Best Township,Cities to live in near NYC area (Oyster Bay: low income, rent)

[apvbguy]

Originally Posted by Pintea

I will say Forest Hills as well. Beautiful area, great schools, best commute for your husband!

forest hills is a great place to live, but it does not offer the activities she wants for her children

[Carbro]

Have you looked into Rockland County, NY? It is west of the Hudson, just above the New Jersey line. It is served by NJTransit (I believe there's a transfer in Hoboken) and commuter bus lines. It is less expensive than comparable housing in either Westchester or NJ -- not to mention the city itself. My sister-in-law moved to the Rockland town of Airmont when it was time to enroll their firstborn in school, and it's worked out fine. My sister-in-law's bus commute (she works two blocks from Port Authority Bus Terminal) is about 40-45 minutes, I believe, subject to traffic conditions.

My niece's ballet school has produced several professional dancers, and the kids have had a full range of athletic activities, some of which my brother, for many years a work-from-home dad, used to coach.

During my niece's first year of high school, I asked her about cliquishness. Her mother chimed in, "Oh, her school isn't like that!" I took it with a grain of salt but for what it's worth, I pass it on to you.

[nanette3]

Originally Posted by jeffcon0

Plazagirl, welcome to the board. Hope we can help. You certainly will not be in Kansas anymore (sorry, I couldnt resist ) with your move up here.

You are right, what a nice home costs in most of the country will barely get you a studio apartment in Manhattan. BUT you are lucky to have a very nice budget to be able to make a good life for yourselves here.

You said your husband will need to commute to Penn Station. Penn services the Long Island railroad and New Jersey but I would do whatever I could to avoid Penn Station at all costs. It is an unbearable mess compared to Grand Central which services the Metro-North Railroad. Take a day trip to Manhattan when you are checking out property and spend five minutes in each station and the difference will be noticeable.

Now, if I had your budget with your needs I would be looking in CT on the New Haven line. I think it is one of the most beautiful, historic, and cultured "suburban" areas in the US. I put suburban in quotes because it is much more like a cluster of small New England towns than a cookie cutter suburb. Upstate around Westchester county is also very nice and very similar to the areas of CT I am describing. NY property taxes are higher than those in CT so be sure to keep that in mind when looking at places.

You sound like you have already braced yourself for the sticker shock so I won't try to sugarcoat it for you. If you want a fairly nice 4 bedroom home within a 45 minute commute on the New Haven metro-north line in CT you will be looking at 1-1.5MM. Places like Greenwich and Westport may even be out of the question as they are for the ultrawealthy. If I were to give you some general guidlines I would say look at any area close to the Metro-North stops between Greenwich to BEFORE Bridgeport. Bridgeport is the armpit of CT but even the Fairfield stop right before Bridgeport is very affluent and beautiful. All are within ~45 mins of NY and your husband would be commuting with many many other white collar workers going into NY.

Bottom line is that any area in CT on the metro-north line within an hour of NY is going to be great. Wonderful schools, homes, scenery, history, and culture. I do not think you will be disappointed.

Enjoy taking in everything this area has to offer! In my opinion it is one of the best in the country.

I second all suggestions. Grew up there.

[sverigerc]

We are in a similar situation. Husband will be working Mid-town and we are looking for a nice home in a great area with exceptional schools. It has been suggested that we look at Chatham and Westfield, both in NJ. I have read a lot of stuff that these towns are not diversified and are like parking lots (especially Westfield). On paper (I have not had a chance to actually visit) they seem extremely nice with a wide range of housing prices, however, property taxes are high. I am still trying to gather info myself on the options that best fit our family. I grew up in a very suburban area, where I never had to drive far to get what I need, so I understand your need for convenience. I think there is a lot of retail options within a 10 mile radius of both these towns. I would love any suggestions on other areas to consider if you here of any. Good Luck maybe will run into each other

[holden125]

Originally Posted by sverigerc

It has been suggested that we look at Chatham and Westfield, both in NJ. I have read a lot of stuff that these towns are not diversified and are like parking lots (especially Westfield). On paper (I have not had a chance to actually visit) they seem extremely nice with a wide range of housing prices, however, property taxes are high.

These are both very nice towns. Chatham is not as packed in as Westfield, but it seems that most suburban areas within an hour of midtown will be parking lots with high property taxes. NJ just has a lot of traffic. I have heard that Westfield can be snooty. Other towns that are more diverse in that general area are Maplewood and Montclair, which are both about as dense as Westfield.

Where in midtown is the job? If it's on the east side it may be better to go into Grand Central, which (as stated above) is a much nicer station to arrive in than Penn Station.

[sverigerc]

okay, well I am so not a big city person, but, How does one get to Grand Central? I have been looking at the nj transit web-site. Any suggestions would be helpful!

[jeffcon0]

Originally Posted by sverigerc

okay, well I am so not a big city person, but, How does one get to Grand Central? I have been looking at the nj transit web-site. Any suggestions would be helpful!

North of the city in upstate NY and CT is serviced by the Metro-North railroad, which is part of the MTA. Metro-North lines terminate in Grand Central. NJ Transit and LIRR terminate in Penn Station. CheckMTA Home Page for schedules, routes, etc.

[holden125]

Originally Posted by sverigerc

okay, well I am so not a big city person, but, How does one get to Grand Central? I have been looking at the nj transit web-site. Any suggestions would be helpful!

Sorry for the confusion. You don't get to Grand Central from NJ Transit, as Jeffcon says it's the hub for Metro North trains to Westchester County, NY, and Connecticut. I was asking where your husband's job is in midtown because some offices are much easier to get to from Grand Central than from Penn Station, where the NJ Transit and Long Island Rail Road trains go. Westchester and CT can be more expensive but I was just wondering if you were limited to NJ for other reasons beyond the fact that people had suggested towns in NJ, or if you were also open to Westchester and CT.

[sverigerc]

Well, I am originally from Delaware, and would like to stay close to the NJ turnpike. I have been in Europe for 2 years, and 2 1/2 hours away from my family is a lot closer than it has been. The reality of our situation is his company does not even have space yet, so we thought we would look at locations with the happy medium. We will kind of influence the location of the office. I will check out the areas metioned in NY and CT. I am just so surprised that sooooo many people do this commuting everyday. Thanks so much for the insight and quick response!

[holden125]

The areas in NY and CT are very nice but are generally somewhat more expensive than NJ and would almost double the drive to Delaware so perhaps NJ is better. It helps that the office location will be determined in part by where you live.

A lot of people do the commute every day but I personally find a commute from the suburbs to NYC very stressful. I live in Brooklyn, moving to Queens this week, and find subway commuting better because you don't have to fight the crowds at "the" train station for your train home, and the trains are more than once every 30 or 60 minutes so it's not a big deal if I miss one and grab the next. If I wanted to move to a more suburban locale, I think I'd just leave the area altogether rather than deal with it. But a couple of million people do it daily and most have made their peace.