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A really informative forum I must say. I am from upstate NY and my girlfriend and I are moving to NYC as she got a job in Times Square. We are currently leaning towards NJ with Westchester being a possibility. Westchester was initially the favorite but the increased cost of living and nearly 1 hour commute is a turn off.
I am looking to spend about $1,500 per month and would absolutely love 2 bedrooms with C/A in a safe, clean area. I am a Software Engineer and do a lot of work out of my home office and would like to continue to do that so I would need 2 or 3 bedrooms. However, I realize I will have to commute into the city daily so I was hoping to take the PATH from areas like Hoboken/JC/Harrison. That appears to be 20-25 minute commute to Penn from what I have read plus the walk to there depending on where I live. I have also read parking horror stories and that places like JC aren't the safest so I am not exactly sure where to even look.
Also, I have two cars of which I'd like to keep. I was hoping to lot one with a cover on it and keep my SUV on the street. Is that even possible? I don't mind moving it for street cleaning assuming I can find a parking spot within a few blocks of my apartment. I would love to rent a house with a garage but I haven't seen many of those.
Also, the tax situation is confusing. Do you pay NYC tax even if you LIVE in NJ but WORK in NYC? I have read many many conflicting things. I'd like to avoid that 4%.
A really informative forum I must say. I am from upstate NY and my girlfriend and I are moving to NYC as she got a job in Times Square. We are currently leaning towards NJ with Westchester being a possibility. Westchester was initially the favorite but the increased cost of living and nearly 1 hour commute is a turn off.
I am looking to spend about $1,500 per month and would absolutely love 2 bedrooms with C/A in a safe, clean area. I am a Software Engineer and do a lot of work out of my home office and would like to continue to do that so I would need 2 or 3 bedrooms. However, I realize I will have to commute into the city daily so I was hoping to take the PATH from areas like Hoboken/JC/Harrison. That appears to be 20-25 minute commute to Penn from what I have read plus the walk to there depending on where I live. I have also read parking horror stories and that places like JC aren't the safest so I am not exactly sure where to even look.
Also, I have two cars of which I'd like to keep. I was hoping to lot one with a cover on it and keep my SUV on the street. Is that even possible? I don't mind moving it for street cleaning assuming I can find a parking spot within a few blocks of my apartment. I would love to rent a house with a garage but I haven't seen many of those.
Also, the tax situation is confusing. Do you pay NYC tax even if you LIVE in NJ but WORK in NYC? I have read many many conflicting things. I'd like to avoid that 4%.
05-07-2007, 05:29 PM
BrianG
Real Estate Agent Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Rahway N.J
170 posts, read 40,128 times
Reputation: 37
I'm 27 yo asian born and raised in Brooklyn. I definitely consider myself a New Yorker/Brooklynite. My office is based in Jamesburg/Cranbury New Jersey and I have to travel throughout Jersey (more northern than southern) for work. I'm looking to purchase a condo/co-op/single-family house ($200k to $325k) this summer and I'm not too familiar with the neighborhoods and would like your opinions and recommendations for me. Any up and coming or revitalized neighborhoods recommendations would be welcomed as well!
Here is a list of my preferences:
-Diverse/"Hip"
-Within 1 hour commute to Manhattan (via public transportation)
-City with ma & pop shoppes within walkable distance
-Clean & Safe
-Still Affordable
Some friends have suggested Jersey City, Hoboken, Weehawken.
Thank you for your time and input in advance!
Cheers!
Danny
Any help is appreciated.
05-07-2007, 05:29 PM
BrianG
Real Estate Agent Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Rahway N.J
170 posts, read 40,128 times
Reputation: 37
I'm 27 yo asian born and raised in Brooklyn. I definitely consider myself a New Yorker/Brooklynite. My office is based in Jamesburg/Cranbury New Jersey and I have to travel throughout Jersey (more northern than southern) for work. I'm looking to purchase a condo/co-op/single-family house ($200k to $325k) this summer and I'm not too familiar with the neighborhoods and would like your opinions and recommendations for me. Any up and coming or revitalized neighborhoods recommendations would be welcomed as well!
