if you can block out the fact that JC is one of the most dangerous cities in NJ, there are several reasons to stay, assuming you make good money.

it's expensive, taxes are high, but NJ taxes in general are high.

the rest of NJ consists of boring suburbs with long drives just to by milk and butter.

very ethnic/diverse, something you don't get in the burbs of NJ. you can get ethnic exposure in the burbs, but chances are the town will be all Italian, all Indian, all Polish, etc.

NYC

although it doesn't compare to NYC, JC has much more nightlife than most other cities/towns in NJ.

Liberty State Park. If you're a runner, cyclist, walker, whatever, you have a big open park right in town within walkable distance. most towns in NJ don't offer that.

cheap eats. you can eat food from a different part of the world day after day, it is generally going to be good, and it can be had for under 10 bucks.

close to airports.

it will keep you young. JC has a buzz to it, it keeps you on your toes, whereas when you settle into a suburb, things tend to get a little bland. JC has a certain grit and energy about it, something I always liked.

so...........dodge all the bullets, take karate classes to defend yourself against the "wolfpacks", keep your car in a garage, and try to forget that your city government is as corrupt as it gets.......and keep sticking it out in JC!

MASOCHISM!

New Jersey as a whole is the bad boyfriend I keep coming back to.

Jersey City - it took my parents thrity years to leave, and me thirty years to return.

Lived here my whole life...

I've left three times vowing to never come back.

Luggage tied to the roof of my car, garbage bags filled with clothes in the trunk and two dogs squeezed together with my belongings in the back seat of my car. I turn to give JC the one finger salute speeding over the Pulaski Skyway toward Route 22 and the burbs.

I'm back again and probably will never leave. JC is a Beeatch Goddess that has me whipped.

Recovery starts with admitting it.

In Jersey City, you may walk to the multi-faceted corner store to rent a DVD, buy a slice of pizza, get a key made, take home a 40oz of Old E, and fill a prescription for penicillin.

I suggest reading some great books about Jersey City: Mysteries of My Father, by Thomas Fleming; Clockers, by Richard Price; Miracle of Saint Anthony: A Season with Coach Bob Hurley and Basketballs Most Improbable Dynasty, by Adrian Wojnarowski; Five Finger Discount: Crooked Family History, by Helen Stapinski.

Like a few of the other posters, I also love JC because of the people. I live downtown and have gotten to know lots of neighbors through neighborhood associations and just as neighbors. People have been so friendly and have become real friends. I'm sure it depends where in JC you are but I think downtown lends itself to this type of interaction because there is more public space, more people out walking their dogs, etc. I never, ever felt part of the Bronx neighborhood where I lived for years. Too densly populated and nowhere people wanted to linger outside their apartments.

I also love the food, art, music, architecture of JC and much more.

lovejc - we live one block from the park on NY Ave - and have met tons of folks from our block and neighborhood in the years we've been here. the fellas in the deli and the guys in the liquor store on congress knew us after a few days.. heck, now the taco cart guy even considers us his "amigos".

keep your head up and smile - you'd be suprised how many nice folks are around....

Join OneJerseyCity.org, you will get to meet good citizens...

Kitten -
Your post is cracking me up. Holy water? So funny...but yeah, I'm sure having a kid helps to break down people's defenses.

we live near washington park - but we rented near to you before...that section of the heights is a bit more friendly. Pizza Masters girl always knew our order and the guys at the deli you speak of were so kind. (I don't know the names of any businesses!)

anyway...I'm inspired to make it my mission now to keep my own head up and be friendly to people. maybe then I'll be offered a cookie after I devour a slice.

We moved here a year ago from Brooklyn...we knew more neighbors within the 1st month than we did living 10 years in Brooklyn! The day our moving truck pulled up in front of our house (in JSQ) we were greeted with a cooler of sodas and beer and welcomed with open arms. We love the neighborhood & feel like we really lucked our with our block. Totally unpretentious neighborhood with real people. My only complaints about JSQ is that it would be nice to have more restaurant & cafe options, but we just go downtown for that (no biggie), and then the a**holes who just throw garbage on the street, but you can't totally avoid that living in a city. You should definitely stick it out here...it's worth it!

