Quote: Could have been worse. You could have been sentenced to Detroit.

More living space for less money. Easy access to Manhattan, where I work and sometimes play. The Jersey City vibe, which is funky, creative, and oddly small-town. The gradual, continuing improvements I've seen in the 12 years I've lived here, in neighborhoods, restaurants, cultural activities, safety, parks, even local government.

Because it is not as bad as Baltimore!

Shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die. Sentenced to fifteen years in JC.

Because Jersey City needed me.

GET ON YOUR BIKE AND RIDE!!!

From washington park up to kennedy blvd all down to lincoln park, west side ave to ege ave, back up to kennedy and towards bayonne, left on danforth alllll the way to caven point, crossing the country club to liberty state park. over the footbridge to downtown around exchange place by the water up through snake road behind christ hospital, palisade avenue all the way back up to washington park.

It takes 3 hours at a steady scenic pace. no stops!!

Because of its history. My family first settled here in the early 1920?s and I am the last of them still here. It is nice to live in the same neighborhood that I grew up in. There are a lot of cultural events and places throughout Jersey City, seeing all the positive changes and being part of the city?s growth is rewarding. There are many ways to navigate J.C. I love the proximity to various businesses that I patronize. Living in the Heights allows me to move within and out of the city quickly. Moreover, it is a fun and effective place to bike around town. I really feel Jersey City and it's neighborhoods have plenty to offer its residents, no wonder people want to live here.

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That's one of the few reasons that are tying a lot of people I know to Jersey City: the unwillingness to concede to the suburbs while simultaneously having employment in the suburbs.

We moved from NYC to Jersey City. I work in NYC and my wife works in central Jersey so it's too much of a pain for her to drive through NYC every day. Now she can drive against traffic to get to work and I can take the Path. We like our neighbors in the HP area and the feel of dowtown JC overall.

Because I work in Union County NJ and wanted to live close to the city in a fun, happening place (read: not the 'burbs) with a short commute to work.

(I just gotta remind people that not EVERYONE in JC commutes to NY. There are actually people who work on our side of the Hudson)

Because 12 years ago I answered a "missed connection" personal ad in the back of the Jersey Journal and it led me to a beautiful brownstone on a tree lined street near Hamilton Park.... Since then my captor has kept me chained to a basement radiator like the gimp from Pulp Fiction.

Because, although I was raised like a nomad, this is my wife's hometown and now it's my adopted hometown too. For all its faults it has a lot to offer and it's a great place to live and raise kids.

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Respect.

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If you would like to see the density of your particular census block, click on the link:

http://projects.nytimes.com/census/20 ... todaysheadlines&emc=thab1

Select the density map from the 'View More Maps' menu on the left.

My area is about 41K per square mile.

Because I have family here... had my first kiss, bike ride, and my first ever memories here. I was born and raised in the hood and will die in the hood...

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I don't see any suburban elements in JC at all. In fact if I'm not mistaken, JC is the 2nd densest city in the USA after NYC. It's pretty darn urban here, and that's a good thing IMO.

But I agree on your other points...

I love living in JC (since 2003) for these reasons:

The cultural diversity (and resulting diversity of food and shopping)

The sense of community which is fostered by my wonderful neighbors

The progressive attitude that pervades JC (at least Downtown... can't speak about other 'hoods)

The architecture and the history

The active arts community

I would love to be able to afford a bigger condo/house in JC. I could move to the burbs to get a house but for now I'm sacrificing a bigger space because I love living in JC so much!

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To me, the check box called "convenience" is huge, maybe even bigger than "financial". Proximity to EWR, NYC, the Jersey Shore, easy drive to places like Philly and DC (if I feel like it) is important. But yeah, I would check both boxes.

Finance, I believe must be one of MANY possible reasons why people live in Jersey City. It is certainly one of a few reasons for me, and I don't think there is anything wrong with that.

But to me, a much more important reason is the balance between the elements of the city and the suburb. Jersey City is, in my opinion a transitional zone between the city and the suburb.

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I'm here for the pithy message board commentary.

So basically everyone would select the check box "Financial reasons"

Because I want to have the shortest commute possible and it's cheaper than living in the City.

we're here for many reasons... family has been here since the late 1800s.... convenience to the city and to the shore.... great little neighborhoods... affordable housing.... tons of transportation options.... we had lived downtown, but we love living in The Heights!

