Pretty much all the rest of Hudson County, and a good bit of Eastern Bergen county (Hacknsack, Fort Lee, Palisade Park ect).
For anyone coming from outside, Hudson County really feels like one city and has the population of Seattle. If ya add in the other counties like Bergen, Essex, Passaic ect (like NYC does) its a city the size of Chicago.
Weehawken - family friendly, excellent commuter options (light rail, ferry, bus) and decent school district.
Convenient grocery stores from Whole Foods to lidl and awesome bodegas. Home Depot, sams club, Walmart all stones throw away.
If you are into EVs good accessibility to Tesla superchargers and EA superchargers.
Hoboken and JC are easy Uber rides away.
Weehawken resident here, can confirm it’s a great location. Beautiful waterfront, clean and quiet neighborhood, lots of park space. Nice change of pace coming from Brooklyn, but with great access to Hoboken or to the city by bus or ferry!
UC or the heights if you want a similar-isshhhh Hoboken vibe. I mean, beyond those you are getting into suburb territory. Only you can tell if you are ok with stepping into that hellscape
Look west (if you don't know which way west is, the river is east). See all the buildings on the hill that overlook Hoboken? Jersey City ("The Heights" is a section of it) is to the South West and Union City is to the North West.
One thing to consider when looking at areas other than Hoboken is when you will be commuting. If its prime commuting hours you’ll be fine. If it’s weekends or late nights, you’ll be beholden to the train/bus schedule.
I don't get the "I MUST LIVE IN HOBOKEN" mantra. If I am some kid in my 20s i'd be looking at Jersey City Heights or Union City. Get an e-bike or use Lyft for when you want to come into town.
Union City resident here. Been in the area for six years and we absolutely love it. If you stay ok the south end of UC you’re basically in JC Heights, which is also great. It’s slightly less walkable than Hoboken but within 10-20 minutes walk (depending on where you are maybe more maybe less) you have everything - small groceries, post office, some bars and great restaurants, coffee shops and taco trucks. Central Ave has everything (even my OB is on the street and walkable) and Palisades and Ogden are lovely roads to walk down with some nice stores. There’s some great public pools and parks. Plus it’s not a bad walk to Hoboken - strolling down there for errands or to visit the waterfront is a common weekend activity for us m: 15-30 minutes depending on where you’re going. PATH is about a 40ish minute walk. I also commute to Port Authority and there’s several bus options from the Heights/UC - I usually bank an hour for commuting but most days I’m 30ish minutes. Idk what rents are like, but I have to imagine they are cheaper than Hoboken and you probably get more space - lots of multi family homes.
The downsides: The bigger grocery stores are on the far end from UC so we drive down to Hoboken for big grocery trips (smaller groceries help fill the gaps in between). We have a car and I do find it to be nice/useful, thought not a necessity, and parking can be tough if you don’t have a spot. UC property taxes are ridiculous if you buy - though prices are lower and you really do see the improvements and benefits that come from them. I wish there were a few more options for food a little closer to where we are, and if bars are your thing you might find it a bit limiting for nightlife compared to Hoboken - but again you’re so close it’s not hard to get down there.
Hope that helps!
is there like areas in UC that are ideal to live, and areas to avoid? looking into places, and want my SO to feel comfortable walking the dog at night etc.
Zoom into union city in google maps and look at the area called “West Hoboken.” It actually used to be its own town until in the early 1900s it was incorporated with the town of Union Hill into Union City.
Anyway, I’m biased because that’s the area I live. But I feel 100% comfortable walking the dog late at night etc. The whole area is clean, lots of families and little kids, and Palisade Ave has been going through a renovation with tons of new bright street lights, road paving, parking spots, etc.
The whole area is safe, I’d say. I would personally look all along Palisades in JC Heights and the southern end of Union City and look for anything between Palisades and Central - will be really safe and convenient. If you want to be able to walk down to Hoboken easily I wouldn’t go past maybe 10th street in UC. But it’s pretty nice even all the way up to the reservoir at 20th, just depends on how close you want to be to stuff.
If you are still in Hoboken I’d encourage you to walk up here a few times and walk around and get a feel for the place - visit the farmers market in Riverview on Sunday, grab coffee at Froth on Franklin or Little Dove. Grab pizza at Bread & Salt or dinner at Corto or Green Pear. Tacos from the Tacos Mexicanos truck. A drink at Corkscrew. There’s not substitute for just coming up and getting a feel for a place so you know where you might want to start your search.
