To be honest, I wouldn't want to live near JFK between 49th and 56th. There isn't much there except the park and you are far from the light rail. There was a fair bit of crime along that stretch during the summer.

Does anyone have any idea what the best parts of Bayonne are?

Any areas to stay away from?

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lol ... they have been saying that forever.


Let's not forget the Warsaw Polish Deli...

My Wife and I made the plunge from Downtown JC to Bayonne 2 years ago. Its not the worst place to live and it's not the best place. There are things we really like:

The parks
more square footage,
owning,
close to the city,
The beer is cheap,
Close to shopping (Stop and Shop, Loews, Houlihans, Walmart, Michaels)
Decent public schools

I've spent 15 years living in Jersey City and watched it evolve. I was reluctant to leave. You can get some really good deals on a house. We bought a 4 bedroom single family with basement and backyard for a little more than what we were paying in rent. Bayonne has a lot of potential but there are things that bother me:

the light rail is super slow and doesn't run all night
Little choice for take out (mostly chinese and italian)
The beer is cheap (every bar is an old man bar)
little or no art/music scene
Feral cats
You need a car to get around
People in Bayone blame Jersey City for everything.

All in all, I'm happy with the choice, but there are times I miss living downtown. I'd murder a curry right now.

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Oh, that's true - a WalMart is on the way (I detest WalMart shopping!). Agreed on the Polish delis - I get my fill of the best potato pancakes - yum! Scudder's is good and across the street is an old fashioned butcher that is quite good. ShopRite delivers, too!

I should also add that the Mayor (Mark Smith) is open and approachable. He has young children in the public school system and he does seem to honestly care about the future of Bayonne. He wife is active in town as well and is a very down-to-earth individual. Good folks.

I live in downtown JC and I like Bayonne though I don't have children so schools are not a concern for me. One big difference I've noticed is that the everyday politeness level is much higher there. Service industry people say "excuse me" and "thank you" when you're their customer. Outside of tip-driven services in JC, it's a rarity here. You definitely need a car to live in Bayonne and if you have one, you can drive the ten minutes into Jersey City when you're going out for dinner.

But my best advice would be to try to spend some time (during the day and evening) in both areas and see what appeals to you.

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Didn't they just open a Walmart in Bayonne?

Nice summary, btw.

To the pros I would add awesome Polish delis, and a brand new Shop-Rite. The Shop-Rite has a good seafood section. Two blocks south Scudder's has very fresh fish.

Cons - no Asian delis, very limited restaurant choices.

From a family perspective:

PROS of Bayonne:

1. Great public school system
2. Best gifted and talented middle school in the state
3. Theatre program open to 8 to 18 year olds - very active
4. Nice public pool - not too crowded in the summer
5. Terrific county park
6. Housing prices are going down
7. Relative feeling of safety much higher than in Jersey City
8. Good rec program
9. Ample food shopping
10. Great pizza!
11. Light rail close to almost every neighborhood
12. Broadway offers a good array of basic shopping choices
13. Huge library
14. 15 minutes to Newark Airport


CONS of Bayonne

1. Taxes
2. Police force sometimes not as responsive as you would like
3. Pockets of areas not safe
4. No large retailer (like a Target) in town
5. NOT the city
6. Sometimes you feel like you are living in Mayberry RFD
7. Very insular - if you weren't BNR'd, it will take a while to "fit in" - it's very cliquey especially amongst the mothers
8. Parking (sometimes) - make sure you buy with a driveway
9. Some say more gang activity is moving into the area

I wouldn't buy (again) in Jersey City, but I would consider it in Bayonne.

Bayonne is alright.

Some of the best Italian delis and restaurants anywhere.

Relatively low crime because the Cosa Nostra is in charge....

.
I am pro-JC all the way?but to call Bayonne ?dumpy? is not right.

Bayonne has it all over JC in getting retail up and running. JC takes to dam long! Wake up JC!

The South Cove Commons shopping center is a winner. Shop & Shop, 10 East, Houlihan's, Franks Movie Theater, Staples.

The new Bayonne Crossings Shopping center has stores opening every week. Lowes, Five Guy?s, Long Horn Steak House, Sonic with more to come. I do think the Wal-Mart will hurt Bayonnes Broadway mom and pop shops. I am surprised there weren?t any protests against it like in NYC. Maybe Bayonne needs a guy like Barron so he can bring up the ?plantation card?.

There are great old restaurants/sports bars all over Bayonne check them out. I love Hendrickson?s.

Bayonne Park is one of the nicest parks in HC. A beautiful water front park. Great nature walks right over the water. When you are down there check out the million dollar houses along the waterfront. It looks like someone is constructing an Italian Villa on the waters edge.

There is the Boat Works development nice waterfront condo?s at the end of Bayonne.

The new 8th street light rail station just opened up last week.

Schools are all good in Bayonne.

(I can't believe I an sticking up for Bayonne )

I lived in NYC for 17 years and people looked at me like I was nuts when I was considering Jersey City. Once our son came into the picture, Manhattan was out. We looked at every outer- borough and a few of our friends lived over here. We decided to give it a go and really like it. I know that may be hard to believe but it's true.

Brooklyn is "trendy", "cool" and "hot" but it's overpriced and over-hyped. I would take the commute we have here to almost any of the outer-borough commutes to Manhattan...

We could care less about what "people" or the rest of the country think about NJ. ;)

I grew up in bayonne and spent many a summer as a camper at camp kadima at the JCC. that was in the 80s so I can't speak of it now but it was a good program then. As for Bayonne's reputation, it's just that...a reputation. No different then jersey's reputation t/o the country. it's been 14 years since i lived there full time but i would definitely move back if the commute to nyc was easier. the commute is easy (light rail to PATH) but it is not swift by any means. it's a 1/2 hour from bayonne to hoboken via the light rail. i'd be happy to answer more specific questions about bayonne.

I actually like Bayonne a lot, there are some recent loft condos
that look great.

It does have a dumpy reputation if you care about that sort of thing.

People look at me like I'm nuts when I tell them i'm considering Bayonne.

I posted "07306 or 07304" a few weeks back and we have now extended our area to Bayonne.

The criteria is the same in regard to school and concerns about commute time to Midtown NYC.

From what I know there are good Catholic schools and I heard great things about the summer program at the JCC (for our 7 yo). We would try to get something close to the LR.

Any input or feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks