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Agree with everything that Upstater said and I also don't think it is a good idea financially. To spend money for a room here, a commuter rail pass, transportation from NYC to your hometown, and on all the expenses of renting back home you are going to come out further behind than if you and your family just move here. That also doesn't take into account the physical, mental, and emotional strain this will put on you and your family. I think the move to NYC is doable but I think what you're planning on now is a HUGE mistake.
I agree somewhat. The idea doesn't make me jump for joy inside. Thing is, I'm thinking about short term vs long term. I turn 27 this May. I'm pushing 30, until I finish school I will be 30, and with a fresh degree I'll be competing with people almost 10 years younger than me, because my peers by age will have gotten a head start.
I'm really looking at this as temporary. In 6 months, after bringing her to the city and showing her what it has to offer, the possibility could open up that she would warm to the idea and we could find a place in the outer boroughs that isn't going to leave us fighting to stay afloat just so I can commute 2 hrs to work. She says she doesn't want to live there but she doesn't really know anything about it beyond what she's seen on television and what I've told her. Her perception is a mix between Law & Order and Sex & the City. So obviously she's not seeing the other side of the city. She sees the skyscrapers but not Central Park. She sees the hip hop but not the Broadway shows. She sees the crowded subway and not the incredible time savings. Things could change, but they certainly won't if I do nothing and let this pass me by.
If not, in November, I will get my license back and moving to a place close enough that I can drive in will be an option. Allentown puts me about an hour and 40 minutes west of the city. Easton is 20 mins closer. Rent in both areas is between $700 and $1000 for essentially the same 'feel' that we've got now. There are a lot of decent housing options to buy in the area in the $150,000-$200,000 range which would be very doable for both of us working. My wife works in the medical field so it's easy for her to find a job.
As for the commute, after I get my license back, I can dodge the tunnel fees and parking mess by parking in Jersey and taking the train over. I can keep my car registered and insured in PA which will be cheaper. Until I get my car back, I can use Amtrak to get to and from NYC, leaving Sunday evening and returning Friday night.
dude, do NOT leave your wife at home alone with 2 kids, while you go live YOUR life in the big city. all that will do is saddle you with a 25% child suport bill in 6 months, and then you really will be screwed.
If you're gonna get paid 60k+, you can live in the boroughs of nyc EASY. if you're already living below your means, which it seems like you are, then you can do it.
Whatever your choice, keep your wife and kids right next to you. The $$ is not worth losing your family.
Things are playing out a little differently than I thought.
I was looking on craigslist at the Lehigh Valley area in PA, which is about an hour drive from the PATH line, 1 1/2 to the city by car (not counting traffic). Found a NICE loft apartment, 1600sq/ft for $1150/mo that is pet friendly, within walking distance to daily buses heading to NYC (which is way cheaper than taking the train and comparable to commuting by car), 10 mins from lots of shopping and very comparable to the type of neighborhoods we're used to living in.
While my wife still doesn't want to move, she's giving better consideration to it now. I now think that moving to this area would be the ideal situation. It's right in the middle of where we are now and NYC, which makes for an easier, cheaper visit back home to see family and friends. Allentown is a pretty nice area, with lots of stuff to do including Crocodile Rock Cafe which has plenty of good live music playing there regularly. Lehigh Valley area also has plenty of hospitals for her to find work, and while she is home with the newborn I will be able to pay all the bills with money left over. In 3 years when my oldest goes to school, we won't have to start scrambling around for a private school, because the public schools are decent.
The nicest thing is that there are plenty of nice houses in the area in the 200k range that would be very affordable for us once she returns to work. Between the two of us we would be pulling in close to 100k yearly, and we would not only be getting by but living very well with that kind of money.
I'll keep you guys updated since things seem to change daily, but so far this is looking like our most viable option. She saw the pics of the apartment and when I broke down how much everything would cost and how much better off financially we would be, she lit up in a way that she hasn't since I got this job offer.
Things are playing out a little differently than I thought.
I was looking on craigslist at the Lehigh Valley area in PA, which is about an hour drive from the PATH line, 1 1/2 to the city by car (not counting traffic). Found a NICE loft apartment, 1600sq/ft for $1150/mo that is pet friendly, within walking distance to daily buses heading to NYC (which is way cheaper than taking the train and comparable to commuting by car), 10 mins from lots of shopping and very comparable to the type of neighborhoods we're used to living in.
