Post: #1

Anyone have any recommendations on good NYC suburbs to live? I'm sick of NYC prices and the shitty apartments. I heard some good things about Montclair, but still not sure if it's good for a single 30s guy.

Post: #2

Montclair, NJ is good. There are a lot of people your age in that area and Bloomfield St has a lot of restaurants/bars.

If you want to look in upstate NY I would check out Irvington and the other towns on that line. I've never been, but I've heard the arts scene is developing there. Larchmont is another place that is less expensive.

Last I remember (10 yrs ago) car insurance in NJ was double that of NY. Something to take into consideration.

Post: #3

Assuming your not including Hudson County as the "suburbs"

Montclair, South Orange, Morristown. These towns aren't that much cheaper (or maybe not at all) then some places in Hudson County.

Depending on where you work: Red Bank, Belmar. Might be too far.

There's some people who live in Philly and take Amtrak up to work, maybe you don't have to go into work everyday.

Post: #4

I would suggest taking a serious look at Jersey City. My personal opinion on Montclair is that it is too far from the action in Manhattan… Real family oriented and has a cool art scene, but a ‘bit quiet. I looked into living there and the challenge that it was real pricy (has great schools, so property taxes are high) and it was too far away and not convenient. New Brunswick with its close proximity to Rutgers University would be a much better choice for the money, but I may have one better for you.

I’ve lived in Jersey City now for 3 years, specifically Grove Street area. Real easy to get into Manhattan and Hoboken using the PATH. Uber will run you about $65.00 (going through the Holland Tunnel).

Personally I am a huge fan of living below your means and putting your financial plans first. I grew up in a real ethnically diverse part of a major city that was kind of run down… I enjoy the ‘realism’ that comes with living in such an area. Could I afford a studio somewhere like on the Upper West Side or SoHo? Sure, but I would sacrifice the daily reminder that Manhattan is a bubble and my 5-year financial plan would take a real hit. Finally, developing and executing a strong frame to manage the natural logistics issues that can occur when it comes to picking up girls in Manhattan and bringing them back to Jersey City is a useful life skill to develop that has served me well. It’s made me a lot pickier and those connections I have chosen to foster have been a lot more rewarding.

Here is a shot of some of the areas I reference on this write-up… Personally I really like the proximity to the action in Manhattan.

http://i.imgur.com/HBBibxL.jpg?1

Rentals
Rents are all over the place…You can spend over $4k for a luxury 1-bedroom in Paulus Hook or around $2k for a 3-bedroom in the Hamilton Park area. I have had a 3-bedroom located about a 7 minute walk from the PATH for 3 years (Harsimus Cove) and the rent has been $1900.00 (that's not a typo). The area is predominantly folks of Latino and Puerto Rican decent. Very safe, I’ve kept my car on the street for the last three years and the one time someone bumped the mirror off of it, one of my neighbors had gotten the guy’s insurance information for me. Hell, I didn’t even know the guy spoke English but I had always been friendly.

Some other places to try out: Journal Square, Weehawken and Union City – If you hunt around you can find great places for rent that are convenient to the NYC Waterway Taxis, NJ Transit buses into the NYC Port Authority on 42nd Street, and Uber costs about $65 to $75 to go into the City (generally through the Lincoln Tunnel). The Hudson-Bergen Light Rail is real convenient, and keeping a vehicle garaged will cost you at most $200 per-month (less if you are OK with it sitting outside in a locked and gated lot). If you don’t mind moving it every two days, then it’s $300 per-year for a permit from the NJ Parking authority.

My suggestion on all of these neighborhoods is simple: Go spend the day in the area and walk around. Dress the part. Look like someone you would want to have a neighbor. Stop in at the auto-body shops, the dry-cleaners, and the shoe-repair shops. Tell them you are looking for an apartment and do they know anyone. That older lady sitting on her chair having a smoke outside? She and her brother just might own that entire building she is sitting in front of. These are old-school landlords who have a vested interest in their neighborhoods and they know what’s going on. If you have a business card, bring a bunch of them. Write your personal mobile number on the back right in front of them and be extra polite. These are the people who have been in the neighborhood the longest and who want to keep things the same or see it improve (but without gentrification). They are also the ones who have property. I got the place I have now by doing this… A landlord had a guy he didn’t like who was on a month-to-month, he kicked him out and I got the place.


Good luck to you… Hope this helps you a ‘bit!

Post: #5

While I'm at it, here's a quick data sheet on Jersey City.

The women in general
Talk about diversity. What do you want? Jersey City is quickly becoming where families escape to when the little one comes along and they realize that Junior might not get into public school in New York City. Attractive moms to single women on the hunt for a husband… Divorsees who have their own condos intent on showing that they still ‘got it.’ Carousel riders who burned themselves out on the Manhattan side of the Hudson and who present as Born-Again Virgins (yea right!)… Just graduated bright-eyed honeys with dreams in their eyes and legs spread open… Jersey City has been a splendid place to call home for a while.