Here is a list of my preferences:
-Diverse/"Hip"
-Within 1 hour commute to Manhattan (via public transportation)
-City with ma & pop shoppes within walkable distance
-Clean & Safe
-Still Affordable
Some friends have suggested Jersey City, Hoboken, Weehawken.
Thank you for your time and input in advance!
Cheers!
Danny
Got to promote my Rahway
Here is an Article that ran in yesterdays NY Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/06/re...te&oref=slogin (broken link)
a longer commute but worth it
as far as the tax question
you pay ny state which you take as a credit on your nj return
you do not pay nyc tax
I'm 27 yo asian born and raised in Brooklyn. I definitely consider myself a New Yorker/Brooklynite. My office is based in Jamesburg/Cranbury New Jersey and I have to travel throughout Jersey (more northern than southern) for work. I'm looking to purchase a condo/co-op/single-family house ($200k to $325k) this summer and I'm not too familiar with the neighborhoods and would like your opinions and recommendations for me. Any up and coming or revitalized neighborhoods recommendations would be welcomed as well!
Here is a list of my preferences:
-Diverse/"Hip"
-Within 1 hour commute to Manhattan (via public transportation)
-City with ma & pop shoppes within walkable distance
-Clean & Safe
-Still Affordable
Some friends have suggested Jersey City, Hoboken, Weehawken.
Thank you for your time and input in advance!
Cheers!
Danny
Got to promote my Rahway
Here is an Article that ran in yesterdays NY Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/06/re...te&oref=slogin (broken link)
a longer commute but worth it
as far as the tax question
you pay ny state which you take as a credit on your nj return
you do not pay nyc tax
You can go to Roselle or Linden - about 35 minute commute, or Rahway as stated previously...same distance. Woods End Condos on Wood Ave in Roselle (Linden Border) - you can get a 2br for 175K and it's quiet...takes will be around $3500.
A really informative forum I must say. I am from upstate NY and my girlfriend and I are moving to NYC as she got a job in Times Square. We are currently leaning towards NJ with Westchester being a possibility. Westchester was initially the favorite but the increased cost of living and nearly 1 hour commute is a turn off.
I am looking to spend about $1,500 per month and would absolutely love 2 bedrooms with C/A in a safe, clean area. I am a Software Engineer and do a lot of work out of my home office and would like to continue to do that so I would need 2 or 3 bedrooms. However, I realize I will have to commute into the city daily so I was hoping to take the PATH from areas like Hoboken/JC/Harrison. That appears to be 20-25 minute commute to Penn from what I have read plus the walk to there depending on where I live. I have also read parking horror stories and that places like JC aren't the safest so I am not exactly sure where to even look.
Also, I have two cars of which I'd like to keep. I was hoping to lot one with a cover on it and keep my SUV on the street. Is that even possible? I don't mind moving it for street cleaning assuming I can find a parking spot within a few blocks of my apartment. I would love to rent a house with a garage but I haven't seen many of those.
Also, the tax situation is confusing. Do you pay NYC tax even if you LIVE in NJ but WORK in NYC? I have read many many conflicting things. I'd like to avoid that 4%.
The area around Rutherford, Lyndhurst, North Arlington is pretty good and affordable. You can take NJ transit from these towns into Penn. Its about a 35 minute commute on the train.
From Harrison and Kearny you can take the PATH into Penn Station. If I had to chose between the two I'd go with Kearny. (you can drive to the PATH station and park your car at one of the surrounding lots).
The area around Rutherford, Lyndhurst, North Arlington is pretty good and affordable. You can take NJ transit from these towns into Penn. Its about a 35 minute commute on the train.
From Harrison and Kearny you can take the PATH into Penn Station. If I had to chose between the two I'd go with Kearny. (you can drive to the PATH station and park your car at one of the surrounding lots).
