Living in New Jersey

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Hi, some of you lowly ladies have me some great advice about moving to New York a few weeks ago. However, literally, at the 11th hour, our accommodation fell through and we're now going to be living in Jersey City.

Can anyone tell me anything about living in JC, please? Are there areas to avoid? Is there much to do with small children (apart from Liberty park). We're a bit miffed about this hangs of plan, and desperately looking for positives at the moment (although all insights are welcome).

TIA

I don't live in JC but I live in South Orange in NJ. I have lots of friends who moved to SO from JC and loved it there (just moved to get more space, houses with yards, good schools etc). The mom groups sound active, though not sure how you find them (via meetup I think). Great links to Manhattan via the path.

I will say the playground at Newport (just between JC and Hoboken station) is fantastic and much more like what we had in London. Best one I've been to in the States in fact. I'll sometimes train it in with the kids (2 & 4) as it's a fun trip (not for a while though as am pregnant with no 3 and the heat/humidity kills me!).

Good luck with the move!

Thanks Flip. Good to hear positive stories. Everyone seems a bit meh about JC. The playpark sounds great - I'll definitely check it out.

There is tonnes to do. First of all in JC you qualify for the Abbott program so if you want your kids to go to school I think you can enroll them. Call the Jersey City board of education to find out. They have a pre-K 3 and 4 program (ie 3 and 4 year olds). The Abbott program is free and friends of ours using it in Hoboken rave about it.

My DC's love the Hoboken Fire Museum. I have fab pictures of DS and DD 'driving' the fire truck! You can drive out to Turtle back zoo. They have a train there and some other rides. It's perfect for smaller children as it is small. They are developing the area and the boating lake should be lovely in the fall. Another American classic is pumkin picking. We did a family outing last year and it was such good fun. DD has only just stopped talking about it.

Thanks Want2b

We lived in Hoboken for six years. JC is bigger, more diverse, has some unsavoury areas, but also some very nice parts. The bit along the water, for instance, is very modern and shiny, and you can get beautiful brownstones in JC (and live on a street of them, if you're lucky), for much less than in Hoboken or Manhattan.

Yes, Liberty Park is nice, the Liberty Science Center is great for rainy days, there's the PATH train that whizzes you into Manhattan in a few minutes, there's Hoboken just down the road, which has lots of good bars and restaurants and parks, but I think you'll find that JC that everything you could want on a day-to-day basis. I had a good friend that lived there and she liked it. It has some nice restaurants actually. We often stay there when we visit because the hotels are just so much cheaper and you can get beautiful views of Manhattan from those waterfront apartments.

I live in Jersey City and love it here. We're right by Hamilton Park, which is fabulous and there are lots of other parks around too. You can't really go wrong if you live Downtown (07302 zip) or if you live in Newport (only apartment blocks though). I've met loads of people (including expats - plenty of Brits here) and the moms' group is very active. Lots to do with small kids - I have a 3 year old and we have a great time. Feel free to PM me if you want to know about specific areas. Good luck with the move.

The other positive is that you will be paying less in taxes! I forgot to add that we have the best Ikea in the world. I go there with the kids sometimes if I need a place to take them for lunch. It is next to Newark airport so the kids spend the whole time watching the planes take off and land. The food is terrible so I bring my own stuff and just buy drinks with a slice of chocolate cake for me!

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