<1 hour commute to Lower Manhattan - possible for $3K?

[Kefir King]

Tilly,

Go to NEWPORT on the Jersey City waterfront and tell them what you need and see if they can comply. It has it;s own stop on the PATH train.
Your commute can be a half hour with a fast 6 minute PATH ride to the WTC and a short walk.

You will be looking at the largest apartment (Junior 3-2 bath) so you will likely get only a lower floor no City view for $3G's.
Be warned though, these apartments provide NO heat and electric heat is expensive. Hot water and cooking gas IS included in rent though.

Check out the bulletin boards in the couple condo buildings also, often the owners will rent them out.

[OdysseusNY]

Originally Posted by TillyMarigold

Right, that's the problem I'm finding with most options farther west in NJ, too—I'd be working near City Hall/the Brooklyn Bridge, so less than an hour from NJ to Grand Central, Penn Station, or the Port Authority still gives me well over an hour commute because I need to go both crosstown and downtown from there.

check the bus lines. there are some that go from NJ directly to downtown via holland tunnel. if you want to use train from NJ to be near city hall quickly, it has to be near the Path (aka JC/Hoboken, or possibly Rutherford as someone mentioned)

bus commute isn't bad depending on the line and operator

Originally Posted by TillyMarigold

My top neighborhood list based on reviews, pricing, and availability of public transit that takes me where I'd need to go are Greenpoint and Bayridge in Brooklyn, and Astoria, Sunnyside, and Woodside in Queens. I'll definitely look into Hoboken.

I definitely might be phrasing my CL searches wrong looking for outdoor space.

fyi greenpoint isn't the quickest commute, the G train doesn't have very good service and you need to transfer. it does meet under your 1 hour requirement to city hall but most places within walking distance of any subway will

not really a knock on greenpoint but i'm always suspicious of the G train, it has a bad rep for service frequency and is the only non-shuttle line (i think) which doesn't go into manhattan

bay ridge isn't great for some commutes but is particularly good for city hall because the R goes straight there and you'll always get a seat in the mornings since it's the start of the line

it sounds like you're on the right track researching neighborhoods