I would like to thank everyone for their thoughts and insights. Now, I'm leaning toward staying in JC ... Maybe, I just needed a morale boost.

For the OP,

I live in the Heights and though there isn't much going on in the evening, if you live reasonably close to the light-rail elevator you can walk into Hoboken and there are a decent # of restaurants and bars open quite late (I think last call is at 3). Or of course you can take the light-rail or a bus downtown.

As far as friendliness of neighbors, that must be different depending on where you are. My neighbor here really did bring me some homemade cookies when we moved in! I know quite a few of my neighbors and we socialize fairly frequently. Having kids does make this easier but our neighbors (and we) were quite friendly before we had kids.

Don't know Astoria well but certainly you get a lot more for your money in Heights vs. Greenpointe, plus no city tax. I second other posters' opinions that if you don't need more space for less money, which is really the advantage of the Heights, you try Downtown JC.

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May I ask where in the Heights you live?

We have been on Booraem Avenue for a little over a year and have gotten pretty friendly with some of our neighbors and other people in the neighborhood. When we go to Rizzo's now, the ladies give my son a cookie if "he's a good boy and eats all his pizza." At Andrea Salumeria, the guys always remember my husband's last purchase and ask him how it was. When the priest from St. Nicholas sees us he throws holy water at us and gives us a blessing (I am not kidding). Maybe having a kid helps break the ice for some people... I'm not sure, but I have found my neighbors, the new and the old, pretty welcoming. Now, don't get me wrong, I've encountered plenty of the head down types too. The dude next door, I can see into his house from my living room and he still won't say hi to me! I finally gave up.

I moved here 3 yrs ago from brooklyn and it took about a year to adjust. Now I can't imagine myself ever moving back to nyc. San Francisco maybe, but not ny. I love the big trees on my street, the parks, the farmers markets, the chill bars, the big grocery stores within walking distance, and the friendly people. Every time I'm in the city I'm think about how much more relaxing my life is in JC.

Attend your local block association.

New to this town and new to this site, but i like it here , it's really becoming a nice town on many levels and i look forward to the changed as they keep rolling in, and yes i also think you get more for your money with regard to housing here!

My husband and I have lived in the heights for about four years as well. I lived downtown for four years before the move to the heights. We love it here - and could afford to buy more here than just a condo downtown. However, the huge thing lacking is that people are strange up in JC! In that - none of the neighbors speak to each other. We live on a really nice block -but, when people see you, they look down or away or hurry into their houses. I still remember when we moved in, I thought (being from the midwest) that all our neighbors would come over within the week with a "housewarming casserole" and a welcome. My husband (born/bred Brooklynite) laughed at my hopes...and he was right - we never saw a soul.

here I am first time owner - ready to establish roots...and everyone runs away. I think it is just our facebook/online society. I have 300 facebook friends, but very few real friends, know what I'm saying?

Then again, in my imaginary neighbors' defense - I see moving trucks around now and then but I never pay attention to who is moving in, who is renting, who just bought, etc. Maybe that is just city life.

Sorry for the novel - but - maybe the heights could be more fun if some of us got together now and then? I know we would LOVE to meet another couple in the area with similar interests. Or, I would love to meet a woman in the heights who wants to hang out and do "girl things" now and then?

I live in downtown JC and I have been contemplating a move to Brooklyn (Cobble Hill area), too, but can't get over the fact that Jersey City prices in terms of living, are just better. I think that JCSHEP did a good job at listing some of the pro's and con's. Ultimately, I think that we will probably head out of here, just for the simple fact the subway system is more extensive, which is important to me considering where I work in Manhattan and Cobble Hill is much more family friendly (corner deli's remember your name, etc.), but I am not sure that is what you are looking for. Best of luck!!

