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Hi, I was wondering...I am thinking about moving to JC, I would need to get to the WTC area every day for my commute, so the PATH would be the way to go.
I am divorced and have 2 boys who stay with me on the weekends.
My question - where are decent neighborhoods that are family oriented, low crime, parks etc. I see so many listings in JC but truly have no idea where I should be looking.
Or should I just steer clear completely and look at Hoboken?
If your kids are teenagers they would probably love Hoboken. JC and Hoboken are not so great with young children. There are parks like Hamilton (downtnwn JC) but it is nothing to write home about. You will have the entire city so people on here will probably suggest Central Park if you bring up parks. Local kids in those areas really need more places to play. The lucky ones are in sports leagues or belong to the Boys/Girls club.
Hi, thanks for the reply, my boys are 11 and 5, I'm not as worried about places for them to play, but just generally safe, family-ish neighborhoods. I've gone on craigs and saw some nice apartments, but I have no idea if they are in a "good" section or "bad" section.
I am looking for an apartment and have decided to stay within North Bergen/Weehawken/Hoboken to be safest. I was considering Jersey City, but there are too many areas that might be bad. I called the JC police department and city hall and I was told some different things but one thing they did mention was to stay away from Duncan Ave. They said there are projects or something there and is not very safe. That's just what I heard.
If the choice isn't finance-motivated, I'd choose Hoboken, hands down, over Jersey City. Especially with kids.
I disagree -- it's hard to make such categorical statements about both cities.
Yes, Jersey City has some areas to avoid. But the downtown area is generally nice, and the waterfront areas (east of Marin) are just as safe as Hoboken. And it's not like Hoboken doesn't have its sketchy areas as well--I wouldn't want to live on the far west side by the projects there either.
It comes down to what you're looking for. There are a fair number of kids in Hoboken, but most of the yuppie kids are quite young (mostly not yet in school and definitely not in middle school) and live in the northern part of town, a fair distance away from the PATH. Actually, for someone commuting to WTC and has kids Hoboken might not me the most convenient place, as the PATH is really the only convenient way to get to the WTC area and most of the blocks right near the PATH tend to be a bit more rowdy and filled with immediately post-college 22 year olds. Believe me, that area can get pretty crowded and loud on weekend nights and it might not be the ideal area for younger children.
The Paulus Hook area of JC is VERY quiet, by comparison and has direct (non-stop) access to the WTC area via the Exchange Place PATH. It might not be better for someone looking for a lot of action right outside their doorstop on the weekends, but a fair number of families with young kids are moving into the area because it's quiet, has a few parks (and a GREAT waterfront) and is very convenient to the financial district.
You should look around Hoboken, the Jersey City waterfront, and maybe even Weehawken to see what you like best. But keep in mind that the further north you go, the more inconvenient it will be to get to the financial district (as the buses from North Hoboken, Weehawken, Edgewater, etc tend to stop at the Port Authority bus terminal and you'd then have to take the subway to get to the financial district).
If the choice isn't finance-motivated, I'd choose Hoboken, hands down, over Jersey City. Especially with kids. (emphasis on "I'd").
Its nice north of Hoboken, along the Hudson there, as well.
And you're right...hard to make a judgement like that. I always felt that Jersey City's crime was more tangible than Hoboken's, but I may be wrong.
Nice neighborhoods in Jersy City are easy to define. Anything east of the NJ Turnpike and South of the Holland Tunnel is really nice. Outside of that area it depends from neighborhood to neighborhood. The neighborhoods in these areas are Paulus Hook, Van Vorst Park, Hamilton Park, and Newport.
Hoboken is more of an upper class city as a whole. But its not a wordly type city. Now neither is Jersey City but you do get the feeling that Jersey City is more on the New Yorkish side than Hoboken. And plus Hoboken has project buildings as well. If your looking at each city as a whole they pretty much have the same amounts of pros and cons.
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