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We are a military family who just got stationed in SI. We have 2 kids, 3 and 5, and we would like to live in a decent size house, with some privacy and backyard.
I have never been to Staten Island so any info will be helpful. Judging by what I am seeing online, SI seems to be filled with duplexes and multi family homes. We also have a pet, so those type of houses will be difficult for us to be comfortable in.
We are considering NJ, but we dont want my hubby to have a too long commute. We are in the Bay area right now, and his commute is from 45min to an hour and a half (a total of 50 miles + one $5 toll), depending on the time of the day, but we are trying to make it shorter for his next unit. He would have to be at work on Base (Northeast SI) around 6:45, so he might be skipping the morning rush hour, and getting off between 2-3 pm.
These are our requirements:
1) 3+ bedrooms. I will set up a sewing studio for myself, so if it has a full basement, that would work. Otherwise, needs to be 4 bedrooms.
2) safe neighborhood, suitable for kids and outdoor play
3) good schools, even though I've checked and the schools seem pretty good for all around the area.
Also, hubby might be on a duty schedule 2 days in, 2 days off, so he might not have to commute every day. We wont know until we get there, but I want to weigh in all the options.
SI has plenty of single family homes. There are a lot of different types of neighborhoods on the island.
Every time you go into Staten Island from NJ you will need to pay a bridge toll. Last I checked it was $13 a car but it could have increased again. With Ezpass if you go over the bridges more than I think 3x a month you get a pretty good discount on the toll, but keep in mind if you live in NJ and commute to SI you will pay to get there every day. OTOH if you live in SI and leave the island, you will pay every time you go home from NJ or every time you go to Brooklyn via the Verrazano, as there's a bridge toll on the way out of SI. The SI Ferry to Manhattan is free though.
The commute from NJ to SI depends on where in NJ you live and where in SI you're going. I commuted into SI for 3 years. I live in Union County in NJ, exactly 13 miles door to door to my SI destination. At rush hour my commute was usually around 40-45 minutes, the worst ever was about 1.5 hours but the whole time I was commuting they were doing massive construction on the SI Expresssway which contributed to traffic. Outside of rush hour, the same commute is about 20 minutes so you really can get there pretty quickly.
I'm not the biggest fan of SI to be honest. My complaints are mostly about infrastructure and density for much of the island. It's very dense and crowded. Its infrastructure is older than the Verrazano Bridge which really increased SI's population and traffic so the island wasn't built to be as populated as it is today. Roads are narrow and traffic is pretty bad. Buses sometimes can barely get down the street and one of my biggest complaints is there are few left turn only lanes and arrow lights, so you can be stuck behind someone trying to turn for an entire light cycle, which will only increase backup. There are a lot of one way streets which is annoying and can be confusing if you get lost. Houses on most of the island tend to be very close together. There's only one mall, so many wind up shopping in NJ, where sales tax is cheaper or nonexistent anyway (NJ doesn't tax clothes and other "necessities"). There are great restaurants on the island however. But that's also true for NJ. I know I'm probably making SI sound kind of bad but it's really not a bad place. It's quite green considering it's an NYC borough and feels more like a suburb, which you may or may not like. It's historic and has some nice parkland, some super nice neighborhoods (google Todt Hill just because). If you can you should go to SI and get a good look around, same with parts of NJ you're interested in.
You'd be more likely to find more space in NJ, especially more land, like a bigger yard. Public schools in most of NJ are excellent and most towns here are very safe. The most important thing to consider in all this is budget. Commuting will be an expense, you will need Ezpass (well, you don't NEED it but it's great to have around here so you don't have to stop to pay tolls and you can get that bridges discount for the NYC bridges)/pay the toll and of course gas. COL here is high but you're coming from the Bay area which is very expensive as well, probably worse. NJ has high property taxes. The lower the budget, the further out from NYC you'll probably have to live which would extend your commute if you were to live here. We kind of need more info from you to be helpful but here's some basic background stuff.
I agree with pretty much everything Jersey Girl said. However, unless you really need lots of space and don't mind paying a toll everyday I would look in Staten Island. Sure in general you won't have as big a backyard, but your property taxes will also be a lot lower. I assume your husband will be working in Ft. Wadsworth. Your options if you want to be close by would be Arrochar, Rosebank or Concord which are blue collar middle class areas that are fairly safe. I do find those areas a bit rundown to be honest, but you can probably get a house with a decent yard at a good price.
If your budget allows I would look at Grymes Hill, Sunnyside or Dongan Hills which are a bit nicer (especially Grymes Hill). Emerson Hill and Todt Hill are a bit further but are the two top areas on Staten Island in my opinion, though Grymes Hill is pretty close. If you want to go a bit further out Castleton Corners or Westerleigh are nice also and more affordable than any of the "Hill" neighborhoods. Also the commute will be easy since you are right near the expressway (except for Dongan Hills).
Another issue for you would be schools. If you want to go private their are several excellent Catholic schools within a 2-3 mile radius of Ft. Wadsworth. Public is a little trickier as it can be hit of miss. I know there is a new school in the Concord area which is supposed to be pretty good, Grymes Hill is zoned for PS 35 which is one of the top schools in the city. Long term however the public middle schools and high schools leave a lot to be desired. Overall Jersey schools are superior no doubt.
Shopping wise they are building a new shopping area by the Ferry and you also have the mall and a bunch of strip malls along Hylan Blvd that have everything you need (albeit they aren't very nice to look at).
