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