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I am coming to New York next week for a job interview. The job would pay about $60k and they'd give me 3-4 weeks to move up to NYC. I currently live in Florida and have a car.
The job is in downtown Manhattan. I have two teenagers, and dogs. I am considering selling the car before I move, but if I found a nice place to live outside the city and needed it for the commute I'd keep it.
I can afford up to about $1600 a month rent for a two bedroom.
Does anyone have any suggestions for safe areas with good schools, and a reasonably easy commute, which would accept dogs? I don't care if it's a long commute - I just want to be in a safe neighborhood where I can either have my car, or be a short walk from public transportation.
With two teenagers and dogs, and with $60k income, I would recommend perhaps NJ. You could easily commute to Manhattan and have more affordable options so that you're not feeling stretched thin. Have you been planning to move to NYC for a while or is this just a new opportunity?
You would have to consider Jersey if you are going to depend on public schools- either that or maybe Bay Ridge-- I am not sure how the schools are past elementary though. Staten Island isprobably a goodoption for downtown also.
The dogs may pose a problem. You are going to have to just start calling ads to see if the landlord will accept them.
You can try Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst, Gravesend, and maybe even Sheepshead Bay or Midwood. Staten Island would be a decent choice too, but the commute to work would be much longer.
Having two teenagers on $60K is the real issue, not the dogs!!!
Your financial circumstance is difficult. In judging whether to keep the car, three things to consider, if you have a car payment, the cost of commuting (gas, tolls and parking), and the cost of insurance (which may be 3 or 4 times what you presently pay---check this FIRST!).
Frankly, under no circumstance can you afford to commute by car.
There are few, if any, neighborhoods within the five boroughs which have good schools and can be afforded on your salary. In NYC good schools come at a high premium, generally unaffordable for the lower middle class, and too often the middle class.
In your circumstance, I would look to rent a house somewhere in NJ, or on Staten Island. Those are your best bets. I'd focus on Staten Island first.
Just comprehend, that you cannot live as well on $50K in NYC as you can in FL. You may have gotten a decent bump in income by taking a NYC job, but your lifestyle will probably take a hit.
I suggest you take a look at some of the forum threads which discuss budgets.
NJ might be a good idea. In Essex county check out Montclair, West Orange, Maplewood. All these towns have decent schools, are about an hour's commute to Midtown, and have a variety of housing. A two bedroom one bath, maybe even a two bath, sounds doable on yr budget. And you could keep your car.
You could also check out Teaneck, Hackensack and Ft. Lee in Bergen County, all of which are a little bit closer in to the city, have decent schools, and a wide range of housing. You might even get a single family home or a townhouse for that price, but probably an apartment. In any of these places, the dog, or course, would depend on the landlord.
Two bedrooms for $1600 in NYC is likely doable in some of the neighborhoods mentioned above, in Bklyn or Staten Isalnd.
But moving anywhere in NYC at this point in the summer with two kids to find good high schools or middle schools for will be tough unless you move to some farther out Queens neighborhoods, where there are still supposedly good zoned schools (meaning anybody can attend by nature of residency) in neighborhoods like Bayside, Kew Gardens, Forest Hills, or Little Neck. Those neighborhoods can be almost suburban in some parts. I dont know about specific schools out there however so I cant give you particulars. Navigating the public school system is tough enough for those who've lived here a while. It can be a nightmare for newcomers, especially considereing the byzantine method of school placement: All kids have to apply to high school, even if its a zoned high high school. Its just that listing your zoned high schools first if you live in the zone guarantees you a spot. (Any other HS a kid wants he has to go through a byzantine application process that's way too long to go into here. And anyway, they'd treat your kids differently because you're coming in long after the application process has been completed and spots in the 'best' high schools have generally all been snapped up. ) With kids I wouldn't chance the NYC schools unless you've done a lot of research and I don't know if you have the time. But you still might consider it if you don't feel like being in the city all day while the kids are off on their own somehwere in the 'burbs. ( for NYC school info look at insideschools.org)
Depending on how far out you'd be in Queens, the commute could be longer than it would be from NJ. And FWIW, I guess you know that if you're working in Manhattan you won't be driving to work everyday.
Good luck and welcome to New York
Last edited by citylove101; 08-25-2011 at 05:41 PM..
In Orlando, $60k is almost upper middle class. I know in NYC it's basically lower middle class.
Yeah, insurance - good point. Ideally, I'd live right next to a train/bus line and not have to pay to commute into the city and pay for parking when I get there.
I am certainly open to Staten Island or NJ!
Quote:
Originally Posted by jcoltrane
Having two teenagers on $60K is the real issue, not the dogs!!!
Your financial circumstance is difficult. In judging whether to keep the car, three things to consider, if you have a car payment, the cost of commuting (gas, tolls and parking), and the cost of insurance (which may be 3 or 4 times what you presently pay---check this FIRST!).
Frankly, under no circumstance can you afford to commute by car.
There are few, if any, neighborhoods within the five boroughs which have good schools and can be afforded on your salary. In NYC good schools come at a high premium, generally unaffordable for the lower middle class, and too often the middle class.
In your circumstance, I would look to rent a house somewhere in NJ, or on Staten Island. Those are your best bets. I'd focus on Staten Island first.
Just comprehend, that you cannot live as well on $50K in NYC as you can in FL. You may have gotten a decent bump in income by taking a NYC job, but your lifestyle will probably take a hit.
I suggest you take a look at some of the forum threads which discuss budgets.
Luck!
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