If Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr were to revisit the site of their famous duel in Weehawken, N.J., today, they would have a far different view than they did when Hamilton was mortally wounded there in 1804. In place of the wide-open cliffs and marshlands — which later became a maze of railroad tracks and industrial junkyards — there are now large swaths of new condominiums and apartment buildings, a light rail line, a walking path and a ferry terminal where passengers can catch an eight-minute ride across the Hudson River to Manhattan.

Yiran Kang, 28, and Yang Han, 31, who are newly married, moved here in November, trading a one-bedroom rental in the Midtown East neighborhood of Manhattan for a two-bedroom, two-bathroom condominium on the waterfront, built in 2008.

“We looked in the city, but the prices were too high,’’ said Ms. Kang, an accountant, describing their $900,000 home. “For the same amount, we got a bigger place, and the waterfront is very beautiful.”

Every morning, the couple walk three minutes to a bus stop, sharing the 11-minute bus ride into the city to work. For weekend outings they bought a car, which they use to explore what is sometimes referred to as New Jersey’s “gold coast,” the string of rapidly developing riverfront towns that stretch from Fort Lee to Jersey City. Weehawken is less urban than its southern neighbors Hoboken and Jersey City, and has none of the high-rise buildings found farther north. The lack of high-rises didn’t happen by chance; it was the result of a concerted effort by local officials to preserve the town’s spectacular views of Manhattan.