lived in queens for 10 years and only moved to jc in search of an affordable apartment to buy. i’m in my early/mid 30s, have been in my relationship for 14 years (married for 6), and think those factors affect my point of view.

i loved queens for its walkability, diversity, food options, and public transit. aside from diversity, i don’t think jc compares in any way on these factors.

generally, jc is a smaller city so you’re naturally going to lose some things transitioning from nyc. there isn’t really a great music or performing arts scene here, and the public transit truly sucks compared to the subway system. you’ll probably want a car if you don’t want to be entirely dependent on the bus system, but this also may depend on where you live in jc. i live on the west side and can’t imagine not having a car here. i pay $150/mo to park behind my neighbors house.

grocery stores here suck. west side is an actual food desert. the shop rite downtown is a war zone but at least it is fully stocked and has good turnover of product bc it’s so busy. cant speak to the stop and shop in the heights.

nightlife is fine, there are bars downtown that are good. you’ll probably want to go into manhattan for legit nightlife but path service sucks at night and on weekends so be prepared to wait or to factor in $50+ ubers to your weekend plans.

no one will visit you here. your nyc friends will think you’ve moved to guam. just know that.

as a 30 something in a long term relationship with an established friend group who just wanted to own a home and wasn’t ready for the suburbs, jc is fine. i miss queens a lot though. i won’t go into detail on schools since i don’t think that’s a concern for you.

if i was you i’d stay in nyc. you’re younger (single?) and likely have more of a social life than me and some other folks who are older and more settled.

one other thing - jersey city is very different neighborhood to neighborhood. i wouldn’t dream of living downtown but i do really like my neighborhood on the west side. if you decide to move to jc do yourself a huge favor and explore a few areas before picking where to live.