I was hoping you'd respond. I have read a lot of your posts. I like those places but they seem a bit farther than I can go with my dog. He can be alone abou 9.5 hours a day which only gives me 1 hour total commute given most of the jobs I have seen. Is it 35 minutes from Kearny to Penn?
I read Harrison is a bit roughed up too. It's nice as it is REALLY close to the PATH.
I just got back from a full day in NJ. It was MUCH MUCH different than I thought. It's very much like NY and very much different.
I went to Kearny first and was very impressed. My girlfriend and I went up as far as Midland Avenue driving along Kearny Road which appeared to be the main road. Both the west side and the east side are very doable. Personally, the west side was a bit better as the houses appeared to be newer and more expensive. Just about every street had houses we would definately consider. The houses had lawns, wider roads, more seperated, etc. Just appeared to be a more suburban place and more desireable. Driving a long Kearny Road had a lot of commerical places like restaurants, cafes, hair places, nail salons, etc.. Many people were out and about (gorgeous weekend).
We went to East Newark next and didn't really like it. It was run down to me and I didn't get a feeling it was very safe. Perhaps the word Newark was in there. That led us down near the bridge that connects Harrison to Newark and then we went into Harrison. Harrison IS gritty as some have said but I think that is misleading. Down by the PATH is industrial and construction appears to be taken place. However, the main road (Harrison Avenue) had plenty of commerical areas, the high school, the very nicely kept town hall, gas stations, other business. Down further is a WalMart. I guess it's going to be converted to a Super Walmart but it was the typical one. Overall, the east side of Harrison was definately more desireable. The west side was mostly industrial with not as many residential areas. There was PLENTY of parking around the PATH. We actually missed it and went over the bridge as we were expecting signs. I guess it's just the walk up to the platform? The east side of Harrison is very liveable. It's less suburban than Kearny and more city like. The houses are a bit narrower, parking is a bit tighter, the driveways are less existant, the roads are tighter. Too many damn 1-ways too! However, there were plenty of nice houses there. I didn't see any supermarkets tho? Is there a mall nearby or do you have to go to Paramus?
We then went to the water front of Jersey City down in the historic downtown area. A *TON* of places to stay but I am sure they are extremely pricey. Just about anything down there is possible. I didn't check prices. Is downtown about the only place where I can live? I have read outside of that is not exactly safe or desireable. The same with Journal Square.
We then went to Hoboken. Appeared to be really trendy and really expensive. Parking looked absolutely impossible. Sure, it's close to the PATH if you pay for it I suppose? The farther out it looked a bit cheaper. There were apartments everywhere. The roads were absolute ****. My SUV was bouncing around everywhere. There appeared to be lower income (Not projects.. Nicer?) on the west side near Monroe. You could see new construction EVERYWHERE so they are definately looking to uplift it even more or at least it appears.
So. That's about it. I hope that information can help someone.
For me, I am a Software Engineer. I would prefer not to travel into NYC if I could drive to a place like Parsipiny (bad spell) or some place within driving distance. I have read it's about 25 minutes to WTC from Harrison. If I work somewhere mid-town Manhattan, it might be almost 45 min each way. I have a dog so I really need to be careful with distance. If I don't take the PATH, I'd love to live in a Kearny where I can have a yard for my dog. Overall, much nicer than I had hoped for Harrison (#1 choice for me as I assume I will need to work in NYC for the higher pay).
Since your gf will be working in Times Square (I also work in Times Square), her best bet would be to take the bus into Port Authority. Times Square is only a block away so there is no need to take another bus or subway once in Manhattan. It's a 5 minute walk to Times Square from the Port.
With regard to your tax question...are you asking about income taxes? If so, even though you live in NJ but work in NY, you will get taxed in both states. But when you file your income taxes, your gf will file a non-resident return and will take a credit on her NJ return for taxes paid in NY.
The 4% tax you are referring to sounds like the city sales tax. If you purchase something in the city, you will have to pay the NYS state and local sales tax since this is the location where you are purchasing it in regardless of where you live. I think this is what you are talking about but I may be wrong.
Hope this helps!
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