what about Hoboken?
 

May be moving to Hoboken.....any suggestions on what section and what the area has to offer in way of fun or family things?

I think Hoboken is a wonderful town. It has been changing steadily for the better over the last few years. Washington Street is the "main" street where there are loads of good restaurants and clubs. I like Benny's for pizza only. Helmer's is an old German restaurant that can boast about 150 beers on its list. Augustino's is a very good Italian restaurant. Anyway, there are plenty of churches of every denomination, a couple of charter schools that are very good (Elysian K-5) and Hoboken Charter (K-12), the waterfront, Hudson Street Cinema, (free) Shakespeare at Shipyard or Frank Sinatra Park during the summer, and movies under the stars (summer) at Pier A Park. Great location for easy travel to the city via PATH or New York Waterways Ferry. What are you looking for, (rental) apartment, condo?

One of the best ways to understand a place is to read the letters to the editor of the local newspaper from current residents...

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?b...dept_ID=152075

The closer you move to the water, the nicer Hoboken seems to get and probably the prices go up too. I'm not sure if it is a "family area" in the way a 'burb would be but it is a nice way to be right next to the city without some of the harder edges.

FYI, my friend's reggae band, Smoove, is playing at Willie McBride's (616 Grand St, Hoboken) on Thursday. I'm hoping this plug stands because the band itself won't get money for the gig - they're just 9-5'ers who are pretty talented musicians and in my opinion, one of the better bands around.

If you're looking for a luxury rental, there are several new buildings right on the Hudson. The Shipyard Complex which runs from 12th to 14th Street, has a free health club, a pool, a roof and an indoor top playground for little kids and indoor parking. The NY Waterway Ferry is right out the door. There is a bit of an apartment glut, so they offering a month's free rent. We pay a bit of $3,000 for a 3 bedroom corner apartment with a
balconey. Indoor parking is another $200.

There are also numerous 3 and 4 story walkups that have better rent deals.

"Uptown" is definately a bit quieter. If you take a place between say 1st and 4th, it can get a bit loud on the weekend as the party crowd comes in for the numerous bars.

In terms of family activity. It is a really good place to live with small children. There are several parks, they usually have reading programs and story time in the summer, and there are a great deal of young couples with small children. My 21 month old son has a ton of friends and a pretty full "social" calendar. However, if your kids are school age, Hoboken can be a problem. The school system is awful and the average SAT scores at the high is barely above 800.

We, like many other parents with young kids, already plan to move on before our son reaches school age. For now though, it is very nice option.