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My husband is starting school in Manhattan (midtown) this fall so we are looking to move to the area this summer. We would like to stay within a 45 minute commute and are hoping to spend under 350K on a 2-3 bedroom house/condo in a decent area. We don't have any kids so we're not worried about schools but would prefer a reasonably safe environment and are wondering if anyone could tell us which cities or neighborhoods woud be our best options. We appreciate any advice you could give us. Thanks!
You want to buy a 2-3 bedroom condo/house in a decent area w/in 45 minutes of Midtown for $350K? Have you researched this at all? I don't believe it can be done. Budget closer to $500K and you might get a 1 bedroom!
Not true Morningside_Gal. 2 bedrooms are available in areas like Forest Hills and many other places in Queens. Forest Hills is especially nice with many high-end shops lining Austin St. You could also look in areas like Bay Ridge, Jackson Heights, and plenty of others in the outer boroughs. There are not a TON of places but they are out there and with roughly $350k it is doable. She is not talking about Manhattan. Don't be so quick to dismiss the possibility.
My husband is starting school in Manhattan (midtown) this fall so we are looking to move to the area this summer. We would like to stay within a 45 minute commute and are hoping to spend under 350K on a 2-3 bedroom house/condo in a decent area. We don't have any kids so we're not worried about schools but would prefer a reasonably safe environment and are wondering if anyone could tell us which cities or neighborhoods woud be our best options. We appreciate any advice you could give us. Thanks!
Do you prefer to be in the city or in a more suburban locale? There are plenty of places in the suburbs that can be reached within 45 minutes from Penn Station or Grand Central, and areas in the outer boroughs that are within 45 minutes or so by subway. Which is your preference?
Why don't you get a short-term sublet, so you can poke around and learn a little bit about the neighborhoods before you start thinking about making such a huge commitment right away?
Do you prefer to be in the city or in a more suburban locale? There are plenty of places in the suburbs that can be reached within 45 minutes from Penn Station or Grand Central, and areas in the outer boroughs that are within 45 minutes or so by subway. Which is your preference?
We could go either way. As long as we're in a fairly decent area we'll be happy. A lot of people have told us to look across the river in NJ but I thought I'd see what was available on the NY side as well.
Why don't you get a short-term sublet, so you can poke around and learn a little bit about the neighborhoods before you start thinking about making such a huge commitment right away?
We're heading out there for a few weeks in May to look at places but we really don't have a lot of time so I'd like to narrow our search as much as possible. Also, the circumstances are such that it just wouldn't be possible to move again any time soon. All we really need is to find a place we can tolerate and hopefully enjoy for the next 4 years.
Condos are much more unusual than coops in Brooklyn and Queens, but it is possible to find them. Here is one listed for $369K in Sunnyside Queens, but it's a one bedroom. 1 BR OPEN HOUSE (broken link)
There are definitely purchase opportunities in the boroughs for 350K, however, I suspect it will be coop and not condo. If you don't know what this means, you could try doing a search for threads on this board as the topic has recently been discussed. 350K will get you a nice large 2 bedroom COOP in Jackson Heights, Queens but a condo will easily be 100K more.
for your price range and other criteria, you really should look into brooklyn and queens if you want to stay in nyc proper (as others have already mentioned) and northeastern nj if you want something more suburban.
i seriously think you'd get much better bang for the buck in northern nj. the northeastern part of the state is closer to midtown/downtown manhattan than any other of nyc's suburbs. plenty of nice towns, with many having good mass transit access to the city (there are also many towns with lousy mass transit).
i also think the burbs won't be as much of a culture shock if you're not used to living in a city as urban as nyc. while many people from all sorts of backgrounds have no problem adjusting to manhattan these days - it's so much cleaner, safer, mainstream, and less intimidating than it used to be back in the day - the outer boroughs are another story. sure, there are some clean, safe yuppie neighborhoods in the outer boroughs such as brooklyn heights, but they come with a major price tag. at the price you're seeking, chances are you're going to be pushed out into some areas of the outer boroughs that may be too seedy-looking for your tastes, or at least too far from manhattan.
i do agree with an earlier poster to look into a place like forest hills, though - it might be one of the only "nice" and "name-brand" places in the outer boroughs that's not terribly far from midtown/downtown and has excellent subway/commuter train access.
another thing: while there are tons of co-op buildings in nyc proper (including the outer boroughs), they're relatively rare in nj. i have no idea why this is, but it's something to keep in mind. for this and other reasons, you can probably get much more for your dollar with condos in nj than in the boroughs.
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