Station, Newark Penn Station with transfer to trains going to New York or the PATH which goes to Hoboken among other stops, or Hoboken Terminal. If you're looking outside of Hoboken, you'll want to start by looking on train lines that go directly to Hoboken or ones that go to Newark or New York Penn, some trains going there always stop in Newark, where there is PATH access to Hoboken. Living along a train line makes access to your husband's job and the city pretty easy, though NJT has its faults, mostly because it shares most tracks with Amtrak, which does not maintain the tracks as it should. Also there are too many trains going into the city for the number of tunnels available, but that's another issue.
Here are the NJ Transit and PATH maps. If your husband's job will be near either train then that's awesome, otherwise he may have to walk a bit once in Hoboken.
Not trying to persuade you not to move to Hoboken. Especially because living there will be way more convenient since your husband is working there. That's commuting and traffic he doesn't have to worry about. Like JerseyGirl said though, you're not going to get much in regards to private outdoor space. Hoboken is just way too congested. That is going to be Hudson County in general.
You have a really good budget, and you can pretty much get whatever you want anywhere.
Just as a second opinion. For example, towns like Maplewood, Montclair, South Orange, Millburn, Short Hills and Summit will more than likely fit your needs for more private space. They're also along a rail line that goes right into Hoboken. Those trains also go into NYC. But like JerseyGirl said, rail has it's faults also.
In your situation, in this area, you have to figure out what in your list of wants is the most important. If the ease of walking to work is more important, then move to Hoboken. You will be trading off that private space, but Hoboken has plenty of enough public space that it shouldn't be an issue. Especially when it's warm out. Plus, NYC is right there. You can hop on a Path train and be there in very short time.
If private space is more valuable, then moving to say Essex County is a better option. Your husband will have to commute, but it's not a bad commute by rail. Also, while it has it's issues, the rail line going into Hoboken is not on the Northeast Corridor. So it's not being shared with Amtrak. (Correction. Those lines have to merge onto the Northeast Corridor lines to get into NYC. Some go to NYC, and some go to Hoboken.) It's not a hop, skip and a jump like Hoboken, but still close enough. I live in Elizabeth, and it only takes me about 35 minutes to get to NYC for work. The only problem is, with NJ Transit, depending on how long you would want to hang out in the city, the last train would be around 1 AM. They don't run all night. The Path, while it has it schedule that I'm not 100% certain about (I'm not quite sure about it's overnight schedule), is still more reliable is you want to hang out in the city for a while.
We live in Hoboken and love it. 2 kids, no dogs. =) But we live right next to a park with a dog run, and tons of people in our building have dogs.
Here's just something you should know about the brownstone/row house rentals in Hoboken---Hoboken has large areas that are prone to flooding. You can look up the flood plane map online--google Hoboken FEMA floodplain map. If you have a private garden/backyard in Hoboken, chances are you are living on the ground floor of the row house. This might mean that your place is prone to flooding. However, you should check the floodmap, because that only applies to certain areas--plus, Hoboken has been working on flood infrustructure and supposedly soon some of the flooding risks will be mitigated (they have already installed an underground water holding tank in the Southwest corner for rain water runoff, and they are doing the same in the Northwest corner but we're a couple years out from it being finished). But you'd be taking a risk of having another Hurricane Sandy before the flooding issues are worked out and getting flooded out of your home if you live on the first floor (ground floor, not elevated parlor floor).
Here's what my dog owner friends do in Hoboken. Strap the baby on in a baby carrier twice a day and take the dogs for a walk or put the baby in the stroller (or double stroller) and tie the leash to the stroller. Hire a dog walker for 1 walk a day (there are a ton of services and private indivudals in town doing this) and owners take the other walk. Or hire a dog walker for both walks. Obviously, your budget will determine what you do, but a ton of people with kids walk their own dogs.
As far as living in Hoboken with kids goes--we moved from Dallas and I love it here. So far, there is not a suburb I would prefer to live in (and I work in one with a highly rated school district). Feel free to PM me any specific questions.
and the broker fee: Most/all of the individual apartment buildings (Shipyards, 333 River, Park and Garden, 1000 Jefferson, The Bexley, Rivington, Harlow, The Jordan, Juliana--there's a huge long list) will be fee free if you contact them directly for showings. Condo or brownstone owners who are renting out their units might either list themselves on zillow/craigslist/hotpads or might use a realtor to list it and do all the showings. So if you want one of those, you may have to pay a broker's fee. This is when the owner does not want to be involved in showings and applications/background checks, so they have hired a company to do it and because in the past the rental market was so hot, this fee was passed on to the potential renter. Usually the rent is higher in the big apartments that offer more amenities, so some people find paying a broker to be more cost effective in the long run because you have access to the brownstone/condo/row house market and usually monthly rents are less.
The rental market has softened recently in Hoboken, so it's a decent time to be a renter and you may find some listings where the owner pays the broker's fee.
You only pay the broker's fee if you get an apartment through a broker. So you could always go around for a day with a broker to see what they can offer you and compare it to units you like in no-fee buildings that you find yourself. You don't want to waste a broker's time, but it's fair to have them show you what they can get you and compare it to what you can fin on your own. =)
Thanks, all! I think we've landed on living in Hoboken/Jersey City area and giving up private yard space. Can someone tell me about The Heights? Safe/Unsafe?
