Every time someone I know gets a job in New York, they always move to Brooklyn.

I have no idea why. Brooklyn is overpriced, inauthentic and hard to get to. I blame the show "Girls" for the misconception that it's a great place to live.

And unless you're a member of the lower aristocracy, there's no way you're comfortably living in Manhattan fresh out of school.

When the local paper of record is writing multiple trend pieces about people enthusiastically living in glorified closets, you know something is seriously screwed up about your real estate market.

However, there is an answer. Across the river from Manhattan, a brief PATH ride away, is a modern paradise of inexpensive rents, authentic humans, and thriving culture.

If you're working in New York on a budget, you're a complete fool to live there and not in Jersey City. Here's why.