The concept of staying in New York City to raise a family is fairly new. Until the last decade, families routinely fled to the suburbs. In recent years, the number of children in Manhattan has swelled to the point where the desirable public schools cannot guarantee seats for all eligible students.

Hoboken has been called Manhattan West, so it's no surprise that the trend continues here.

Most Hoboken residents arrive after college, cohabitate, get married, buy a two-bedroom condo, have two kids and then move to the suburbs. When our second child was born and our 1,050 square foot two-bedroom suddenly became a prison cell, we started actively looking for our next home.

The real estate downturn enabled me and my husband to buy a rare 2,100 square foot new four-bedroom condo with elevator and parking. My husband and I checked out Weehawken, Jersey City and suburbs such as Montclair but didn't find a place that resonated with us and  that was much cheaper than Hoboken.

We initially planned to rent, but sizeable, affordable, nice rentals were scarce. Moving multiple times with the kids would have been nightmarish and expensive. Since we had good credit and a large down payment, the stability of owning our home made the most sense for our family.

When we searched the MLS, we expected to find all sorts of perfect homes at incredible prices. Reality was dramatically different from our expectations. There was limited inventory in our price range, property taxes were high (ranging from $12,000 to $25,000), and there were few true bargains. We found we would have to make serious trade-offs with any of our options (long commute and yard work versus mediocre high schools).

I was surprised to find that Hoboken three-bedroom condos had comparable monthly costs to suburban houses. The cost differential worked out to about $500 per month, the equivalent of maintaining a second car. We have always loved the walkable charm and convenience of Hoboken, so why not stay here?

From Hoboken, my family has easy access to all sorts of unusual activities and cultural centers. We take the ferry to the incredible Battery Park City playground, drive into Manhattan on weekends to visit museums, and there are a number of nearby fencing clubs. Being near NYC affords my children a wide variety of afterschool activities so they are not restricted by local offerings. They can be free to develop and grow as individuals.

The one drawback about Hoboken that made us hesitate was the schools. Hoboken schools do not have a great reputation, so if I want my kids to be successful in life, why would I disadvantage them by not putting them in the best possible schools?  Well, because my siblings and I did well despite our indifferent Brooklyn public elementary school. The three of us tested our way into the top specialized schools in New York and attended Ivy League colleges and graduate programs.

I am not convinced that attending a top-rated suburban school is a recipe for life success. I am enrolling my daughter this fall in the Abbott pre-K program, and I intend to keep her in the public school system at least through sixth grade. I think my kids will more than succeed in life with the educational start they get here in Hoboken.

To read more about what makes Kathy Zucker tick, check out her blog at http://hobokenmomcondo.com/momblog and follow her at http://twitter.com/zhobokenmom