I would look in both places, do a trial run on the commute and make a decision. There is no right answer, you just have to see what is best for your family.
We are a military family who just got stationed in SI. We have 2 kids, 3 and 5, and we would like to live in a decent size house, with some privacy and backyard.
I have never been to Staten Island so any info will be helpful. Judging by what I am seeing online, SI seems to be filled with duplexes and multi family homes. We also have a pet, so those type of houses will be difficult for us to be comfortable in.
We are considering NJ, but we dont want my hubby to have a too long commute. We are in the Bay area right now, and his commute is from 45min to an hour and a half (a total of 50 miles + one $5 toll), depending on the time of the day, but we are trying to make it shorter for his next unit. He would have to be at work on Base (Northeast SI) around 6:45, so he might be skipping the morning rush hour, and getting off between 2-3 pm.
These are our requirements:
1) 3+ bedrooms. I will set up a sewing studio for myself, so if it has a full basement, that would work. Otherwise, needs to be 4 bedrooms.
2) safe neighborhood, suitable for kids and outdoor play
3) good schools, even though I've checked and the schools seem pretty good for all around the area.
Also, hubby might be on a duty schedule 2 days in, 2 days off, so he might not have to commute every day. We wont know until we get there, but I want to weigh in all the options.
Thanks in advance!
Sadly much of the new construction (and we're talking anything from 1980's or even 1970's) in most of SI will be duplexes or townhouses. Developers simply do not build single family homes much on the Rock for a variety of reasons. In fact unless the area is downzoned to prevent it, a single family home is likely to be sold and redeveloped into a townhouse or two on same lot.
That being said you can still find single family homes in certain parts of SI. Mostly the older settled areas of the North Shore, Mid-Island, East Island and parts of South Shore.
I agree with pretty much everything Jersey Girl said. However, unless you really need lots of space and don't mind paying a toll everyday I would look in Staten Island. Sure in general you won't have as big a backyard, but your property taxes will also be a lot lower. I assume your husband will be working in Ft. Wadsworth. Your options if you want to be close by would be Arrochar, Rosebank or Concord which are blue collar middle class areas that are fairly safe. I do find those areas a bit rundown to be honest, but you can probably get a house with a decent yard at a good price.
Shopping wise they are building a new shopping area by the Ferry and you also have the mall and a bunch of strip malls along Hylan Blvd that have everything you need (albeit they aren't very nice to look at).
I would look in both places, do a trial run on the commute and make a decision. There is no right answer, you just have to see what is best for your family.
That is only part of the picture. I think the OP needs to realize that if they live in SI they became NYS/NYC residents. So they will have to pay NYC income tax in addition to state and federal taxes so overall level of taxation will be pretty much the same. Pretty high
I think the OP might also consider if they want to become NYS or NJ residents. At this point, there would be very limited practical difference in their lives. But if they stay here for long and their kids might go to college, the difference is huge. NJ only has two decent state colleges that are pretty expensive. NYS has a lot more good state schools that are 30% cheaper. NYC residents can even go to extremely cheap CUNY schools but those are not great...
I feel that NYS has much more stable finances since it is a bigger state with more businesses and a more stable tax base. NJ is largely a commuter state with higher paid resident commuting to NYS or PA.
Of course if the OP family only stays here for a few years, these differences are irrelevant.
We are a military family who just got stationed in SI. We have 2 kids, 3 and 5, and we would like to live in a decent size house, with some privacy and backyard.
I have never been to Staten Island so any info will be helpful. Judging by what I am seeing online, SI seems to be filled with duplexes and multi family homes. We also have a pet, so those type of houses will be difficult for us to be comfortable in.
We are considering NJ, but we dont want my hubby to have a too long commute. We are in the Bay area right now, and his commute is from 45min to an hour and a half (a total of 50 miles + one $5 toll), depending on the time of the day, but we are trying to make it shorter for his next unit. He would have to be at work on Base (Northeast SI) around 6:45, so he might be skipping the morning rush hour, and getting off between 2-3 pm.
These are our requirements:
1) 3+ bedrooms. I will set up a sewing studio for myself, so if it has a full basement, that would work. Otherwise, needs to be 4 bedrooms.
2) safe neighborhood, suitable for kids and outdoor play
3) good schools, even though I've checked and the schools seem pretty good for all around the area.
Also, hubby might be on a duty schedule 2 days in, 2 days off, so he might not have to commute every day. We wont know until we get there, but I want to weigh in all the options.
Thanks in advance!
what is your budget? How big of a house and yard do you need? Are private schools ok if you stay on the Island (public schools in SI aren't great).
Depending on your budget you'll have options. I would recommend living in NJ is possible, but will hold off until budget.
That is only part of the picture. I think the OP needs to realize that if they live in SI they became NYS/NYC residents. So they will have to pay NYC income tax in addition to state and federal taxes so overall level of taxation will be pretty much the same. Pretty high
You make a fair point. But as someone who has lived in both states I can tell you (in my tax bracket at least) that the income tax difference is not as great as the the difference in tolls and property taxes, but it does mitigate the difference somewhat. I could also mention the OP's husband will same money in fuel costs since his drive to work will be at least 30-40 miles less roundtrip everyday.
Look if money is no object, then they don't have to worry about those things (the OP didn't indicate their financial situation, but most military families are not extremely well off). I still say they should look at both options, it really comes down to commute vs space as it does for most of us.
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