This is exciting! I moved from Austin to manhattan when I graduated from college in 2008. It was a recession and I had a $15/hour job and made it work, because I had a dream to live in the city and was willing to give up a lot. I have lived in Jersey City for two years, because during the Covid lockdown a 500 square foot apartment with no sunlight was no longer tenable.

Now for a similar rent I have two bed, two bath, a balcony, and a pool in the roof. I take the path to work twice a week, and frequently take it for a week night dinner or weekend fun. I get that there can be plenty to complain about. Are the trains late? Yes, but not as often as they are on time. Will you often get a train that’s standing room only? Yes, that’s standard. But almost 100% of the population here is easily able to rely on nothing but the path and the subway for daily life. It is honestly a modern marvel. Our transit system serves more riders with more lines and more stops than anywhere else on earth and I will defend it until I die, lol.

I was struck by how diverse Jersey City is. In NYC there are people of all types, but we tend to congregate with people who are like us. In jersey city it’s a lot more integrated and I honestly hear people speaking multiple languages as I walk down the street. A lot of times at a restaurant you’ll notice one type of person works there and another tile eats here - in jersey city, again, it’s more integrated.

Living in jersey city or Hoboken will be similar to living in downtown Austin. It is certainly less crowded than NYC but it is still a dense area where you will primarily walk everywhere you go.

We just bought a house in Atlantic Highlands. We are excited because it is 15 min from the beach, which is the only dream I’ll give up on NYC for. From there, I will ride a 40 min ferry to Manhattan for work. Pretty much everyone raves about the ferry as a great way to commute, but it is more expensive than the trains and busses. The area is fully suburban. Our mortgage for 4 bed, 2 bath home will be the same as the rent on our current apartment. Out there we will have to have two cars as transit is made to get to the city and not to get around your town.

Good luck!