By Scott Selleck, The Selleck Group | KW City Views Realty
There are real estate agents who work in a market, and then there are those who belong to it.
I belong to Hudson County.
For 34 years, I have walked these streets, learned these neighborhoods block by block, and built my career — and my life — in one of the most extraordinary corners of the entire country. I have watched the waterfront transform from forgotten industrial land into some of the most coveted addresses in the New York metro area. I have seen families plant roots here, raise children here, build wealth here, and eventually — sometimes with tears in their eyes — hand me the keys and trust me to help them write their next chapter.
But before I tell you about the market, I need to tell you about the place. Because Hudson County isn't just a market. It never has been.
Want to know more about the advisor behind this story? Learn more about Scott Selleck here.
If you have ever driven through Union City or West New York on a warm summer evening, something happens to you. The air smells different. The music is different. The energy on the sidewalk is different. There is a pulse here — a rhythm — that you simply do not find anywhere else in New Jersey.
They call it "Havana on the Hudson," and the name is not an exaggeration. It is a love letter written in concrete and culture.
The story begins in the late 1950s and early 1960s, when the Cuban Revolution sent waves of families north — educated, proud, entrepreneurial families who arrived in Hudson County with very little but their determination and their heritage. They found something here they recognized: density, community, noise, warmth, and the kind of street-level human connection that reminded them of home.
They stayed. They built. They transformed.
The cigar factories that once defined this stretch of the Hudson Palisades gave way to bodegas, family restaurants, Cuban bakeries, and cultural institutions that became the heartbeat of entire neighborhoods. The sounds of salsa and son filled the air of Bergenline Avenue — a commercial corridor that stretches for miles and remains to this day one of the most vibrant, authentic, and underrated main streets in the entire metropolitan area.
Union City became — and remains — the most densely populated city in the United States. Think about what that means. More people per square mile than Manhattan. More life, more layering, more story packed into every single block than almost anywhere in America.
West New York followed suit. North Bergen absorbed wave after wave of immigrant families from across Latin America, each one adding another thread to an already extraordinary tapestry. Weehawken offered stunning views of Midtown Manhattan from cliffs that have inspired artists and dreamers for centuries.
And through all of it — through every era of growth and change and reinvention — Hudson County has maintained something rare. An identity. A soul. A sense of place that you feel the moment you arrive and that stays with you long after you leave.
I know, because it never left me.
I came to this market as a young real estate professional who wanted to work hard and build something meaningful. What I did not expect was that Hudson County would shape me just as much as I would work to serve it.
Over three decades, I have had the privilege of representing buyers and sellers in Fort Lee, Edgewater, Cliffside Park, Union City, North Bergen, Weehawken, Hoboken, Jersey City, and the surrounding communities that make this region one of the most dynamic in the entire country. I have sold starter condos and waterfront penthouses. I have helped young couples find their first home and helped empty nesters downsize from the house where they raised their families.
I have sat at kitchen tables in Union City apartments where three generations gathered for Sunday dinner. I have walked the cliffs in Edgewater with clients who could not believe they were still in New Jersey. I have negotiated deals in Cliffside Park, hosted open houses in Fort Lee high-rises, and watched Hoboken evolve from a gritty, underappreciated gem into one of the most sought-after addresses on the East Coast.
Through more than 500 successful transactions and over $2 billion in total sales, one thing has never changed: my belief that real estate is not about property. It is about people. It is about the moments that happen inside four walls — the dinners, the milestones, the quiet Tuesday mornings that no one photographs but everyone remembers.
Hudson County has given me a career. More than that, it has given me a community. And in a way I never could have predicted, it gave me something even more personal than that.
Curious about the full depth of Scott's experience and credentials? Visit his full biography here.
In the middle of my career, life took me south.
I found myself in South Miami — one of those sun-drenched corners of Florida where the culture feels a little like Hudson County, where the Latin warmth is unmistakable, and where the pace of life slows down just enough to let you catch your breath. And it was there, in South Miami, that I met my wife.
