hi, jersey city is an ideal place, close to downtown ny. actually you can be at wtc in about 2 minutes on the path. and of course at wtc there are tons of subway lines that go everywhere in the city. Christopher St. Stop i think take about 10 minutes or so... Area of Paulus Hook, Newport Area and Van Vorst Park and Hamilton Park are super great. Waterfront is filled with high res living, attended doorman/women buildings they range from super faboulous new contraction to moderate high res living. Both Van Vorst & Hamilton Park Areas are filled with sweet neighborhood life.... Area is similar in style to the village, small stores, restuarants, cafes for brunch, bars, and brownstony buildings. There are mid/small high rises here... as well. Are you looking to rent or to purchase? I'm an agent here in downtown and a long time resident of JC. Let me know if you'd like more info on jersey city in the rental or purchase market. there are alot of choices here...
besos ji

Actually, there are tons of nice areas in Jersey City. And there are public schools downtown, and some of them are places I would send my kids. The Cordero School (PS#3 I believe) as well as the new middle school (PS #4) are decent schools. There are also several Charter Schools (OLC, Soaring Heights) and a Montessori school. When it comes to high schools, McNair Academic (also a public high school) is ranked #15 in the country for academics.
Sure, there are problems. It is a huge city. There are some developers who have taken advantage of the housing boom in the area--renovating or building quickly with their main concern being their bottom line, not the quality of the construction. There are also some great things on the market right now.
I currently rent downtown, and plan to buy in the near future. I also work downtown--I don't plan to leave Jersey City in the near future.
The waterfront developments are slated as luxury living, with light rail running through the streets and very high prices, and thus taxes. Just a little away from the waterfront there are some renovated condos with lower taxes (not new construction fares better). There are restaurants on Grove and Newark Aves, and PJ Ryans is a fabulous pub on Marin Blvd.
Like with any city, do your research! Don't move near the projects unless that is the type of neighborhood you want. Lock your car, lock your bike, but take your kids to the park. There are tons of little kids playing (with parents) in the parks (Van Vorst, Hamilton, and Liberty State Park are all downtown)
It's definitely worth a look!

The other answer is a "plug" from a Realtor. The reality is that Jersey City is a terrible place for a long term investment. You have some of the highest taxes in the country. In regards to Dixon Mills in JC, you are buying a rental conversion with tons of problems. It's a converted old factory with lots of plumbing problems and irregular sized units, on a lousy road in a bad neighborhood. They can't sell even a fraction of the unit that are for sale, and my guess is most of them will remain rental units.

Try and find a decent school for you children in Jersey City? Unless your kids have a 24 hour armed escort good luck in the public schools. Oh, there are no public schools in downtown JC, only a few private schools.

To be very honest from a person that actually owns a condo in a waterfront property, the only way Jersey City would be a great place to live, is if Port Liberte, and Pauls Hook and Pavonia Newport could annex themselves as an independent government. These 3 neighborhoods have less then 10% of the population paying over 50% of the tax burden. NICE!

Jersey City is beyond corrupt, the owner of Liberty Harbor paid a few hundred thousand dollars for 40 acres of prime property on the waterfront. Wow, the property was worth over 100 million dollars, and he got it for less then 1 million, what a deal! Sure wish I could buy an acre of waterfront property for under $100,000 per / acre. Oh, and they control your parking, your internet service, you phone service, your cable service and have exclusive right on all the commercial property on Grand Street. What a DEAL!

Hi Laura,
I would suggest the Paulus Hook area of JC. It's right on the water, so it is pretty. There are several Light Rail stops right in the area and it is a short walk to the Grove Street PATH. Goldman Sachs has its office tower in Paulus Hook so there are many young professionals living and working there as well as many new restaurants and boutiques. There is also the 50 Columbus new rental building right at the Grove Street PATH station. Check out today's cover story in the real estate section of the NY Times - it's about two Manhattanites who bought a place at Dixon Mills in JC.
Good luck and feel free to contact me directly if I can be of any further assistance.

Lori Turoff
Realtor Associate
The Turoff Team at
Robert DeRuggiero Realtors
201 993 9500
info@hobokensbest.com http://www.hobokensbesthomes.com