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I live in Brooklyn, and I love it. But, my partner and I are thinking about kids and I think we need more space and more nature. I'd like a place where a kid could ride a bike outside, and we can't afford those types of places in Bk.
I don't know where to go, as I want a commute into the city in less than an hour, and a small house for under $300,000.
Our ideal city would:
-have old houses
-be racially diverse (we are not all white)
-be progressive (we are lesbians wanting to start a family)
-be pretty and not just rural... have a town/or small city
-maybe be near a body of water????
Am I living in a dreamland? Is this at all possible? Up and coming is OK!
Please send advise!
I may be off but I don't believe a house within an hour of the city for under $300k is doable. You could get a 2 bedroom co-op in many areas of Queens for around $300k, Jackson Heights comes to mind, but a house with some nature around it? You may need to up your budget a bit and up your commute a bit. Somewhere in Rockland or Orange county could be doable but your commute may be closer to 90 mins into Grand Central.
Vega, OK maybe it wasn't tops on your list but I ask where you work because I live in Staten Island. My neighbors are a lesbian couple raising four kids and we have two other lesbian neighbors, a single mom, an interracial couple, etc. The couple raising kids work in Brooklyn and have a quick commute there by car though there is a city bus to Brooklyn (Bay Ridge) too. Our neighbors on this street are mostly white but you can walk around and you'll see the diversity here. Nobody bothers anybody, yes, on Staten Island. That's because we're on the North Shore. There are plenty of ignorant people on SI but find my neighborhood to be racially diverse and accepting, much moreso than when I was growing up here. SI probably has a way to go but I know the parents I just mentioned moved here from Brooklyn and are very happy here.
I believe you *might* be able to find a *small* house in the $300K-$350K range if you look hard enough. Lot of deals out there right now. Did see a nice 3 bed, 1 1/2 bath colonial with renovated kitchen and baths yesterday asking $429K.
Yes, SI has a boardwalk but the beach is nothing to write home about. I grew up going to Jersey shore, husband grew up going to Riis Park.
The general neighborhood is Randall Manor/West Brighton/Sunset Hill. You can take the SI Ferry here, then get on the 48 bus, which runs along Forest Avenue which has a busy business district: supermarket, banks, delis, bars, restaurants, etc. Get off around Hart Blvd. and walk down Forest Ave. to check it out. FYI I think the mile or so stretch of Forest Ave. between Hart Blvd. and Bement Avenue is the most desirable; the houses above Forest Ave. (Sunset Hill) are more pricey, while the neighborhood below Forest and above Castleton (Randall Manor and West Brighton) has the same walkaility to Forest businesses but is less expensive. Closer to the off street Broadway are housing projects. If you're driving from Brooklyn take the Clove Rd. exit (exit 13) and just follow the blue signs to Richmind University Medical Center to get to Forest Avenue. It's about 10-15 minutes from the Verazano Bridge.
There are good things to do with kids right in this area, too: the SI Zoo, the Children's Museum, ball games in the new ballpark on the water in nearby St. George. Two very nice large parks nearby as well: Silver Lake and Clove Lake.
I wouldn't say it's "cute" here, but it's busy and lively kind of in a Bay Ridge sort of way, though quieter. Good luck to you!
Maybe White Plains? Though I think house prices are still insane in the area. However, there are some lovely co-ops and condos- my husband and I looked at a few, and I kind of wish we'd gone that route instead of what we ended up doing.
Vega, Have you considered Long Beach on Long Island? They have a nice town, activities for kids (fall festival, ice skating rink), summer concerts, lots of restaurants, and and the beach! There are a few bungalows for sale there in the $350k range. My in-laws did it for awhile, lived on the west end with two little ones in a two-bedroom ranch. Not a bad tradeoff for walking to the ocean. Plus neighborhood was very social, with little patios out front, people walking by.
Train station in town, think you could change to a subway at Jamaica?
Look in the Bronx...you will find what you are looking for somewhere in the borough.
yeah, look in the bronx and then see what it is really like, then run to the 'burbs like most people have. The bronx is not a place for decent people to raise a family
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Um, Staten Island?
