Single woman in her 20s - Hoboken. That's where I met my husband at age 27, then we got married and bought in JC 😆. The single life in Hoboken is much, much, much better than JC. Or, if you're considering NYC, then do NYC. But not JC. JC is for later 🙂.

I love JC. I am 30. Spent a couple of years in manahattan in my early twenties and it was so much fun. The only reason to choose jc over manhattan for people moving here (other than cost) is that the city can be overwhelming if you never have lived in a large city before its pretty extreme. But if that doesn't bother you, you definitely won't regret living in Manhattan for a few years....just don't move to Brooklyn or queens JC is better option

Loved in both, and have been settled right on the border of both for half a decade now and love it. The luxury buildings have shuttles to Hoboken Station for easy train commutes throughout jersey, plus close to all Hob/JC restaurants, very short Uber or nice walk away

During peek covid a 22 year old got in my face and said look at the hero wearing a mask as I was strolling through hoboken.....pretty much sums up the vibe of hoboken.

I feel this static

No, I'm not. I just don't get mad by little things I don't have that kind of time.

Given your age and the need to be near the NJ Transit station, I'd say Hoboken is the easy pick. And JC is a 10-min Uber.

Okay this comment REALLY made me consider looking in Manhattan plus I didn't know that the commute was so horrendous from JC to Madison...and looks like Penn Station to Madison is much more of a straight shot. I'm now looking for roommates for a lesser price in NYC close to the station because I figure if I'm going to move all the way there mind as well broaden my opportuntieis while I'm young so thank you lol

Fresh direct is reliable but they often don’t pick the greatest produce unfortunately. Whereas Amazon picks good stuff but as of late orders are getting canceled frequently which is annoying….

If you are late to work because you had to transfer 3 times and there were problems - and there will be problems - youre going to be a lot more fucked than being late to a fun night in the city.

On top of that, you will not want to go out after a 2 hour commute on a weekday.

Living in Morristown, there are buses and trains into the city.

Public transit is a difficult problem to solve. There are buses and trains run by NJ transit but usually not 24 hours. Depending on where you have to be on daily basis, the commute could be very time consuming.

Have you considered staying near Madison area? Parking costs and rents probably much lower there so having a car allows you to go when you choose and is probably safer.

https://www.samakmakseafood.com/

This place is pretty good if you want to try middle eastern seafood. No frills, byob

I live in Jersey city and work in Florham park. Also moved from the west coast like 2 months ago. Florham Park is 5 mins drive from Madison. The reason I live here is because I’m young(23M) and wanted to live close to opportunities to socialize. Commute is absolutely horrible. Takes me 2 hrs one way as I don’t have a car and have to take the train. For me I have to take 20 mins train to Hoboken then 1 hr train to Madison and 5 min shuttle to my work. The waiting and changing of trains and shuttles make the commute 2 hrs. I recommend that you live walking distance to Hoboken terminal as from there you can get to work in about little over 1 hr.

Some people from work live in Morristown, Madison, and Chatham those are very beautiful towns and safe but are better suited for families. Some of the younger folks from work live in Harrison. It is relatively safe but you would definitely need a car if you live there. Avoid Newark at all costs.

Feel free to dm me if you chat about the commute .

I've tried Amazon Fresh, While Foods, and Instacart. Amazon Fresh is the least expensive but has fewer options and quality issues. Whole Foods tends to be the freshest. Instacart has most options but highest fees.

If you work in Madison, live in Morristown.

It fits all your criteria and has transit to Madison.

Fresh direct is a good option. Used to use FD a lot before switching to Amazon fresh/whole food. Both are solid.

Move to NYC proper. You’ll feel very disconnected here.

In my opinion, it might be good to post a query similar to this in r/Newark, if you haven't already, and to stay at an AirBnB in the Jersey City Heights, if possible.

My feeling is that downtown Jersey City was the cool part of Jersey City a few years ago, but that the Jersey City Heights and the area around the Journal Square PATH station are now younger and more interesting, because the rents there are lower.

One example: The farmers market in the Heights is simply much better than the farmers markets downtown.

Downtown Jersey City has nice coffee places, but Cafe Peanut, near Journal Square, has enough room to have live music on Sundays.

Along the same lines: It just seems as if the most fun parts of Newark must be a lot more interesting than Jersey City, because Newark has three real universities and is so much cheaper than Jersey City.

I have done Walmart a few times, I had no issues. Produce is good, some of the substitutions were not great- I wanted thighs, I guess they were out, so they gave me drumsticks.

The prices are equivalent to shoprite, and cheaper if you are willing to do their store brand, but the meat selection is inferior.

Ty!!

When I lived alone I lived in JC and it was wonderful. Great food, good bars and close to the city. I’m now in Hoboken for two years and it’s super cozy. It’s hard to pick which one but funny enough I met some people recently in JC and they’re ALL in the biotech field. They were cool and I think that’s a sign to go for JC lol.

yes Samia is so good!

Rumis and if you want fast service place to be in and out ...gypsy grill on the pedestrian plaza

I like Rumi as someone else suggested. I have gone there a few times for lunch. It's near the Paulus Hook ferry so it's a great area to take a walk with a friend afterward, too.

There's a place near the Starbucks on 440 that I keep meaning to try. It's called Samia. Maybe someone else can chime in on that.

I’d prefer to live in JC too, barring that commute, but in Hoboken, she can get directly on the NJ transit train and skip the Path leg.