It’s hard to believe that five years ago this month, Hoboken Girl was born. I started it to document my chronicles in the city I called “home,” not knowing what “Hoboken Girl” was to become.
What resulted was days, months, and eventually years of writing, photos, exploring, and excitement on a daily basis — long nights and early mornings, before and after my 9-5 job, keeping the HG adventures going.
Fast-forward to today: hundreds, possibly thousands of people and businesses we’ve met, emailed, “liked,” celebrated, volunteered — all coming together to show the world that Hoboken/Hudson County is a pretty stellar place to live, work, and play. We’ve got juice bars, killer fitness studios, inspiring small biz owners, wine bars, block parties, city-wide events, volunteer opportunities, diverse and unique residents, and most importantly — an undying spirit and love for our community.
The outpouring of support for the site has just blown us away and truly has been more than I could have ever hoped for or dreamed of; I’ve met such amazing people, have been inspired by small businesses, and am challenged daily coming up with new and creative content to share. Please know that all of your comments, likes, shares, emails, and emojis are what keep us going and allow us to grow HG from a personal blog to a lifestyle site with over 20 contributors and a ‘team’ — not to mention an expansion to Jersey City and the rest of Hudson County. Loyal readers and wonderful friends are what make our world go round, and a major shoutout to the businesses that believe in the HG brand and have invested in our small business in return. We’re so grateful every day for this beautiful and inviting community, and strive to make Hoboken Girl a fun haven of topics that distract us from our daily grind {and inspire us to explore and enrich our lives simultaneously}.
Even after five years, it’s still the tip of the iceberg as far as exploration in this area — we’re taking Hoboken Girl to new heights this year: more events, more creative content, and other secret projects coming soon.
And since I’m totally in a warm and fuzzy nostalgic mode, I’ll reminisce about a few of my favorite blog posts of all time:
It goes without saying that “26 Reasons Hoboken is the Best Place to Live” is one of the top posts of all time {and also quite fitting for our sentiments}.
OG status to when I wrote a letter to Snooki and J-Woww about not coming to Hoboken {you’re welcome}…
When we fooled y’all that Tay Tay and Calvin Harris were moving to the Hudson Tea Building {le sigh}
The announcement that Trader Joe’s was *actually* coming to Hoboken {still waiting…}
The dozens of inspiring women we’ve featured as our Hoboken Girls of the Week and Women to Watch in Hudson County.
Creating a {self-guided} speakeasy tour of lower Manhattan {and then realizing Jersey City has its own “speakeasy-style” bars to rival}.
Making Hoboken Girl lemonade, Hoboken Girl candles, Hoboken Girl pizza, and HG vegan bars.
Grabbing several chic Hoboken girls and dressing them up in local outfits for a fab photoshoot series.
The #HobokenTravels series that is continuing to unfold {Iceland being the latest hotspot} – but tons of travel ideas including Charleston, NW NJ {it’s totally different than Hudson County, promise}, LI Wine Country, the list goes on.
The Hoboken Bride series that started with a {real-life} proposal and has now morphed into a regular series on the blog.
Top photos of the week, fashion picks and street style, boutique crawls, beauty posts and blowouts, #HGManiMondays…
Happy hour specials, events guides, news roundups on the regular.
Our #HobokenTBT features, delving into the history in the area.
Web Girl Kathleen’s Insta-Takeover!
Dogs dressed like Frank Sinatra, dogs that were twinning with their owners, dogs that are smaller than a slice of Benny’s — okay really anything {everything?} with dogs.
Hoboken residents helping create articles — weighing on the food that’s “better than sex” in the mile square, Hoboken guys weighing in on need-to-know topics {like where to meet single women in town}, and so much more.
We couldn’t have created this without you. And for that we’re forever grateful — and excited to continue this journey.
Thank you, just — thank you.
Jen & the HG Team
