The people on here down playing the PATH are probably not accustomed to how efficient the subway actually is. The PATH honestly ruins my day every single day I have to take it

Im also wondering how long ago the people on here commenting have taken the path. My experience is from June 2022 to November 2022.

I don’t want you to make the same mistake! I did so much research prior to moving to JC and I thought I could trust peoples comments. The path truly does not run every 20 min that late despite what they are saying in here!

This. I'd be more worried about the reliability of any bus you'd be taking after the path than the path itself

The trains are crowded at whatever hour, so that's safe, and it's a helluva lot cheaper taking a Lyft home to the Heights or B-L from JSQ than Brooklyn!

DO NOT DO IT!!!! I moved to JC from Queens and it was the biggest mistake of my life!!!! I thought that the path wouldn’t be too bad. (And it’s not if you only need to commuted 9-5 M-F) if you are like me and have friends in NYC or work that doesn’t fit into a 9-5 you will literally be crying every single night you try to get home. The Ubers are well over $100 to get back into JC and the path is so inconsistent. Anytime I would try to commute home after 12 it would be a nightmare and take AT LEAST an hour to get to the first stop on the path (I lived in Newport area). Seriously I would advise against it so hard. I only lived in JC for 4 months because of this. I broke my lease and it was well worth it

I’d like to add: that I also had the path app and tried to plan for the trains but there’s seriously no plan when all the trains aren’t running and 5 out of the 10 stations are closed in NYC. It’s seriously the biggest nightmare and waste of time. I thought I could make it work but it made my life a living hell

Also: my rent was maybe about $100 cheaper in JC than in Queens and prices are only going up. If you can, stay in Brooklyn! Or look in Queens! The subways are much more reliable (coming from one NYer to another) yea they might be dirty but you can ALWAYS find a way home. The path is NOT worth it

Magic - thank you!!

Why do y’all keep assuming i’m doing this so many times a week? Where did I say that….? I said I like to. Not that I’m out almost every night. You sound so bitter 🥴 just chill

Base gets hate because the member fees without discount are high. Still worth it IMO, unless you commute daily into the city in which case I'd consider TMPL or a single club Equinox membership.

not what I asked, also I already live here. been here my whole life.

PATH sucks late night. It is what it is.

PBAT (port authority bus terminal) is a miserable dump and that's daytime. Late night it's a mess.

Given a choose I'd choose living close to PATH any day over relying on NJ Transit or jitney buses.

Yes that’s right, it’s not as feasible from alot of JC. I’m just saying when someone asks if it’s possible to go out late in NYC while living JC, a lot of people say no way. the truth is, in my experience it’s fine if you live downtown/JSQ, so if that’s a priority, OP should limit their search to those areas rather than cross off JC as a whole.

And also yes definitely understand that many people arent comfortable on the train at night. The path is generally much better than the subway safety-wise in my experience, fwiw.

Extra 10 - 15 mins going through lincoln tunnel. Not ideal, but also not the end of the world. There's such little traffic post 2am.

Don’t move to Jersey city if you want to do frequent nights in Manhattan. You are better off living in an outer borough or finding a cheap place in Manhattan. Getting from Brooklyn to JC late at night without a car is not feasible.

You said it yourself it’s only not bad if you live near a path stop (which is usually expensive and near NYC rental prices) - most of JC is not near a path stop so I wouldn’t assume everyone on here is exaggerating how hard it is to return late night via PATH.

Not to mention that besides your location in JC - the comfort level of your return commute can be way different if you’re a woman.

Uber is like $50-60 back from mid to downtown depending where you're going ($20 fee to go to the other side of the tunnels) and path runs all night.

I go out in the city late ~2 nights a week and it’s fine if you live near a path station, as others have said just download the path app and plan for the next train so you don’t wait forever. If I do finish up somewhere and it’s 30 mins to the next train, I just go to a bar nearby and get one more drink, there are places open til 4 near all path stations. If I’m in the city or Williamsburg near the L, I always take the train home.

Late night path schedules are very shitty but people on this sub exaggerate how hard it is to go out late, I do it really often and it’s fine if you live downtown/JSQ (and are comfortable on the train at night). It generally takes the same amount of time to get home from Williamsburg at 3am as it did when I lived on the UES.

The only time I Uber is when it’s really late, like 4am and I’m deep in Bushwick. It’s usually around $60-70 and takes like 30 min, but with the holland tunnel night closure will be a bit longer.

Agreed - or stick to going out just on Saturday nights!

This is a valid concern. Path frequencies late night kind of suck yes. We have late nights and sometimes are waiting 20 minutes for a train. But we've never been stranded and you'll be shocked how fast the time goes by scrolling on your phone.

If JC is giving you the kind of life you want otherwise, don't let the late night thing stop you. If you're able to get a place you like that is subway (vs. path connected) then yeah, you'll be better off doing that.

Night out in Manhattan will be totally ok/doable (esp 33rd or below) as you will be able to walk (or take a short uber/lyft) to the PATH. You will just need to see the schedule ahead of time because during those hours it runs much less frequently.

Brooklyn, on the other hand, can be much more difficult as you will need to rely on both the MTA and the PATH. Having to rely on one of them is risky enough lol.

That holland tunnel closure until 2025 will be fucked though. Move to NYC if you can.

I typically take the path/subway to Brooklyn and then Uber home late night. Average cost is $60-$80 for the Uber. You’re probably going to save $1000/month on rent by living in downtown JC vs NYC.

Where do you live currently?

Sometimes I’ll usually just bite the bullet on the train back on the path thru deep Brooklyn as long as im somewhat near the l train stops. If you time it well it’s not terrible.

Depending on who you are the commute may make you feel a bit unsafe. Albeit I never had a problem but I can see that not being the optimal route for everyone

In the opposite spot. Currently in heights hoping to move closer to the path line haha. But i go into the city about 2 days a week take the 119 or 123 lines into the city. The 10 trip discount is nice on the njtransit app. You pay upfront for 8 trips and get 2 trips free. The only issue is ticket expires after 20 days so you gotta use them. Fyi use the transit app for bus times its the most accurate

It just takes planning not to sit in a PATH station forever. They actually follow a schedule, I used to be out late in the Village once a week, and simply had to leave the bar 10 minutes before the train was coming. Beats the suburban commuter rails.

If you can’t afford 40-60$ Ubers to come home after being out late 2-3x times a week you should be looking in NY. Everyone in this sub likes to ignore how much they pay to Uber home because late night path is annoying but it definitely can erase whatever “savings” you’re getting by renting in JC