Potential NYC Move: Where to Live?

Currently live in Boston, but have a job opportunity in Hoboken. My wife and I are seriously considering making the move, but have only really been in NYC for work.

Where do we want to live? Is it 'worth it' to live in Manhattan & reverse commute to Hoboken? We're late 20's / early 30's, with no kids, so it could be a fun opportunity to live in the city for a few years.

Cheaper is always better, but we have a lot of flexibility on $$$. I'd love to be $3,000 - $4,000 a month, but could go double that without straining the finances. Obviously, I'd rather pay $3K and save $200k over three years, but I could be convinced that $8k for a good apt in a good location was 'worth it'.

Why not (and for the record, it's more early 30s for me...)? Being able to spend more only increases the universe of possibilities. Is there some really awesome neighborhood that is worth spending the $$$ to be in?

As I said, we'd prefer to spend less and save some $. But I'd love some input from the locals as to what the right balance is. It would, IMHO, be stupid to spend $2,500 to be miserable in Jersey City when you could be spending $4,000 and happy in _____. Or spending $8,000 and loving life in _____.

UES concern is commute. As you might believe, I spend a lot of time in the office. My presumption is that I won't have a car - or at least won't drive to work. Taxi to and from Hoboken every day seems a little ridiculous. Public transit options from the UES to Hoboken seem to be a little crappy.