We just bought a condo in Van Vorst Park area, and we LOVE it. I've lived in downtown Jersey City since 2008, but she used to live in Long Island.

One of many reasons that we decided to buy in Jersey City is that it's a good mid point between her work and mine. We also love the fact that it's so close to NYC. I'm an amateur musician, and I frequently go there to play music with other musicians. We love the culture and lots of exciting things happening in the city, and yet, on this side of the Hudson river, things are still at a manageable level, like for example, parking. Brooklyn may be more exciting for young people, but I need a car to commute, and how hectic it would have been, I wonder, if we lived in Brooklyn.

Jersey City is where the city ends and suburb begins--a transitional zone, which in my opinion, has the best of both.

One draw back may be that your friends in NYC will NEVER come to visit you because in their mind, Jersey City is as far away as China, and most people have NO idea that there are very nice Brownstones and restaurants and bars here. But that's okay, and that's why Jersey City can maintain its low profile. I think that Jersey City is NYC's best kept secret.

Seriously, if people in Brooklyn (beyond Downtown Brooklyn or Brooklyn Heights) realize that they can get from Downtown Jersey City to Manhattan in less than 10 minutes or that they can park their car without looking for a space for 20 minutes, or that they don't have to pay NYC tax, etc., Jersey City will become Brookly, and I don't want that. But I don't think Jersey City can remain as it is for long.

Imagine how many thousands of people will be looking for a place to live once the WTC is up and running again! If you work there, is there a more reasonable place to live than downtown Jersey City?

Lived in Bayonne and JC all my life. Just too poor to move out. Besides there are so many great things about living in the area. For all the complaints especially here on JCLIST....the access to transportation can not be beaten by any place else in the US. Within 20 mins, I can be off to NYC, Newark, New Brunswick, Princeton, Philly, New Haven and DC...just to name places that I frequent and luv.

I would definitely luv to invest in property...if I ever have the money and I really do believe within in 5 years the rest of JC will start to be redeveloped along the lines of what you have seen in Newport/Downtown.

I just moved here a week ago from Brooklyn, where me and my husband lived in a small one bedroom. It could not have been more than 500 sq feet (if you took the wall down between the living room and the bedroom, it would have been a 'spacious' studio). We decided we wanted more space, and I soon realized that even Bushwick isn't so cheap for what it is. There gets a point when you are going 10 stops deep into Brooklyn that you are not that close to the city anymore. On a whim we checked out JC. I was surprised at all the Brownstones, I just didn't know it was so nice. Plus, it is very close to the city. We live about a 20 minute walk from the Grove st Path station but I get off at 9th st (and am fortunate enough to work near there) and my husband gets off at 14th, so it really takes no time at all. If we weren't lucky enough to work near the Path it might be a different story, but it works out great. Also, we got more than double the square footage for the price we were paying in Brooklyn. So far I love it here, I really feel like it is a hidden gem from all the folks living in the city. I hope no one finds out about it, people love to have a "Brooklyn" address so hopefully they stay over there!

How about easy access to the vast Jersey shore or the ski slopes in the Poconos without having to navigate to torturous tunnel traffic? Well that's not the main reason, but it's certainly an added advantage.

...because my husband and I wanted to not only buy a house, but buy a DETACHED house, which pretty much cancelled out Hoboken and Brooklyn (my husband is a musician and wanted to make music without having to worry about noise/neighbors.) We bought in the Heights and have a beautiful, detached 120 year old house with a front yard and a back yard which we've made into a gorgeous garden. We have gotten to know and become close friends with many of our neighbors. The only thing we wish was that there was just a little more going on in this neighborhood. They roll up the sidewalks at about eight o'clock here.

No rent control for buildings 4 units or less.

First house I bought cost me about $87k (about $125k in today's dollars). House smelled like curry though and needed to be renovated (which I did). My P&I payment was $801 a month and I collected $825 a month on the rental unit (2 family home). It allowed me, on a VERY modest income, to become a homeowner without going broke. I was still in my 20's. It was kind of weird being younger than my tenants.

The mayor at the time was offering a level a reform of city government.

After changing jobs, my commute cost me about $3.00 per day via the PATH.