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We're moving with 3 kids: 6, 4 and 1.5. Ahhh!! We have (single, childless) friends insisting that the West Village is perfect, but we have been thinking UES, possibly UWS because we love Central Park and the museums uptown.
I'm overwhelmed! I love pre-war details rather than the more modern high-rise style buildings. It would be nice to keep our rent budget around 5-6k, but mostly because it feels insane to pay more than that. What we have been seeing out there for 8 or even 10 isn't nicer or larger enough (in our opinion) to justify the difference, unless we're missing something. We are not averse to scaling way down and the kids can share a room or two. We have fully thought that out. We really are hoping for a great area we can put some roots down in and call home for a long time. If things settle in nicely, and it looks like we're here to stay, the goal would be to buy a town home eventually, and we would probably want to stay in the same neighborhood, so we're hoping to choose wisely from the start.
In order to find a community, is it best to find a school first and work from there? Any tips for finding a good sitter, pediatrician, dentist, etc.?
Any city kids tips? Activities, etc.? Ours are advanced swimmers, average tennis players and our daughter dances. We are assuming team sports are going to look a little different.
Finally, 3 kids. OMGsh. Does anyone in Manhattan have 3?? Are we crazy?? We aren't really interested in other boroughs, though we know they can be lovely. We just want to be right in the city if we're going to do this. We lived in downtown Chicago for years pre-kids, and have visited NYC a ton, so we know city life fairly well. Raising 3 kids, though, is a different prospect altogether.
Town houses are great if you can afford one. There are no bloated maintenance fees to pay a union staff, you source your own materials at the best price and pay what you want for upkeep or do it yourself. Even better is if you have 1 or 2 rental units in the building to pay for property taxes. That being said, bring your millions because you're going to need them!
Town houses are great if you can afford one. There are no bloated maintenance fees to pay a union staff, you source your own materials at the best price and pay what you want for upkeep or do it yourself. Even better is if you have 1 or 2 rental units in the building to pay for property taxes. That being said, bring your millions because you're going to need them!
Not at all. 6 Million will get you a very nice townhouse on the upper east side. If you don't mind uptown a nice townhouse can be had for under 2 million in Harlem. You can even find some townhoues in the West Village for $6M: http://www.sothebysrealty.com/eng/sa...-york-ny-10014
Yeah, brownstones are really nice. There are some beautiful ones in Park Slope too. Your kids most likely will end up in private school and most of them are on the upper eastside, a few on the upperwestside, and couple in the west village (Little Red Schoolhouse comes to mind). NYC public schools are kind of equlvalent to LA Unified so that is something to think about.
There are also a few private schools in the Brooklyn area which won't be far from Park Slope. Berkeley Carroll, Packer Collegiate, Poly Prep, Brooklyn Friends, Brooklyn Waldorf.
On your budget you also might be able to find the space you need (likely 3 bdrms) in Tribeca, which is a wonderfuld neighborhood with strong elementary schools. The buildings are a mix of lofts and newer construction. Very urban, and also a very big stroller brigade. Your kids would always have friends nearby.
I'd also take a hard look at Battery Park City, which is a beautiful newer, very large planned neighborhood directly on the Hudson in lower Manhattan. Lots of kids here too and very good schools, though BPC lacks older construction. But the riverfront promenade is gorgeous and its' tranquility in the city as the West Side Highway divides BPC from the rest of the city. If you're from Chicago think the New East Side and you've sort of picked up on the vibe, though with many more kids, shopping options (everyday stuff) and not quite the isolated feel.
Of course there is nothing wrong with the old stanbys already mentioned like the Park Slope in Brooklyn, and in Manhattan, the Upper East and Upper West Sides, or the Village. Just a matter of the vibe you're seeking. Of those three I'd defintiely choose the UWS--more diverse, better transportation options, two big parks instead of just one-- but YMMV.
As to schools, NYC publics are much better, in general, than Chicago's. Except in a few North side neighborhoods the middle class has almost wholly abandoned the publics in the Windy City. And poor people there with two nickels to rub together will opt for Catholic/private/charter over neighborhood public. That's less so the case in NYC, and certainly not the case in affluent areas. For elementary publics in NYC I always say that demographics are destiny: In a middle-class to affluent Manhattan neighborhood the local zoned elementary school will almost always be good, and you will have the time, if you stay, to decide on continuing on in the system when the kids reach middle school age or going private.
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