I have lived in Manhattan (UWS) and Queens (LIC) prior to moving here. I love it here. First of all, I like saving $ by not having to pay the NYC income tax. It’s a pretty large chunk of money actually (~3.8%). Also, transportation wise, PATH is convenient (enough). I also travel quite a bit for work and United is my primary airline so proximity to EWR is great. Lastly and most importantly, it’s just so more much peaceful here IMO: more space, more trees, fewer people (relatively).