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I am looking for suggestions on good areas to live that are commutable via public transportation to Columbia Medical Center at 168th st. My husband and I and 4 small children are moving to NY within the next few months. We are hoping to find a house to rent under $3000 in a decent school system. From my initial searching, it looks like the Hudson river train line would be the best commute, but practically unaffordable. Am I wrong? Are there places in NJ that he could commute from? I haven't tried to figure out the NJ transit yet. The most important items are: no more than one hour commute, good schools (they don't have to be the best, I think my children can excel as long as there is ample opportunity and lots of parental involvement), walking distance to many amenities. Thank you for your help!
A NJ commute over the GWB may be an option, so I'm thinking Fort Lee, but the commute would be by bus, so you would be at the mercy of GWB (George Washington Bridge) traffic. I suppose you could do NJ transit to Penn Station and hop on the A train uptown (about 20min to 30 min just on the A, so depending on where in NJ, the trip could top out at about an hour).
Not sure if you could rent a house in Riverdale (the Bronx) for that much. Good luck with your search!
My suggestion is stay in New Jersey. You're not gonna find a house to rent for that kind of price in the city. And since the Bronx is the closet affordable boro to you, might as well just look across the river at NJ. Try Bloomfield, NJ or Nutley, NJ or the area around there since it offers the direct line into 34th/Penn Station. You can then take a # of trains up to 168th St.
It should be within an hour commute if you live near the station.
Having attended grade school in NYC at 181th St (now living in Jersey), not too far from the Medical Center area, I don't recommend the NYC school system at all. You need incredible discipline and parental guidance to get much out of it. Might as well go take advantage of the better NJ school system.
You may want to go to the NJ board to get more advice. Good luck!!!
Is Riverdale a safe place to live with 4 children ages 1,3,5, and 8? Is it possible to have a backyard there? We are also hoping to have a community feel wherever we live? Is that possible in Riverdale? How are the schools?
Also, are there places to look to find houses for rent in NY besides the national house rental websites? I have checked craigslist and NYTimes, also. There seems to be few choices for renting an entire house on a budget.
Also, I'm afraid Riverdale may be too "city" for the family? I've never been there, so please correct me if I'm wrong. I think I may need to take a trip to explore!
Thank you for any advice!
You will absolutely love Riverdale, as it is probably the BEST community in ALL of the city. It lies right in between Van Courtland Park to the East, the Hudson River to the West, Westchester County to the North, and Manhattan to the South. The area has large estate homes, luxury condos, and everything in between, lots of trees/greenery/open space, a completely suburban feel, incredibly safe, very walkable, neighborhood feel, is near a Metro North Stop, the last stop on the 1 train, plenty of parking (most homes have garage or driveway), and a very easy commute into the city.
Make sure to check it out...it will be well worth your time.
One thing you wanna keep in mind is, if you're working on the West side, try to live near there. It's not fun having to find your way crosstown. If you take the metro north, located on the East side, you will almost certainly have to take a crosstown train/bus to the West side to where you work. It will cut into your commute time.
Here's your scenario via Metro North:
Metro North stop -> Crosstown bus/train transfer -> Bus/Train up to 168th
I did that once and half my commute was the NYC crosstown trek! Not fun!
That's why I also didn't recommend Brooklyn or Queens. Cost is just one of the factors that ruled them out...
If you're not living in the city, your best bet is finding a town that has a direct train or bus into the West side transportation hub of the city - Port Authority or Penn Station.
I live in Riverdale about 10 blocks north of the 1 train. This location is ideal for commuting to CPMC. I don't think it's any more than 15 minutes from 242 street to 168th street. You could take the bus but it takes longer
Is Riverdale a safe place to live with 4 children ages 1,3,5, and 8? Is it possible to have a backyard there? We are also hoping to have a community feel wherever we live? Is that possible in Riverdale? How are the schools?
Also, are there places to look to find houses for rent in NY besides the national house rental websites? I have checked craigslist and NYTimes, also. There seems to be few choices for renting an entire house on a budget.
Also, I'm afraid Riverdale may be too "city" for the family? I've never been there, so please correct me if I'm wrong. I think I may need to take a trip to explore!
Thank you for any advice!
a home in riverdale is big money, get the sunday NY times for real estate and yes you'd better explore before commiting to anything.
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is it family friendly?
