VA2015 wrote:
I would rather live in JC that NYC even though I could afford either. For one I am cheap and everything involving cost of living is higher there. I need to have some actual cheap stores accessible to me - I'm a Goodwill, discount grocery store kind of gal. JC has that along with a reasonable amount of culture - enough to have stuff to do but not so much it's overwhelming. In NYC there are always 10 things going on, with friends trying to get you to go to lots of different things, and I find it draining. I also find the apartment sizes claustrophobic in the city, combined with all the hustle and bustle on the street, crowds and noise pollution - you aren't shoulder to shoulder on any sidewalk in JC. I also don't like the loneliness of NYC, that you can so easily be anonymous most places you go - anywhere I go in JC I recognize people, they recognize me, I feel like part of a community.

Crazy_Chester wrote:
The WSJ has an article today:

Of note:

"They're pushing tenant occupancy over homeownership," said John Taylor, chief executive of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, a Washington-based consumer-advocacy group. "Having someone guarantee that renters will be there for a long time depresses values and makes it much harder for people to recoup lost equity and stabilize neighborhoods."


http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001 ... od=WSJ_hpp_LEFTTopStories

VA2015 wrote:
I would rather live in JC that NYC even though I could afford either. For one I am cheap and everything involving cost of living is higher there. I need to have some actual cheap stores accessible to me - I'm a Goodwill, discount grocery store kind of gal. JC has that along with a reasonable amount of culture - enough to have stuff to do but not so much it's overwhelming. In NYC there are always 10 things going on, with friends trying to get you to go to lots of different things, and I find it draining. I also find the apartment sizes claustrophobic in the city, combined with all the hustle and bustle on the street, crowds and noise pollution - you aren't shoulder to shoulder on any sidewalk in JC. I also don't like the loneliness of NYC, that you can so easily be anonymous most places you go - anywhere I go in JC I recognize people, they recognize me, I feel like part of a community.

Dahood wrote:
Owning a car without any hassle is a major factor for living on this side of Hudson.

CdeCoincy wrote:

What do people think they will find in Brooklyn that they can't find here?

SRhia wrote:
I'm sorry if I come across rude or arrogant, that was not my intention.

I just want to point out this so called "I chose to live in JC, even though I could afford to live in NYC" statement, which I find not 100% correct. Like many others who have voiced it, I think we - myself included - chose to live in JC because we could not afford it - sometimes not strictly in the sense of income vs expense, but we find it a "waste of money" to spend $3000 per month on a studio, where I could rent a 2bedroom here for the same amount of money. However, if I were to make $1 million / year or so, I would think that $3000 (or even $5000) would be a drop in the bucket.

I like living in Jersey City, been here for 10+ years, and I'm happy to be raising my kids here. However, if I want to do something, I always find myself in the city. Jersey City still has a long way to go. Let's be honest about it.

Like I mentioned previously, if I could afford it, I would not be here. At least I'm honest about it.

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Kelcey wrote:
Sorry to be kind of snarky, but I look forward to you being able to afford to move. It must be awful having to slum it with those of us who actually like living here and being part of our neighborhoods.

Kelcey wrote:
Sorry to be kind of snarky, but I look forward to you being able to afford to move. It must be awful having to slum it with those of us who actually like living here and being part of our neighborhoods.

SRhia wrote:
For all of you who "choose" to live in Jersey City even though you could afford NYC: if you could find a same (or similar) sized apartment in NYC for the SAME price that you pay in Jersey City, would you still live in JC, or would you move to NYC?

For me, if I could find a 1100 Sq Ft 2 bedroom in NYC for around 600K to 800K (condo, not co-op), I would move to NYC (and I don't mean places in Harlem / yonkers / astoria / etc, but "nice places" like downtown/soho/midtown/ues/uws) - so much more options for entertainment / food / kids activities, and no need to trek back to Jersey City late night / on the weekends on the PATH train.