While my wife still doesn't want to move, she's giving better consideration to it now. I now think that moving to this area would be the ideal situation. It's right in the middle of where we are now and NYC, which makes for an easier, cheaper visit back home to see family and friends. Allentown is a pretty nice area, with lots of stuff to do including Crocodile Rock Cafe which has plenty of good live music playing there regularly. Lehigh Valley area also has plenty of hospitals for her to find work, and while she is home with the newborn I will be able to pay all the bills with money left over. In 3 years when my oldest goes to school, we won't have to start scrambling around for a private school, because the public schools are decent.
The nicest thing is that there are plenty of nice houses in the area in the 200k range that would be very doable for us once she returns to work. Between the two of us we would be pulling in 100k yearly, and we would not only be getting by but living very well with that kind of money.
I'll keep you guys updated since things seem to change daily, but so far this is looking like our most viable option. She saw the pics of the apartment and when I broke down how much everything would cost and how much better off financially we would be, she lit up in a way that she hasn't since I got this job offer.
you are so blinded by a 60K salary that you are sacrificing your own family for it.
mark my words, and others here... you are making a mistake by leaving your wife and children to fend for themselves while you go live in NY.
maybe you should have thought of doing this BEFORE having kids!
you are so blinded by a 60K salary that you are sacrificing your own family for it.
mark my words, and others here... you are making a mistake by leaving your wife and children to fend for themselves while you go live in NY.
maybe you should have thought of doing this BEFORE having kids!
You know, I really should just ignore you since you're making it very clear that you are only here to irritate me with your judgmental responses. But for the sake of clarification, since I think you misunderstood me, I'm talking about our whole family moving there, as in taking the relocation expenses and moving to Allentown as soon as I get hired.
And you can leave my kids out of it. Before I returned to school, when we decided to have kids, I was a machinist making damn good money for this area doing interesting work. I had no intentions of returning to school, being a machinist was not my job, it was my career and I intended to stick with it. Then I realized that in 25 years I'll be making less or equal to what I could make my first year out of college, and I'll be lucky if I make it to retirement age without getting injured or laid off before I can cash out my pension.
As I've said, we're not struggling. We're getting by just fine. When I was bringing in my income, we didn't live extravagantly either. It's just the way we are, as a family. I grew up poor, my wife grew up in public housing in Norwalk, CA. We understand the value of a dollar and what is really important in life. I also know a good opportunity when I see one.
This salary is about the maximum I could have made at my last job, assuming I stayed there for 15-20 years. And it will only go up from here. When I finish school, I can transfer to a higher paying job within the company. Or I can leave the company with 4-5 years of practical work experience and demand at least the same salary somewhere outside of the city.
Don't tell me I'm blinded by the money, because I'm not. Once again, you don't know me, you really don't know anything about me to be passing these judgments about me. I'm thinking about what's best for my family in the long term. Personally, for me, I could give a damn about money, luxuries, living some kind of extravagant lifestyle surrounded by lots of stuff to see and do. I'm more concerned with making sure that my kids don't have to worry about going to college, making sure that surprise medical bills don't bankrupt our family, making sure my wife doesn't have to worry about what we'll do if her car breaks down.
I'm interested to find out exactly what makes you so qualified to pass these judgments, seeing as you have no idea what life is like in the area I currently live in, what kind of money you need to live in this area, and what kind of job opportunities in the career I'm trying to get into are available here. We were already planning to move once I finished school, either to Philly, NYC burbs, or Chicago. This is just sooner than planned for. Again, life happens.
I'm glad life's never thrown you a curveball and that you've got it all figured out. I'm happy for you, really. You're so clever that I'm sure even if it did, you'd know instantly, without deliberation, what the right thing to do is. But that's your life. So don't pretend you know a ****ing thing about me or mine.
You are looking at this whole situation in a very immature manner. You are not taking ANY negatives into consideration. It is not just BK2Westchester who is offering you constructive criticism, there are several posters giving you the negatives. You're blowing by any negatives and hyping up the positives.
Just so you know, I know the Leigh Valley area very well, I lived in Jersey 30 min East of there for quite some time. I've done that bus commute. From Jersey it took 2 1/2 hours on the regular each way in the AM and PM due to traffic. I did it for a temp job and was never so relieved when it was over. It sucks the life and energy out of you.
If you really want to do this, the only way will be to move to one of the outer boros.
Thanks for the link! I'll be sure to read up on this stuff. Very relevant.
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