Bars & Night-Spots
Luck Number 7 on Cole Street – Thursday nights is ladies nights… The local softball and roller-derby girls frequent this establishment. If you are in the mood for a girl who will just as soon take a swing at you as join you later in the week for a quiet drink, this is the place. Cheap beers, sticky bar counters, loud music and (amazingly!) pretty good food… This is a fun joint on a variety of levels any time of day. I get a silly grin every time I go by this place about a certain derby girl I had fun with for a few weeks myself, but I digress.

Dull Boy over on Grove Street is a real hidden gem and located just past a great cigar place… I’ve had some real fun and successful pulls from there when I’ve felt like proving something to myself for a one-nighter. I’m in my early 40s now, but for a young guy if you dress sharp, show up a few times, get to know the bartenders and run reasonable game with the ladies who show up… You’ll have fun.

South House on Newark Avenue is fun. The bartenders there all do very generous pours and the live music Thursday Fridays and Saturdays attracts hotties from Hoboken. If you’re into a good blues band, they got ya covered and the food is excellent. Cool crowd every night of the week.

Skinners Loft and Porta (also on Newark) are also good… Skinners is a ‘bit older crowd and Porta is younger and louder… Both have great food and fun outdoor areas on the roof. Grab a drink, plant yourself at the bar and make a night of it. You shouldn’t be disappointed.

If you can do cigarette smoking game, Newark Avenue (which is now closed to vehicular traffic) is a lot of fun when it gets warm. Hell, chattin’ up a gal who has a strong oral fixation is generally not a bad thing… 'I’m looking to fuck, not fall in love!'

Grove Street Station is a fun place for the after work crowd. Food is nothing to write home about, but you can hang at the bar and meet new people real easily. Decent live music Friday and Saturdays.

The bar at the Hyatt Regency way down at the end of Columbus Blvd. at Exchange Place has a killer view and the travelling executives for Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, and the airline stewardesses who stay there can make for some fun easy connections.

HopScotch is OK… Food is OK but not enough people seem to go there yet so it’s generally kind of dead there. Fun place to go though if you’re doing the multiple venue thing and you want to take your girl to play Connect 4 and darts.

The Iron Monkey on Green Street is a great place to go Saturday afternoons when it’s warm and Tuesdays for (banking) industry night. Food is good, solid beer selection, and the entertainment value is high as you sit back and observe the over-worked white-collar betas on Tuesday nights try to drink their way into the girls’ pants. I’ve had some fun waiting for them to make fools of themselves and then casually starting conversations with a quick pull to City Diner around the corner.

City Diner on Montgomery has amazing food, great selection of beers, fantastic service. Dominick who runs the bar from 7pm on most weeknights is a real good guy to get to know… always seems to have a good line on fun things going on in the area. The wait staff won’t let you in if you’re clearly already fucked-up and if Dominic sees you’re with a lady, he’s even been known to put in a few good words for ya (again, it pays to get to know your bartenders and tip them well)!

Zepplin Hall Biergarten of Grand Street – Fun place to go watch any of the soccer matches or Olympics when they are on. Amazing food and people come from all over to this place to sit at the long tables and get completely annihilated. Entertaining and the blond-gemanic girl ratio here is usually pretty high in comparison.

I could go on and on... Again, I'm a fan of Jersey City if you want the proximity to the (career) money of Manhattan without the costly price of entry that rent can set for you.

Post: #6

^ Nice sheet on Jersey City. I lived there for a year and agree it's a nice place to live. Also the ShopRite grocery store, Bed/Bath/Beyond, BestBuy, Staples, Newport Mall are all in walking distance so you don't need a car. There is a good butcher called "Moloney's Meat Market" in Journal Square.

You get more for your money in Jersey City, but the rent is still expensive.

Post: #7

Thanks for the comments on JC. I was actually leaning towards JC at first, but it's a bit more expensive than I want to pay. I'm not looking for a bargain, but I'm looking for a luxury apartment and those start at $2,500+. I don't really like how diverse JC is either.

Post: #8

why not consider the outer boroughs, def places in queens and brooklyn (not familiar with bronx or SI) that can be found for cheap and accessible to manhattan via pub trans

Post: #9

(03-20-2016 10:45 PM)Brahman Wrote:  why not consider the outer boroughs, def places in queens and brooklyn (not familiar with bronx or SI) that can be found for cheap and accessible to manhattan via pub trans

subway ride from queens and brooklyn takes 40 -50 min to Manhattan.
from Union city or West New York is 15-20 min by bus to 42 th street
the same from Hoboken