Hoboken & Jersey City: Mental Health Considerations While Raising Your Children
By Allie Loeb, LCSW
Deciding where to start your family can feel like a huge decision, and for a lot of people, it’s not until your baby has actually arrived that you start to look around and assess your home, community, and realities of navigating life with a baby. Hoboken and Jersey City each offer incredible resources and experiences for families, but can also feel uniquely stressful compared to other parts of the country. Thinking of moving here or staying here to raise your family? Some things to consider:
Benefits of Living in Hoboken & Jersey City
Ease of Urban Living
You’re living in a city and all the benefits that come with that! Walkability, proximity to public transportation, dining and coffee options for those stroller walks, protected walkways… There are so many amazing things about living in a city, and if you’re considering Hoboken or Jersey City, you’ve likely already experienced the ease of urban living and are looking to continue that energy. While neither city is NYC, you still get the feel and buzz of the city with a little extra space to breathe.
Access to Activities and Events
If you’ve ever checked the Hoboken or Jersey City Girl events page, you know that there is always something happening here, and that’s especially true for families and children! Between the two cities there is constant access to family focused events and activities, often for low or no cost.
Parks Every Few Blocks
This is especially true of Hoboken, as there are an incredible amount of playgrounds for such a small city! In either city though you’ll be able to walk to a playground with a variety of play structures and free space for your child to climb, run around, explore, and be with other children. While space might be limited in your apartment, Jersey City and Hoboken make up for it with the variety of play structures available throughout.
Family-Centric Cities
Hoboken and Jersey City have become hotspots for families to settle, at least for the first few years of starting their families, which means that both cities truly feel so unique in the amount of motherhood and family focused events, groups, spaces, and activities that exist here. Thinking of joining a new moms group? A free event at the library? A space to meet-up with other parents? Pregnancy and postpartum care providers? As these two cities continue to attract more and more families, the number of family-focused services grow, too. And because both cities are smaller than NYC, they’re significantly more accessible in your day to day life.
Considerations for Living in Hoboken & Jersey City
Comparison and Parenting Social Pressures
City living means being out and about in the community, where people are often parenting in front of each other. This constant encounter of one another can lead to increased comparison, doubt, and insecurity. Parents often come into sessions feeling worried about how they’re parenting in public, noticing how others are interacting with their children, or having concerns about their child’s development. For individuals with anxiety, insecurity, or self-doubt, Hoboken and Jersey City can feel like small pressure cookers for their most self-conscious parts.
Keeping Up with the Joneses
Many individuals in Jersey City and Hoboken describe feeling like they’re trying to financially keep up with one another, rather than focus on their own financial limits or capacities. While this occurs across a lot of different communities and areas of the country, it can be especially apparent in this community, as income levels are already high and families in both cities are encountering each other frequently. This desire to keep up with those around you can come at the cost of not just financial stability, but also losing sight of one’s values and personal beliefs. In high earning communities in and around New York City, it is particularly important to be aware of your own tendency to fall victim to comparison.
Final Takeaway
Both cities are incredible places to start a family, and are rich in parent-related services, providers, groups, activities, events, and more. But they’re also two cities that are steeped in comparison and stress. Living here can bring immense joy and ease to parents and children alike, and for those who struggle with comparison, can be supported with the help of a trained mental health professional. With offices in downtown Hoboken, our providers are exceptionally well-informed about the benefits and difficulties of living here, and can provide the assistance you need to live a life you love!
Looking for mental health care? First Light Therapy would love to support you! Contact us today for mental health care in Hoboken, NJ.
The information and content on this post is for informational purposes and should not be considered medical advice. If you have questions about your mental health, please reach out to your doctor.