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Best bet would be Queens near an F, R or M station, and close to a highway. Lots of different neighborhoods. LiC, Astoria, Woodside, Jackson Heights, Rego Park, Forest Hills, and Kew Gardens, just to name a few.
If you're okay with a large studio, you can live at Waterside Plaza in Manhattan. The M34a bus would take you directly to the ESB, and you can walk if you have time. Plus, Waterside is ideal for car owners in that the garage is reasonable by Manhattan standards and connected to all four towers. The plaza has been nicely renovated with green space and seating. Most of the apartments have great views. I don't see any studios on the website currently, but you could call and ask. I am a former resident, so maybe I could answer questions if you have any.
Another good option for you would be Jersey City. It's gentrifying rapidly, but it's still much cheaper than Manhattan. The PATH train would take you right to the Empire State Building. Plus, when you have to drive to New Jersey locations, you'd be on the right side of the river! Very convenient. Friends of mine live there, and they are very happy with the restaurant options that have been springing up in the past couple of years.
Google Grove Pointe for an example of a well-located building that might meet your needs.
Last edited by macnyc2003; 09-09-2015 at 05:58 AM..
Yet another relo thread. I'm pondering a job offer in NYC. I've been to the city a few times, but don't know anything about the neighborhoods as I'm researching places to live. I'm a single male, early 40s, don't need to be near any type of party life but still like options for dining/drinks nearby. I'll be working in Midtown (ESB) part of the time, but also on the road to various parts of NY/NJ too. So I need to have a car, but also be near a subway to be able to get to the office. I'd say my budget would be around $3k.
After some research Brooklyn sounds like a decent option. Is Manhattan even feasible needing to have a car with the cost of parking? Any others I should look at?
Any input from the locals would be appreciated. TIA!
Have you thought about ditching the care and just renting/zipcar-ing when you absolutely need a car? The car really adds a lot of expenses to your budget and for a single guy it's not advisable since you are taking that all on by yourself.
People don't get that folks outside of NYC, thinks a car is their pair of shoes. They gotta have it.
I was staying at a hotel in Houston and I managed to walk like almost 1/4 mi to pickup some groceries at a supermarket. And people could not believe that I walked to get the stuff instead of driving.
The OP should look for areas within 25mi of NYC, you're not gonna find at ease living in NYC until you have adjusted. If you want an easy commute and a space for a car, you're looking at $5000+ for rent and a rental parking spot.
$5000+ I can get a really nice place outside of NYC with my own garage 30mins commute into NYC.
Yep, definitely don't want to do street parking. It would be nice to find a newer bldg with a garage, but then I might be getting outside of my price range.
Thanks for the info. Probably farther north than I had planned, but still an option. Nice bldg - how long do you think the shuttle takes to get across the bridge? Would it be a parking lot at rush hour?
The building is on the right side of the ramp/entrance to the bridge so each time the shuttle leaves your building you are guaranteed to enter the line with approximately 15 cars ahead of you waiting to pay the toll, which is what usually holds back the traffic. I would estimate 10-15 min ride to get to the other side of the bridge on most days unless there were lane closure due to accidents or maintenance work. For more reliable information, just call the building office.
Speaking of the GW Bridge and Fort Lee NJ... what if you lived on the Manhattan side, in Washington Heights near the A or 1 subways? On the Manhattan side, you could find a reasonable parking lot using Best Parking (I didn't realize that phone app only covered Manhattan; thanks for that info).
Housing in WH varies a lot, so look for the renovated apartments within some of the newest buildings right on the Hudson River (theres one at Riverside/W158 or so). Also there are some gracious older turn-century apt buildings, some around Riverside Drive up by 160th, with noisy neighbors and sometimes nicely renovated apts between tenants, just to get you started here.
Other parts of WH around W. 180 (from Broadway west to the Hudson RIver) are nicer neighborhoods. Stay west of B'way. See also "Hudson Heights" - a small number of blocks with some nicely renovated brownstones etc.
WH, in general, is a noisy neighborhood, heavily Dominican. Others reside there as well. Read all about it on C-D with a searchword. You'll find mixed reviews, so see where you might fit in (or not).
You'd have your car ready to go over the GW bridge into NJ. You said you needed trains to the office, so the 1 or A might serve. If you can find something nicely appointed to rent near Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, you're at the Express A station there which gets to Midtwon in 10 minutes. The local 1 is slower, more stops, but that's another way (change at 96th St to a more express 2 or 3 sometimes, or keep with the local 1.)
I'm not reading you as a typical WH tenant, but maybe with the right building and cheaper paid lot parking nearby, you could make a go of it.
Thanks for all of the replies. I think I'm going to focus on the Brooklyn neighborhoods and the NJ side and go from there. Keep any other recommendations coming.
Nearly everyone on this forum will tell you to ditch the car. Personally, I live in Brooklyn and we have always had a car---I work twenty-five miles from home outside of the city and trains are not an option. You can keep the car regardless of what people say but be prepared to be fairly limited in terms of what you want. Unless I didn't have the money I don't think I'd ever give up my car. (And I've been living here all of my life.)
I think you will have a difficult time finding a building that has parking but it's not impossible. You might be able to even rent a parking space or find a garage depending on where you end up. But if you are dead set on avoiding street parking, I think you should be focus a little more on Jersey.
You can definitely find a place in Brooklyn with parking for FAR LESS than 5K. Do people think the only places to rent in Brooklyn are ridiculously expensive?
Nearly everyone on this forum will tell you to ditch the car. Personally, I live in Brooklyn and we have always had a car---I work twenty-five miles from home outside of the city and trains are not an option. You can keep the car regardless of what people say but be prepared to be fairly limited in terms of what you want. Unless I didn't have the money I don't think I'd ever give up my car. (And I've been living here all of my life.)
I think you will have a difficult time finding a building that has parking but it's not impossible. You might be able to even rent a parking space or find a garage depending on where you end up. But if you are dead set on avoiding street parking, I think you should be focus a little more on Jersey.
You can definitely find a place in Brooklyn with parking for FAR LESS than 5K. Do people think the only places to rent in Brooklyn are ridiculously expensive?
OP would probably only consider 1/16th of Brooklyn, similarly why he wrote off all of Queens, although Queens makes the most sense due to access to highways and location to Midtown. Much of Brooklyn will take close to a half hour just to get to a highway.
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