From a purely financial standpoint, how does living in one of the nicer/livelier neighborhoods in NJ compare to living in NYC - Manhattan/Brooklyn? Manhattan is way above NJ, but is Brooklyn comparable to NJ at all?
What would the typical rent for a studio/1B/2B2B apartment in NJ with an easy commute to FiDi look like (I’m thinking Downtown JC)? Nothing too fancy, just a decent spacious apartment with in-unit laundry.
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I'm currently living in Downtown JC right now. A decent studio would generally go for $1500-$1800 a month. 1 Bed probably starting at $1900 a month. Generally, its a solid/safe area with a good amount of bars/restaurants/coffee shops. I will say after a while it does start to get repetitive and you will likely start to get a bit bored by the area.
It's got a lot of great inventory for housing but the area definitely lacks the excitement and culture of NYC. If you are younger and looking to go out a lot in the city (COVID aside) you'll find yourself either waiting up to 45 minutes for the PATH or spending $60 Ubers to get home. Can probably swing that every now and then but definitely not something to frequent.
Overall, JC is nice and not as bad as a lot of the New Yorkers make it out to be. I would say if you are in your 20s, pay the extra money to live in NY as I think it's just a better place to be with regards to building a network and having fun. If you are older and more settled down, I think JC/Hoboken/Weehawken/etc becomes a lot more appealing. I think it caters well to people in their early to mid 30s who still want to be NYC adjacent as they are not yet ready to make that leap into the suburbs. JC is definitely a big stroller community.
I'm fairly young and looking to move into the city. Been living here for 2 1/2 years so feel free to message me with any questions as I know the area very well. Good Luck.
Thanks for the insight, appreciate it. I’m in my 20s and totally get your point, but as far as it’s a safe neighborhood, I’m game for that occasional hassle that would come with commuting back home after a night out.
For context, I’m living in a tier 2 city and paying $2K for a luxury 2B/2B apartment in the downtown area with amazing amenities and easy access to everything. I’m pretty okay with comprising on the social scene but would really like to at least come close to maintaining my current way of living without paying an exorbitant premium for it.
Most apartments in nyc won’t have “amazing” amenities (although hard to tell what you mean by amazing, as nyc also raises the bar on amenities in some of the ultra luxury places). You will find some more of that in newer construction, and definitely more in JC or Hoboken.
In Manhattan most people will pay for a gym as the equinox and other comparable gyms are nicer than what you get in rental buildings. in general anything you want is available within a few blocks.
At most rental buildings you’ll find maybe an ok gym, a community room (maybe with a “theater” that no one uses), if you put some effort into it maybe a rooftop with a cooking area, and rarely a pool or private parking. Again, not sure what lifestyle you are looking for. But you definitely won’t find that for $2k and it also will be a small studio.
As others have said, if the building and amenities are higher up on your list then Jersey is probably the way to go. I would add though that pre covid, so much of nyc happens outside (meaning social life is meeting people out, gyms are not in buildings, things to do are almost always out of your building).
As an example, I can walk to 5+ grocery stores, have 10+ restaurants within a block or two, can go play a round of golf on one of the simulators here, have a bunch of museums, farmers market close by on weekends, etc. you get the point, “lifestyle” for many people in nyc is that anything you want is at your fingertips, so needing that in your building is a bit worthless since someone does is better/specializes in it, and is just down the street.
But it all depends on what you are looking for.
Thanks, totally makes sense.
I think I just put it across wrong, not trying to look for exactly that kind of place for the amount I mentioned. What I pay here was just to provide some context as to what my priority is over being close to the social scene. While amenities don’t matter that much, I do spend a lot of time at home (this would apply even post COVID, once we’re back to the office) and would definitely want to live in a decently spacious place that is not a cubbyhole. Just trying to understand the difference between the kind of apartments I’ll be looking at in JC vs. NYC at different price points. What you pointed out is very helpful!
> waiting up to 45 minutes for the PATH
oh didn't realize the PATH was so unreliable -- is it really an annoyance to get into the city? to commute daily?
I'd quote, but the software is acting up again.
45 minutes is about the maximum wait time if you're trying to get home at 3am after a night out and just missed the train. It runs every 40 minutes all night long, although sometimes the schedules seem more like 'suggestions' to the engineers. I think that this is a COVID thing though, as I seem to remember the overnight schedule used to be every half hour.
During rush hour they run every four minutes. Good luck trying to push your way on at Grove St. though. You might have a little more luck at Exchange place, since some people get off, but a decent number of people take the ferry for convenience. On the way home, you shouldn't have any problems, since WTC is the first stop on the line. This is all pre-COVID though, when our chief economist commented "Welcome to full employment" as we were kvetching to each other about the train.
I would say Central Brooklyn is a good option. That area would include Flatbush, Crown Heights, and Prospect Lefferts Gardens. Spacious, comfortable 1 bedrooms go for $1700-$1900. Commuting to FiDi would be about a 20 min train ride. As for safety, I wouldn’t really worry about it too much. Of course, it’s not the safest place in America but you don’t have to live in fear tbh. There are A LOT of restaurants. There are also activities, however, there’s a lot more social scene going on 15 mins away in DUMBO/Brooklyn Heights/Williamsburg.
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