A former factory village of laborers and cold-water flats, Hoboken blossomed over the past two decades into a bedroom community for New York commuters while sustaining its small-town spirit. During the early 1980s, when the city was an anonymous dot on the map, a growing circle of artists, writers, and musicians implanted themselves here due to cheap rents and proximity to Manhattan. When Wall Streeters descended upon the city in the late 1980s and rents rose (and rose and rose), many of the artists fled, while others stayed and set down roots. Today, the creative types who remain lack the poser mentality of those whose identities hinge on living on the Lower East Side. While suits far outnumber leather and blue collars, rents here are still cheaper than Manhattan and the compact metropolis has managed to keep a tight grip on its dedication to the arts—and its immigrant roots.
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