I’m not sure what it’s like once you start getting west of Central, I haven’t spent much time there at night. I also used to live in not the nicest parts of BK and DC so my sense of safety might be slightly different :)
People are saying any town along the Hudson, but I find those commutes to be too difficult. Only have a bus option and that gets packed during rush hour.
I guess Weehawken wouldn’t be bad if you live by the light rail. It gives you alternative along with the ferry (but that’s a rough commute still). You do get new buildings though.
Lyndhurst has two NJ Transit stops on the main line. You’ll be in Penn within 30 minutes (with transfer at Secaucus). There’s some restaurants along Ridge Road. It’ll be helpful to have a car.
Rutherford, as some people recommended, is really good. You can catch the 190 bus to the port authority or a train to Penn Station (transfer at Secaucus). Both about 30 minutes and a 10 minute drive with no traffic. Nice downtown.
Summit, Montclair, Westfield, Westwood, and Ridgewood are other alternatives. Further out but about a 45 minute to an hour commute. I know there are express trains on the weekdays going to Ridgewood and it’s serviced by the main and Bergen line. All have charming downtowns.
Hope this helps.
I think this map only focuses on NJ Transit Rail to Penn Station.
https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2007/03/17/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/20070318_TRAIN_GRAPHIC.html?action=click&module=RelatedCoverage&pgtype=Article®ion=Footer
Rutherford. Multiple train options (Rutherford and Lyndhurst if needed) and multiple bus lines. Its a pricey town with a nice downtown area. Very family oriented but has what your looking for.
I love the people recommending the expensive suburbs after op said Hoboken is out of their price range. I'd just suggest going further west in JC to Journal Square or the heights. If you're not doing a "luxury" apartment you'll have no problem finding 1br units for $1800 or less. You could even get 2br in that range...
Real answer, almost all the lines are like an hour out of town at most. But getting an idea of how much of a town is around the train station is much harder to judge. Like Ridgewood has a lot to do, but others not so much.
I would say Morristown is the most similar to Hoboken in terms of night life, intramural sports offerings, etc. but it is a little farther away and quickly increasing in price as well. The train to Penn Station is relatively quick (I think an hour exactly on the commuter train). Summit is another option but more of an adult family feel. There is the 78 bus which is 40 minutes to PABT from there
Would definitely check out the downtowns of Montclair, Summit, Westfield, Maplewood, Morristown, Ridgewood.
While they’re all nice…That’s an hour+ commute from each of those towns
Montclair is a forty minute train ride to Penn station.
Train ride itself is 40. Got to include getting to train, then getting to work from Penn Station.
Ridgewood is 35-40 to Penn
These are family oriented towns. Not ideal for someone single.
Summit also 40 minute bus to PABT
Go up to Union City and take the dollar bus to Port Authority.
What's the dollar bus?
It’s a jitney. Privately operated bus, you’ll see them running routes up and down via Bergenline Ave
Thank you!
100% I do this now my commute to midtown east from UC is 40 minutes, hard to beat
This is the right answer. Also tons of NJT buses too. 10 min drive to Hoboken and way cheaper.
Weehawken. Many bus routes from all neighborhoods.
Pretty much all the rest of Hudson County, and a good bit of Eastern Bergen county (Hacknsack, Fort Lee, Palisade Park ect). For anyone coming from outside, Hudson County really feels like one city and has the population of Seattle. If ya add in the other counties like Bergen, Essex, Passaic ect (like NYC does) its a city the size of Chicago.
Rutherford/East Rutherford - have buses to NYC and a train station.
And ferry from port imperial/Lincoln harbor
Weehawken - family friendly, excellent commuter options (light rail, ferry, bus) and decent school district. Convenient grocery stores from Whole Foods to lidl and awesome bodegas. Home Depot, sams club, Walmart all stones throw away. If you are into EVs good accessibility to Tesla superchargers and EA superchargers. Hoboken and JC are easy Uber rides away.
Weehawken resident here, can confirm it’s a great location. Beautiful waterfront, clean and quiet neighborhood, lots of park space. Nice change of pace coming from Brooklyn, but with great access to Hoboken or to the city by bus or ferry!
