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I am actually a current JC resident who works in the NYU area so I have done what would amount to your school commute on a regular basis. I can tell you the commute on PATH to NYU is great as long as you live near the Journal Square, Grove Street, Hoboken, or Newport stations.
If you are looking in Manhattan with your budget, and considering the areas you would need to live in in order for your girlfriend to have a reasonable commute to Newark, you are probably looking at a small studio apartment. Especially in the summer. If I were you I would live in Jersey just to have more space. People often don't realize what living in a tiny studio apartment can do to a relationship.
The good news is you can certainly find a one bedroom apartment in NJ within your budget. Just make sure it is as close as you can get to one of those PATH train stations. Your girlfriend can ride the train to work and you can ride the PATH in to the city. The 9th Street PATH stop puts you a block away from the NYU campus (depending on which building you'll be spending time in). Of the stations I mentioned, I would recommend living near Newport, Hoboken, or Grove Street if you can afford it. The closer you are to the PATH station, the nicer your apartment will be.
I know someone mentioned Journal Square. It isn't a terrible place but if you visit areas like Newport/Hoboken then visit Journal Sq, there is a noticeable decrease in "niceness".
As for your concern about being far away from the city/activities you are right to be concerned. Jersey City does have activities but our social lives are mostly in the city so we rarely do anything local. I don't know how social you both are/plan to be but it will take a bit more effort if your social life is in Manhattan. Also, people are less likely to visit you (although when they do they will marvel over your spacious apartment). It will take a bit of convincing to make New Yorkers understand NJ is not some distant planet.
If you do decide to have an active nightlife in Manhattan the great news is, IMHO, the PATH is more reliable than many subway lines at night. I love the MTA but the weekend service on many lines is pretty bad due to constant construction. If you have a late Friday/weekend night, getting home via public transit might actually be more straightforward for you than for someone living in Manhattan. Of course they can always just take a cab and you can't. I like the PATH and have found their stations much cleaner/less skeevy than many MTA subway trains. The only exception here being Newark. Don't live near Newark.
Just remember, you only have to sign a 1 year lease. If you find that you really hate NJ, you will have given yourself a year to figure out where in NYC works best for both of you. Also, you'll save money on broker fees in NJ which is always great.
Jesusss Christ dude, you're going to have your gf walk at 630 in the morning ten minutes in Newark? I'd rethink the strategy about her taking the train if she has to walk ten min in Newark.
If you're hellbent on manhattan, I'd look in financial district. That way she can take path to Newark. Much better IMO then taking a regional line from penn station. I would recommend hoboken / jersey city and have her drive. Truthfully, hoboken if you are white / preppy, jersey city if you're not - though I guess we're not supposed to be honest about things like race factoring into decisions like this. Both very accessible to your school and much more in line with your price range.
My girlfriend and I will be moving to NJ/NY later this summer and are trying to figure out where to live. Based on the information below, would you recommend living in Manhattan or somewhere in Jersey (and if Jersey, then what areas)?
My girlfriend:
- Will be working 7:30 - 5:00 at a Newark charter high school - 10 minute walk from Newark Broad St. station
-- School principal recommends living in Jersey (though some teachers live in Manhattan)
- Prefers to live in Jersey
- Wants a commute under an hour (one way)
Me:
- Will be attending NYU for grad school - mostly afternoon/evening classes
- Prefer to live in Manhattan
-- Afraid that living in NJ won't give the same vibe/opportunities as living in the city, especially as a grad student
- Want a commute under 45 minutes (one way)
Both of us:
- Mid 20s - not extremely active but in overall good health (i.e., can walk where and when needed)
- Looking to move mid/late July
- Monthly rent budget of $2000 - $2500 (prefer the lower end of the range if possible)
-- She wants to cap her monthly budget at $900, but I'd be willing to put in a few hundred more than that in order to live in Manhattan
- Prefer to not need a car. We'd like to use public transit as much as possible.
- Want to live in our own apartment. One bedroom or studio, and one bathroom.
- Minimum ~400 sq ft
Using mostly Streeteasy.com (also some Craiglist), I've seen some apartments close to NY Penn Station around Midtown West that seem decent, but what other options (either New York or New Jersey) seem viable?
I vote for NJ since you can choose where you live but can't choose the location of her job: Hoboken or Jersey City near the waterfront. That way it's easy for you to get to Manhattan and easier and a shorter commute for her to get to work in Newark.
