When her grown children left home, Green moved repeatedly among small apartments in Brooklyn Heights and after 1898, in Hoboken, New Jersey, mainly to avoid New York's property tax, though she did loan money to the city at reasonable rates. Hetty then regularly commuted to her office in the Chemical Bank on Broadway. By 1905, Hetty was New York's largest lender. Green's apartment was not heated and her diet reportedly consisted of eggs, onions, and dry oatmeal. She did not eat hot food because it would have increased her fuel bill.