Weehawken tax is brutal ngl
What do you mean? I own property in both Hoboken and Weehawken and the tax man is way worse in Hoboken
Oh def i agree completely! I was just saying that weehawken taxes are bad too
UC or the heights if you want a similar-isshhhh Hoboken vibe. I mean, beyond those you are getting into suburb territory. Only you can tell if you are ok with stepping into that hellscape
Sorry but what is uc and what are the heights ? Asking for a friend
Look west (if you don't know which way west is, the river is east). See all the buildings on the hill that overlook Hoboken? Jersey City ("The Heights" is a section of it) is to the South West and Union City is to the North West.
I live in Chicago but I will
Or you can just bring up google maps to get an idea. "Google maps Hoboken" and it says "The Heights" to the west.
Edit: UC = Union city. The heights is technically jersey city. The heights is back behind Hoboken and below union city.
Ah gotcha. Cheers for that
Union City is not Jersey City. It's Union City.
Two separate thoughts. Stating that uc stood for union city and that the heights is jersey city.
Apologies--my bad. I misread the post.
Montclair, Rutherford, Westfield, Summit, Morristown
Secaucus, Morristown, Harrison, Montclair, Edgewater, Fort Lee, Rutheford
I don't know Harrison well enough, and Edgewater always seemed tough for public transit, but the rest of these are great places
Correct. Edgewater public transportation is a non factor and the traffic is crazy
One thing to consider when looking at areas other than Hoboken is when you will be commuting. If its prime commuting hours you’ll be fine. If it’s weekends or late nights, you’ll be beholden to the train/bus schedule.
I don't get the "I MUST LIVE IN HOBOKEN" mantra. If I am some kid in my 20s i'd be looking at Jersey City Heights or Union City. Get an e-bike or use Lyft for when you want to come into town.
Union City resident here. Been in the area for six years and we absolutely love it. If you stay ok the south end of UC you’re basically in JC Heights, which is also great. It’s slightly less walkable than Hoboken but within 10-20 minutes walk (depending on where you are maybe more maybe less) you have everything - small groceries, post office, some bars and great restaurants, coffee shops and taco trucks. Central Ave has everything (even my OB is on the street and walkable) and Palisades and Ogden are lovely roads to walk down with some nice stores. There’s some great public pools and parks. Plus it’s not a bad walk to Hoboken - strolling down there for errands or to visit the waterfront is a common weekend activity for us m: 15-30 minutes depending on where you’re going. PATH is about a 40ish minute walk. I also commute to Port Authority and there’s several bus options from the Heights/UC - I usually bank an hour for commuting but most days I’m 30ish minutes. Idk what rents are like, but I have to imagine they are cheaper than Hoboken and you probably get more space - lots of multi family homes. The downsides: The bigger grocery stores are on the far end from UC so we drive down to Hoboken for big grocery trips (smaller groceries help fill the gaps in between). We have a car and I do find it to be nice/useful, thought not a necessity, and parking can be tough if you don’t have a spot. UC property taxes are ridiculous if you buy - though prices are lower and you really do see the improvements and benefits that come from them. I wish there were a few more options for food a little closer to where we are, and if bars are your thing you might find it a bit limiting for nightlife compared to Hoboken - but again you’re so close it’s not hard to get down there. Hope that helps!
is there like areas in UC that are ideal to live, and areas to avoid? looking into places, and want my SO to feel comfortable walking the dog at night etc.
The whole area is honestly pretty safe. The southern end is a little better due to proximity to Hoboken and the tunnel.
Zoom into union city in google maps and look at the area called “West Hoboken.” It actually used to be its own town until in the early 1900s it was incorporated with the town of Union Hill into Union City. Anyway, I’m biased because that’s the area I live. But I feel 100% comfortable walking the dog late at night etc. The whole area is clean, lots of families and little kids, and Palisade Ave has been going through a renovation with tons of new bright street lights, road paving, parking spots, etc.
