My husband and I moved to Hoboken because it is similar to Park Slope, Brooklyn, one stop on the PATH train to Manhattan, and has an abundance of large new two-bedroom condos with a second bathroom and parking. We moved here to get more space, but once we had that second bedroom, we rarely used it for anything except storage (wedding dress, golf clubs, books, random furniture).

When I became pregnant with our daughter, it was imperative to clear out the second bedroom to make room for baby gear. A few trips to Ikea provided ample storage, and we set up a combo baby/guest room complete with queen bed (convenient for all-night feeding sessions). 

Our daughter slept in a bassinet in our bedroom for the first six months and then moved without a hitch into the second bedroom. Thanks to that room, our transition from childlessness to parenthood was seamless. Thanks to our affordable mortgage payments, I was able to stay home and start a consulting business on the side. During the warm months we pushed the stroller all around Hoboken and discovered delightful traditions like the Ragamuffin Parade and Puppetonia.

When we first moved to Hoboken I rarely saw strollers or young children on Washington Street. Now they're everywhere, and we're part of the trend. During the Spring and the Summer, there are constant child-friendly festivals and activities like petting zoos in Church Square Park, bounce houses on Pier A—complete with balloon hats—and live concerts. 

We decided to have a second child, to take advantage of the time I was spending at home with our daughter.

But our second child was completely different from our first. For starters, he was—and is to this day—a very light sleeper. It quickly became obvious to us that the two kids were not going to be able to share a room. After ten months of sleep deprivation, I surrendered the master bedroom to our son and made do with the living room sofa (anything for a full night's sleep!) 

We kept telling ourselves that whole families cram into small NYC apartments and we should be able to make it work, especially because we had an outdoor patio. But months of not being able to relax after hours took a toll on our marriage and my husband's career, and we knew we had overstayed our time in the two-bedroom. We entered into a sale-contingent contract to buy a four-bedroom apartment a few blocks away and closed last March.

We have been in our 2,100 square foot condo for a year now and were able to revert to happy urban parenting once we had enough space. We feel incredibly lucky to be part of the small but growing minority of families who get to stay 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