Its difficult to answer your question without knowing what is important to you, I can just answer for me (below). In addition to downtown you should check out around Journal Square, the cost can be less than the waterfront, its just not as sparkly. The 24 hour deli in the PATH station there is a great bodega also!

What I like about living in JC compared to NYC:
---You get a lot more space for your money here
---State income taxes are less, no city tax, this equates to a couple thousand dollars a year in most people?s pockets!
---It takes me less time to get to downtown Manhattan than anyone I know above 70th street in Manhattan and almost everyone I know in Bklyn and Queens.
---On average I have found the people here are less pretentious than in NYC, even moreso when you leave some of the luxury high-rises.
---There seem to be less (or no) cockroaches and rats. Or maybe I have just been lucky, I haven?t had any since I lived here.
---It?s a small benefit but you have the option to actually shop at a real supermarket here, like you would find in the suburbs. Your only choices are not a small C-town or corner bodega.
---The views of Manhattan are pretty unreal, both from the waterfront and the palisades cliff. We have an awesome waterfront walkway, nothing like that exists in Brooklyn or queens.
---You can leave the city a lot faster when you want to get out on weekends, you can be on i-95 going north/south or I-78 going west in heartbeat. When returning you get off the highway right when the city traffic is starting on Sunday evenings. If you live in Bklyn or queens tack on another hour to your Sunday return trip.
---If you don?t have a car, 3 out of 4 of the PATH terminus?s are at major rail stations.

What I miss not living in NYC:
---A much more expansive subway system/mass transit system
---More stuff open 24 hours, depending on where you live?
---Repeatedly explaining to people out of state where Jersey City is yet they still dont get it
---A bit more of a buzz (Manhattan or downtown Bklyn)
---More variety in neighborhood types
---There are beaches in Queens and Bklyn, and you are closer to them
---More cultural choices in NYC, but again you are just a PATH ride away...

Well, also, Astoria is not going to be any more exciting late night either; its pretty quiet there by 9 or 10 too. Greenpoint is a different matter of course, but then you are dealing with the G.

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Ok, I give up. Why?

Along with what the others have said, downtown will definitely give you more to enjoy, much more. I moved here from NY and at first I was bored out of my mind but more things have popped up over the past 3 years that I've been here and will continue to do so.

Plus being so close to the PATH, I'm often inclined to just go into Manhattan which is a short ride and quite cheap, especially downtown NY which I love and am used to.

Stay on this side!

I lived in the Heights for 3 years until my work made it painful to get home (late nights n odd hours) so I moved about two years ago downtown to be near a Path station. It's very different and there's more to eat/shop/do within walking distance.

I considered moving to brooklyn/downtown nyc but the sticker shock on income taxes and increase in my health insurance (which I pay for myself) was way too much. Because I'm self employed.. the check I gotta cut to the IRS in April is much MUCH less living NJ. NYC city tax ain't fun. Another reason to consider if you are in a similar situation.

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because i work in jc, and it takes me 10mins door to door to get to work.

also yeah try to goto newport at night by the water, it's a different jc.

Its sounds like you probably should have moved to the downtown when you first arrived, not the Heights. Maybe you should try spending some time around grove street a few nights before giving up on JC.

Today's Daily News has some articles on Astoria, and Greenpoint, mainly about noise.

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/b ... turn_down_the_volume.html

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/q ... turn_down_the_volume.html

I guess it depends on where you work, and how long the commute is. The Path train is faster and cheaper.

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Another great reason - such welcoming neighbors. Love it or leave it - U S A!! U S A!!

We just moved to downtown JC from Astoria about two months ago and are much, much happier here. I like the area more, the parks, the public transportation is better (either around JC or if you need to get into Manhattan) and the view is quite nice if you are on or near the waterfront. I didn't dislike Astoria, but we've got a bigger, nicer place for what we were paying in Astoria, with a shorter commute and a nicer area.

well, here's one very large reason that you might want to avoid greenpoint

http://www.riverkeeper.org/campaigns/ ... /newtown/a-slippery-past/

jc downtown is still pretty good, especially when the news trucks pull up outside city hall. Nonstop entertainment!