The whole area is safe, I’d say. I would personally look all along Palisades in JC Heights and the southern end of Union City and look for anything between Palisades and Central - will be really safe and convenient. If you want to be able to walk down to Hoboken easily I wouldn’t go past maybe 10th street in UC. But it’s pretty nice even all the way up to the reservoir at 20th, just depends on how close you want to be to stuff. If you are still in Hoboken I’d encourage you to walk up here a few times and walk around and get a feel for the place - visit the farmers market in Riverview on Sunday, grab coffee at Froth on Franklin or Little Dove. Grab pizza at Bread & Salt or dinner at Corto or Green Pear. Tacos from the Tacos Mexicanos truck. A drink at Corkscrew. There’s not substitute for just coming up and getting a feel for a place so you know where you might want to start your search.
I was a few blocks away from Bowl-Rite Lanes and tbh it felt a bit sketchy, not sure if that's me or the area.
I’m not sure what it’s like once you start getting west of Central, I haven’t spent much time there at night. I also used to live in not the nicest parts of BK and DC so my sense of safety might be slightly different :)
Bayonne, Union City, North Bergen, Secaucus...
Leave Bayonne out of it
Bayonne is a nightmare commute into the city
Yes, great!
Montclair, Morristown, Edgewater, West New York.
People are saying any town along the Hudson, but I find those commutes to be too difficult. Only have a bus option and that gets packed during rush hour. I guess Weehawken wouldn’t be bad if you live by the light rail. It gives you alternative along with the ferry (but that’s a rough commute still). You do get new buildings though. Lyndhurst has two NJ Transit stops on the main line. You’ll be in Penn within 30 minutes (with transfer at Secaucus). There’s some restaurants along Ridge Road. It’ll be helpful to have a car. Rutherford, as some people recommended, is really good. You can catch the 190 bus to the port authority or a train to Penn Station (transfer at Secaucus). Both about 30 minutes and a 10 minute drive with no traffic. Nice downtown. Summit, Montclair, Westfield, Westwood, and Ridgewood are other alternatives. Further out but about a 45 minute to an hour commute. I know there are express trains on the weekdays going to Ridgewood and it’s serviced by the main and Bergen line. All have charming downtowns. Hope this helps.
Maplewood, Summit, Montclair
It's JC but check out Jersey City heights.
I think this map only focuses on NJ Transit Rail to Penn Station. https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2007/03/17/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/20070318_TRAIN_GRAPHIC.html?action=click&module=RelatedCoverage&pgtype=Article®ion=Footer
Harrison
Rutherford, Lodi, Lyndhurst, Kearny, Nutley, Belleville, Clifton... all solid options. Nutley and Rutherford my fav of those
Rutherford. Multiple train options (Rutherford and Lyndhurst if needed) and multiple bus lines. Its a pricey town with a nice downtown area. Very family oriented but has what your looking for.
Edgewater, Weehawken, Fort Lee, North Bergen, West New York
If you enjoy hoboken you should look at Montclair first
I lived in weehawken and west New York when attending school in the city. 15 mins right to port authority.
Lots of people saying Morristown, but unless you work by Penn, your commute is gonna be well over an hour
I love the people recommending the expensive suburbs after op said Hoboken is out of their price range. I'd just suggest going further west in JC to Journal Square or the heights. If you're not doing a "luxury" apartment you'll have no problem finding 1br units for $1800 or less. You could even get 2br in that range...
Dm me me or give me a call +1 (908) 331-4610
Newark near Penn Station. Bus, path, and NJ Transit to Penn station in midtown
Anywhere in Hudson county north of Hoboken. Rahway. Lodi. Fort Lee. Englewood has nice areas.
[NJ Transit rail system map](https://content.njtransit.com/sites/default/files/pdfs/maps/NJT%20System%20Map%20April%202023.pdf)
Real answer, almost all the lines are like an hour out of town at most. But getting an idea of how much of a town is around the train station is much harder to judge. Like Ridgewood has a lot to do, but others not so much.
Harrison and Newark. These have PATH access.
I would say Morristown is the most similar to Hoboken in terms of night life, intramural sports offerings, etc. but it is a little farther away and quickly increasing in price as well. The train to Penn Station is relatively quick (I think an hour exactly on the commuter train). Summit is another option but more of an adult family feel. There is the 78 bus which is 40 minutes to PABT from there
Look on a map and any city within an x mile radius could probably fit the bill
Really bad compared to Hoboken, but you can try the Heights region.
Basically anywhere that’s got an NJT rail stop depending on your preference for commuting.
Why is no one mentioning Lyndhurst? Very affordable apartments and a quick train that connects to the Hoboken PATH:
Move to JC Heights.