Why millennials are flocking to this NJ town dubbed ‘the new Hoboken’

With space at a premium in Jersey City and Hoboken, millennials who work in Manhattan or just wanna be close to it have fewer and fewer places to go.

But there is one town that was predicted to be the next Hoboken and still appears to be filling that niche.

According to a 2019 article in the New York Times, this town was gonna be the next big thing for millennials. And now it’s here.

It’s a 1.3 square mile town called Harrison. Tucked between Kearny and Newark in lower Hudson County, it has a lot to offer.

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Harrison is a suburb of New York City with a population of 19,217. Harrison is in Hudson County. Living in Harrison offers residents an urban suburban mix feel and most residents rent their homes.

In Harrison, there are a lot of bars, restaurants, coffee shops, and parks. Many young professionals live in Harrison and residents tend to be liberal.

Harrison is located 9 miles west of Manhattan, which makes for an easy commute through the Holland Tunnel. But, at $2.75 a path train ride is much easier.

The article points out that while Jersey City and Hoboken are too expensive, Newark too dicey, Harrison is a lovely suburb with tree-lined streets and great access to Manhattan.

This is proving to be a success story for Harrison because it offers millennials the best of both worlds.

Once a popular Portuguese hamlet, Harrison has become very diverse and friendly, with what the article states is a broad mix of nationalities including...well basically every nationality you’ve ever heard of.

Brand new beautiful high-rises are beginning to sprout up all over the town with monthly rents in some of the state-of-the-art, trendy new apartments ranging from $1,735 for a studio to $4,700 for a two-bedroom apartment.

Not exactly chump change but a bargain when you compare it to either Hoboken or Jersey City. If you don’t need to be in one of the snazzy sparkling new buildings, I saw a couple of 1 and 2-bedroom renting for around $2,200-$3,000. And some houses in the $600’s.

While it’s not exactly cheap, other riverfront areas this close to Manhattan are much pricier.

It’s also not exactly New Jersey’s best-kept anymore, as real estate values have grown exponentially over the past few years.

But it’s still not too late to jump on the bandwagon.

With new luxury housing, a friendly feel and a new-ish $256 million PATH station, this Hudson County city could be the perfect place for city-minded—but not necessarily city-budgeted—millennials to settle down.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Judi Franco only.

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