If you live in Manhattan, it will be convenient for you almost regardless of where you live to get to NYU but will be a bad commute for GF even though it's the reverse of traffic flow. Don't go by what the online NJ transit schedules read. They're only partially correct. A lot of unreported problems happen almost daily (cold temps affecting the signal switch, frozen tracks, track repair, track work, tunnel traffic accident or back-ups, etc.) which often delays the NJ trains and buses morning, noon, or night.
Unlike living in Manhattan where if you miss a bus or train, another one will be coming in a minute or two, if you miss a bus or train going to or from NJ, you will have to wait 15, 30+ minutes or longer for the next one during the weekday outside of the designated am and pm "rush hour" time and the wait can be even longer on weekends.
If you live in Manhattan, GF's commute into Newark via NJ PATH train will be a minimum an hour from NYC's Herald Square (on 32nd Street) and minimum 45 minimum from World Trade Center. A bus ride from NYC Port Authority to Newark Penn station would be about the same time, due to traffic, although the two cities are only about 13 miles from each other. There's also the NJ transit train from NYC Penn Station into Newark Penn Station but I don't know their schedule.
Once she gets to Newark Penn Station, she has to take a public NJ bus to get to her school (NJ transit buses often not on time and I hope it doesn't take two buses to get to her school). Newark proper is not that big so per bus ride should be no more than about 30 minutes, if that, but she will have to keep on a time-schedule because that will affect how long her round trip commute is daily.
Newark has improved a lot over the pass few years and has a nice downtown area. The city is cleaner and looks much better than it use too or that it's national reputation suggest but is still a place were a non-native NJ or NY person would be leery having to wait for a NJ bus to get back to Newark Penn Station after dark (due to working late to catch up on paperwork or staying for a Parent-teacher meeting/conference). This is even more true when you remember that NJ buses, trains, and PATH train schedule slow down considerably after rush hour. Best wishes on your decision!
Of those two, Jersey City seems like a better option based on commute. Seems like Hoboken doesn't really provide a shorter commute to her school (in some cases, a longer one) than areas near NY Penn Station.
I'm not really familiar with Jersey city at all, but it seems like the Journal Square station has the direct line to her school in Newark as opposed to Grove St, whereas either seems to have a fairly direct route to NYC (i.e. no transfers). Is there a huge difference between the two areas as far as things to do, safety of the area, etc?
Journal Square station is where you'll come face-to-face with true "diversity" of all kinds including those of lower-economics, can't speak English, wear religious or traditional ethnic garb, and the transients/homeless population is very visible after rush-hour/sundown. They're usually harmless though but if this type of environment is not your cup of tea, then you'll want to avoid it.
I guess they got the memo because almost no yuppies or gentrifiers can be seen as far as the eye can see in any direction at Journal Square or if they do get off at this station they high-tail out of there so fast there's hardly a trace they were ever there. Grove street is the polar opposite. It's an area of Jersey City that has been revitalized, gentrified, and such. Think of it as a safer, more kinder, more gentle section of JC with a higher price tag than the majority of JC's neighborhood. The waterfront section is very expensive and very nice as well - Pavonia/Newport station.
Once she gets to Newark Penn Station, she has to take a public NJ bus to get to her school (NJ transit buses often not on time and I hope it doesn't take two buses to get to her school). Newark proper is not that big so per bus ride should be no more than about 30 minutes, if that, but she will have to keep on a time-schedule because that will affect how long her round trip commute is daily.
The frequency of the buses from Newark Penn shouldn't be too big of an issue. There's a lot of bus routes traveling between Newark Penn and the area by Newark Broad (especially if you're south of I-280), so if you miss one, there should be another one a few minutes away.
She should check with her job. Im not sure but a friend of mine is applying to teach in jersey for the fall and you have to live in the state after one year.
I would recommend hoboken / jersey city and have her drive. Truthfully, hoboken if you are white / preppy, jersey city if you're not - though I guess we're not supposed to be honest about things like race factoring into decisions like this. Both very accessible to your school and much more in line with your price range.
Agreed she should probably drive to work from Hoboken while you take the PATH train. Of course parking might mean an additional cost but it would make life easier for her. I don't recommend FiDi though simply because of your budget.
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