Yes, to answer tommyc_37's question, I do believe if the prices are comparable, people would rather live in NYC. Isn't this why we are all huddled together in Jersey City today, because it's cheaper yet so close???

immigrationlawyer wrote:

Agreed. It's such a short sighted proposition. Many could live in Brooklyn or Hoboken as well.

Jersey City is not an international city but it's literally 5 minutes from one on public transportation that affords individuals certain benefits that those individuals cannot obtain living elsewhere, whether it's bc of cost, quality of life, space, location, maintenance of 1+ cars, etc.

It's a combo of factors.

tommyc_37 wrote:
SHRhia, why would you assume that somebody would automatically prefer to live on NYC over JC if they could afford it?

Many if not most people I know in JC can afford to live in Manhattan.

malcontent wrote:

There is still a huge difference in what $1 million will buy you in NYC vs JC. Also, I think NYC is now overrated. I know I will be flamed into oblivion for uttering such blasphemy. It is just my personal opinion; please don't hate...

brewster wrote:
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JC_GeeGee wrote:
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bearbear wrote:
And we just saw that 296 8th Street is now on the market too but at $1.1 mil asking that's not in our wheelhouse!

296 8th street is now Under Contract. I wonder for how much.

136 Erie is also on the market for $1.1 million.

Is this the price of a brick rowhouse/brownstone these days!?!?

294 8th sold for $930k to the Aussies, and it's only a 16x50 lot!

SRhia wrote:
If I knew, I wouldn't be asking the question, would I?

Yes, it is mysterious to me. I know lots of people make lots of money - but wouldn't these people want to live in NYC rather than jersey city, if they obviously could afford it? Or even Brooklyn (like Dumbo and such) and queens??? I know I would, in a heart beat, if I could afford that.

With a millon-dollor brownstone, heck, even the two bedrooms now cost upwards of 600K, plus kids possibly in private school / expensive daycare, that's a lot of fixed expenses per month. It boggles my mind...

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brewster wrote:
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SRhia wrote:
with real estate prices like these, how are families with child(ren) surviving on single income here? I'm so perplexed!?!??!

I recently lost my job and is staying home at the moment, so we're surviving on my husband's income only - and we're living paycheck to paycheck pretty much. Yet I seen lots of moms with their kids during the day, so I assume lots of families are on single income. But how do they do it???

Is it really so mysterious? Do you not read the papers and hear that some people make a LOT more money than others? If daddy pulls in several hundred K, mommy doesn't have to work, or even clean that nice big town house. Some of them are even quite nice people, in fact the pretentious assholes aren't generally attracted to brownstone Downtown. Yet.

Yes, it is mysterious to me. I know lots of people make lots of money - but wouldn't these people want to live in NYC rather than jersey city, if they obviously could afford it? Or even Brooklyn (like Dumbo and such) and queens??? I know I would, in a heart beat, if I could afford that.

brewster wrote:
Quote:

SRhia wrote:
with real estate prices like these, how are families with child(ren) surviving on single income here? I'm so perplexed!?!??!

I recently lost my job and is staying home at the moment, so we're surviving on my husband's income only - and we're living paycheck to paycheck pretty much. Yet I seen lots of moms with their kids during the day, so I assume lots of families are on single income. But how do they do it???

Is it really so mysterious? Do you not read the papers and hear that some people make a LOT more money than others? If daddy pulls in several hundred K, mommy doesn't have to work, or even clean that nice big town house. Some of them are even quite nice people, in fact the pretentious assholes aren't generally attracted to brownstone Downtown. Yet.

SRhia wrote:
with real estate prices like these, how are families with child(ren) surviving on single income here? I'm so perplexed!?!??!

I recently lost my job and is staying home at the moment, so we're surviving on my husband's income only - and we're living paycheck to paycheck pretty much. Yet I seen lots of moms with their kids during the day, so I assume lots of families are on single income. But how do they do it???