We built a life together. We lived in Miami Lakes, one of those wonderfully livable Florida communities where neighbors actually know each other and the palm trees line streets that feel like they belong in another world entirely — except that world turned out to be ours.
Florida never really left me after that. And eventually, I stopped pretending it would.
Today, I maintain an apartment in South Florida, spending time between my New Jersey roots and my Florida life — serving clients in Boca Raton, Deerfield Beach, Delray Beach, and the surrounding communities that have become home to so many families who made the same journey I understand so personally.
I am not an agent who studied Florida relocation in a classroom. I lived it. I made the emotional calculation that my clients are making right now — the weighing of everything familiar against everything possible. I know what it feels like to love where you came from and also feel the pull of somewhere new.
That experience is something I bring to every single client conversation.
Every year, thousands of New Jersey families make the decision to head south. Some are Baby Boomers who raised their children here and are now ready to trade the winters for warmth and the high property taxes for a different kind of freedom. Some are professionals who have discovered that remote work means they no longer need to stay. Some are couples who, like my wife and I, simply followed their hearts to a place that felt right.
What they all have in common is this: the transition is more complex than it looks from the outside.
Selling a home you have lived in for 30 years is not a transaction. It is the closing of a chapter that holds decades of your life inside its walls. It requires a trusted advisor who will honor the weight of that moment — not just process the paperwork, but truly understand what it means.
On the other side of that transition, buying in an unfamiliar market in a state you may have only visited on vacation carries its own complexity. You need someone who knows the difference between the communities, who understands the lifestyle fit as much as the price-per-square-foot, and who is not going to disappear the moment the closing documents are signed.
With my dual presence at KW City Views Realty in Fort Lee and KW Boca Raton Realty in South Florida, I am the single trusted advisor on both ends of your journey. You do not need to find two agents, build two relationships, or explain your story twice.
I already know your story. Because in many ways, it is mine too.
Ready to explore what your NJ-to-Florida transition could look like? Discover Scott's full NJ-to-Florida Transition Advisory Services here.
I want to end where I began — on these streets that shaped me.
Havana on the Hudson is not just a colorful nickname. It is a testament to what happens when people arrive somewhere with courage and conviction and refuse to let go of who they are. The Cuban families who built Union City and West New York into what they are today did something remarkable: they created a home that felt like home, even when everything around them was unfamiliar.
I think about that a lot when I work with clients who are preparing to leave New Jersey for Florida. The instinct to hold on to the familiar is not weakness — it is humanity. But the courage to step toward something new, while carrying everything you love about where you came from — that is something extraordinary.
Hudson County gave me that lesson. My wife gave me the reason to live it.
And now, 34 years in, I get to pass it along — one family, one transition, one chapter at a time.
Whether you are thinking about selling your Hudson County home, exploring what South Florida has to offer, or simply want to understand what the NJ-to-Florida journey looks like from someone who has lived it — I would love to connect.
Learn more about Scott Selleck and what 34 years of Hudson County expertise means for your next move.
When you are ready to take the next step, explore Scott's NJ-to-Florida Transition Advisory Services — a dedicated program built specifically for New Jersey families making the move south.
Your next chapter is waiting. Let's talk about it.
Scott Selleck is a licensed New Jersey real estate broker with The Selleck Group at KW City Views Realty in Fort Lee, NJ, and a South Florida advisor with KW Boca Raton Realty. With over 34 years of experience, 500+ transactions, and more than $2 billion in total sales volume, Scott specializes in Bergen and Hudson County real estate and NJ-to-Florida transitions for Baby Boomers and downsizers.
📥 Download the free NJ-to-Florida Transition Playbook | 📞 Contact Scott directly to start your conversation.
Scott has been an icon in the northern New Jersey real estate marketplace for the past 29 years with multiple Circle of Excellence Awards. Put his local neighborhood knowledge and real estate expertise to work for you today. Over 500 plus successful closed transactions.