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My husband, son and I are just starting to explore areas outside of Brooklyn for a potential move. We absolutely love Brooklyn, but we want more for our money. We miss having outdoor space, and need a good school district for our 4 yr old son. We like urban living (walkability, seeing people on streets, etc.), so don't want to go to Westchester, etc., but have passed through the Bronx and Yonkers on our way to check out Westchester in our earlier search, and became curious about them. Are there any parts of the Bronx/Yonkers that are "up and coming" and relatively safe with easy access to the city? Sorry if this is an ignorant question, but I know absolutely nothing about them other than the trash talk I've heard. Should I believe the negative hype, or can i find a hidden gem? How 'bout Queens? Any areas that aren't all "Mary on the Half-Shell" and fit the above description?
If you want a good school district AND more value for your money, that eliminates almost everywhere in NYC! "Up and Coming" and good school districts never go hand in hand remember.
Considering all your requirements, Riverdale is probably the only option, mostly because you need a good school district.
There are a couple of areas in Queens that have blue ribbon schools. They are walkable but probably not as commercialized as Brooklyn.
If you insist on Brooklyn, consider either Catholic or private schools. If you plan on sticking to only one child, then maybe you can look at independent private schools whose tuitions are almost the same as the residential tax in suburban good school districts.
Eastern Queens has very good zoned schools, District 26; however, that part of the borough is not as walkable as other areas, and tends to have more in common with closer-in Nassau County than it does with the urbanity of Manhattan. Riverdale has decent schools as well, and is a bit more urban in places, but it is not a 24-7 area as businesses tend to close relatively early, when compared to Manhattan. Forest Hills would also be on the list to consider, and is a bit more built-up than Eastern Queens.
Yonkers has a couple of outstanding schools, and then some problems. The issue in Yonkers is that virtually every school is a magnet school because of the loss of a desegregation lawsuit in the 1980s that requires busing to balance neighborhood demographics. Two magnet programs are very competitive, however, at Pearls Hawthorne and Yonkers High (IB-only curriculum in the entire school).
NYC schools are a challenge in dense areas popular with families, too, like the UES, TriBeCa, and Park Slope because the school class can be overcrowded, such that your student could be reassigned to another neighborhood school that may not have the same reputation as the program into which you thought you were buying/renting.
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All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages.
~William Shakespeare (As You Like It Act II, Scene VII)
The problem in the city is that improved schools are probably the LAST thing to get better when a neighborhood gentrifies. First comes better housing, then better retail, then the nightlife and restaurants, and finally the schools. But by that time the neighborhood is already so desirable it's no longer affordable.
NYC schools are a challenge in dense areas popular with families, too, like the UES, TriBeCa, and Park Slope because the school class can be overcrowded, such that your student could be reassigned to another neighborhood school that may not have the same reputation as the program into which you thought you were buying/renting.
One of the big reasons we're looking to move is because our zoned school has a horrible rating, and after reading a bit more about it, it just doesn't seem like a good fit for us as all. My son's not in school yet, so I'm not well versed in the ins-and-outs of NYC school zones, etc. Do we necessarily have to move to get into a better school, or will we be stuck going to a sub-sub-par school if we stay? I know I can apply to "out of zone" schools but what are the chances we'd actually get in?
Have you thought about moving to Long Island? Yes, the taxes are much higher than Queens but there are great school districts and the majority of your taxes are actually school tax. When I was house hunting, I chose the areas I liked based on the school districts. I am originally from Queens but the houses cost more, the property is less and not all areas have great schools. I ended up moving to Franklin Square. We're in Nassau's 5th top school district and the area is walkable. I have the benefits of LI but in an area where I still feel like I'm in the boroughs.
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School zoning question . . .