They say the Heights is alright but I'm not a big fan of it. Still seems like it's going through it's "up and coming" stage to me.
Honestly, with two dogs and a baby, you should really look into one of the towns mentioned above. Life will be so much easier for you. You have a nice budget, your husband can handle a train ride.
Most people on this board, myself included, are stuck in the burbs and have been for some time. We forgot how awesome it was to live in a city and have walking access to everything. Great food, great nightlife, and be 15 minutes to Manhattan. We forgot what it was like pushing a stroller down along the water soaking in the view. Hoboken is awesome for young families! I'd actually avoid the heights with your budget and focus on Uptown Hoboken, North of 8th Street and between Willow and the river. You can get into a 3BR in a Lux doorman building at the top end of your budget or a walk up in the $3K-$4K range(possibly with outdoor space but more likely a 2BR).
Also, it's the city, they have people to walk your dogs for you less than $400 a month for both dogs one walk a day while your husband works.
Last edited by Goldendoodle1969; 12-18-2017 at 02:50 PM..
I thought I would chime in here since my wife and I made this exact move 4 years ago. At the time, we were in our late 20's / early 30's and living (happily) in the M-Streets area of Dallas. When my wife had a career opportunity in NYC pop up, we decided to take it (and it got me back closer to my "home" of Massachusetts.) At the time, we were childless and had narrowed our search to Park Slope Brooklyn and Hoboken. I preferred PS, but since I didnt know where exactly I would be working Hoboken opened us up to both the NYC and NJ job markets (aaaand I ended up working in Manhattan anyway.) Since neither one of us were from this area, we came in without any of the preconceived regional biases that are so prevalent here. Oh, and we had a baby 2.5 years ago with another on the way, so can comment on it's kid-friendliness as well.
Anyway, here is the good, the bad, and the ugly from an Outsider living in Hoboken the past 4 years:
Uptown is where many people in your life stage and budget choose to settle, including us (some others have recommended this area as well and I 100% agree.) The buildings to target would be Shipyard, Maxwell, Hudson Tea Building, 1400 Hudson, 1450 Washington, etc. There are also a few brownstones on Hudson St. that pop up for rent sometimes. To give you an idea of cost, we live in a 2/2 in the Hudson Tea Building and pay $4400/mo, which also includes a parking spot. You can probably find something similar for a few hundred less - views matter here in terms of cost if you don't mind facing west. Average demographic seems to be mid-thirties with kids. Our son has made tons of friends just in our building alone (most of them have a playroom.) Assuming other buildings are similar. There are a few nicer restaurants and bars up here (Bin 14, Anthony David's, the Madison) that aren't overrun with suburban NJ twentysomethings that you see near the Path. More on bars and restaurants later. Transportation options are ferry (I take this to midtown), bus to Port Authority, and most buildings have a shuttle to the Path station downstown (my wife takes this.)
Downtown is busier, and the housing stock tends toward more older multi-family and brownstone styles, although they have a few managed elevator buildings as well. Most of the trashier "bro" bars are downtown, so noise may or may not be an issue. There is also a higher density of resturants downtown, particularly casual ones. Downtown is definitely more convenient to transit with the Path station right there and a ferry terminal. I'm assuming there are also lots of families downtown, but overall it seems younger to me.
OK, bars and restaurants. There are lots of them. The vast majority are... not good. I listed a few decent ones above, and I'll throw in Halifax (downtown), Antique Bakery (far west downtown), Amanda's (good but dated interior.) For the demographics of town, we should have a much better bar & restaurant scene, but we don't. Actually, our area of Dallas had a much better dining & nightlife scene. I have some theories that I won't bore you with (but it may involve the absurd cost of a liquor license.) Unfortunatley, on weekends the town is overrun with early twentysomethings that go to bars with names like "Shenanigans" and "McSwiggans". There are hidden gems - Cork City is a great beer bar. Fortunatley, Manhattan is right across the river so it's not really an issue for us. Particularly now that we have kids and don't go out frequently.
Since we're expecting our 2nd, we've decided to buy in Hoboken and hunt for a 3 bedroom. We considered the suburbs for a hot minute, but realistically I don't know how both of us could continue working in Manhattan as we barely make it work today (also, NJ transit is terrible.) But since one of you will stay home it is an option. I would honestly avoid JC Heights. The prices are certainly appealing, and from everything that I've heard it is completely safe, but when we went through it didn't have the density of "stuff" that we were looking for and getting to/from Manhattan was more complicated. For us, Hoboken was worth the extra cost (YMMV of course.) Overall we're pretty happy with our decision to move and plan on staying for the foreseeable future. Be prepared to be jealous when you see your TX friends post pictures of their awesome 4 bed, totally redone Craftsman houses 10 minutes north of downtown that they paid $600K for. Otherwise no regrets here.
Most people on this board, myself included, are stuck in the burbs and have been for some time. We forgot how awesome it was to live in a city and have walking access to everything.
I didn't forget LOL. I lived in Manhattan and Philly and I loved it. But life is easier in the suburbs with kids and dogs. We would have stayed it if we could have afforded a townhouse for the city and a second house in the country or down the shore for the summer, but that was not to be. But to each their own
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less than $400 a month for both dogs one walk a day while your husband works.
