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So let me give a little more information as to where I am coming from and used to and what ideally i might be looking for. Please bear with me as I am not very familiar with NYC. My wife has family in Yonkers and we have visited, but other than hitting the touristy spots in Manhattan, I do not know much else.
I currently live in South Florida in a family suburb. I am in a 3/2.5 town home with just over 1900/sqft. I have my own driveway and small backyard. It's nice and serves my family well. Not a single family detached, but we have everything we need and have been good. We have two vehicles because you need them down here. My job is with a major telecom and the pay is good in most places, but probably not so much in NYC which is my dilemma. My pay will start lower at 60k/yr and by middle to end of next year I will be just over 6 figures. We are a family of 5 so ideally we would like a 3 bedroom, but my kids are small so I can deal with a 2 bedroom for now if necessary. I would ideally like to keep at least one car, but am exploring if that will be an option or not. I would love to explore the city and have my kids get to see new things, but I know that's something that could be done on weekend visits as well, which is why I am okay with venturing into other areas like Jersey. Education is important to us, but if we can't afford a good area, we are looking into virtual schooling/homeschooling with my wife. I definitely would like somewhere decently safe. Where I live now, I can easily travel around, walk the dog, go on bike rides with my family and not worry. We aren't ones to stay out super late. Regarding commute, I would love for as minimal a commute as possible, but I understand that it's hard to get everything you want and still pay a low rent. Ideally I would like to be able to walk to a train station, I wouldn't want to have to do a bunch of transfers (bus to train, multiple trains, etc). I don't know if any of the Jersey train stations have parking and how much it is, but if there is parking available, then I would explore the possibility of being a little further out and driving to the station.
I am open to any of the boroughs if the price is right and it meets most of my criteria. The reason I originally felt Queens and Brooklyn were out was because of the rent prices I am finding online which is why I looked toward northern Manhattan and Bronx.
Regarding commute, I would love for as minimal a commute as possible, but I understand that it's hard to get everything you want and still pay a low rent. Ideally I would like to be able to walk to a train station, I wouldn't want to have to do a bunch of transfers (bus to train, multiple trains, etc). I don't know if any of the Jersey train stations have parking and how much it is, but if there is parking available, then I would explore the possibility of being a little further out and driving to the station.
I am open to any of the boroughs if the price is right and it meets most of my criteria. The reason I originally felt Queens and Brooklyn were out was because of the rent prices I am finding online which is why I looked toward northern Manhattan and Bronx.
Thank you again for all your help.
New York City resident income tax is pretty high. The City of Yonkers has its own income tax. I don't know what NY income taxes are paid by NJ residences - it may be nothing much.
The tax situation is more complicated here than in Florida. I would add taxes into your equation.
Northern Manhattan - I assuming you mean Inwood? Half of Inwood is okay and the other half is iffy. The Bronx is a mixed bag. Some neighborhood are okay, some are really rough.
New York City resident income tax is pretty high. The City of Yonkers has its own income tax. I don't know what NY income taxes are paid by NJ residences - it may be nothing much.
The tax situation is more complicated here than in Florida. I would add taxes into your equation.
Northern Manhattan - I assuming you mean Inwood? Half of Inwood is okay and the other half is iffy. The Bronx is a mixed bag. Some neighborhood are okay, some are really rough.
Jersey people who work in NY certainly do pay NY STATE income tax, and it is higher than the NJ state income tax. Which says a lot, given the NJ fame for high taxes! We just don't pay CITY tax. (Used to, but they stopped it, maybe around 1990?)
NYS makes tons of money off of Jersey residents who work there.
So let me give a little more information as to where I am coming from and used to and what ideally i might be looking for. Please bear with me as I am not very familiar with NYC. My wife has family in Yonkers and we have visited, but other than hitting the touristy spots in Manhattan, I do not know much else.
I currently live in South Florida in a family suburb. I am in a 3/2.5 town home with just over 1900/sqft. I have my own driveway and small backyard. It's nice and serves my family well. Not a single family detached, but we have everything we need and have been good. We have two vehicles because you need them down here. My job is with a major telecom and the pay is good in most places, but probably not so much in NYC which is my dilemma. My pay will start lower at 60k/yr and by middle to end of next year I will be just over 6 figures. We are a family of 5 so ideally we would like a 3 bedroom, but my kids are small so I can deal with a 2 bedroom for now if necessary. I would ideally like to keep at least one car, but am exploring if that will be an option or not. I would love to explore the city and have my kids get to see new things, but I know that's something that could be done on weekend visits as well, which is why I am okay with venturing into other areas like Jersey. Education is important to us, but if we can't afford a good area, we are looking into virtual schooling/homeschooling with my wife. I definitely would like somewhere decently safe. Where I live now, I can easily travel around, walk the dog, go on bike rides with my family and not worry. We aren't ones to stay out super late. Regarding commute, I would love for as minimal a commute as possible, but I understand that it's hard to get everything you want and still pay a low rent. Ideally I would like to be able to walk to a train station, I wouldn't want to have to do a bunch of transfers (bus to train, multiple trains, etc). I don't know if any of the Jersey train stations have parking and how much it is, but if there is parking available, then I would explore the possibility of being a little further out and driving to the station.
I am open to any of the boroughs if the price is right and it meets most of my criteria. The reason I originally felt Queens and Brooklyn were out was because of the rent prices I am finding online which is why I looked toward northern Manhattan and Bronx.
Thank you again for all your help.
$60k means max rent of $1500/mo. If you want a 2bd, stretch goal of 3bd with car, you're looking at Jersey no question. Keep in mind that even if it's the same configuration as you're used to, it will be smaller than what would be in Florida.
I don't really understand how so many people think northeastern NJ is so much cheaper than NYC. In many places, an apartment will cost (in rent) very nearly as much as a Manhattan apartment. I am not saying all cases, but you can find apartments in the same price range as NJ just outside of Manhattan in other boroughs, unless you go deep deep into NJ and then you will add your COMMUTE charge plus the double taxation. Jersey City and Hoboken are by no means cheap. Cheap(er) than Manhattan? Sure, but not by that much and if you add into that COL and commute, you really don't save all that much. Maybe other people have different experiences, but I've lived on both sides and I really did not notice much of a difference that was positive enough to suffer NJ Transit.
In NJ you will get greener spaces and maybe a house if you live in the suburbs, so I guess if you have a family and that is what you are looking for, then definitely NJ.
I don't really understand how so many people think northeastern NJ is so much cheaper than NYC. In many places, an apartment will cost (in rent) very nearly as much as a Manhattan apartment. I am not saying all cases, but you can find apartments in the same price range as NJ just outside of Manhattan in other boroughs, unless you go deep deep into NJ and then you will add your COMMUTE charge plus the double taxation. Jersey City and Hoboken are by no means cheap. Cheap(er) than Manhattan? Sure, but not by that much and if you add into that COL and commute, you really don't save all that much. Maybe other people have different experiences, but I've lived on both sides and I really did not notice much of a difference that was positive enough to suffer NJ Transit.
In NJ you will get greener spaces and maybe a house if you live in the suburbs, so I guess if you have a family and that is what you are looking for, then definitely NJ.
It's usually New Yorkers who think that NJ is cheap. We still get the occasional Brooklynite asking about rents under 1000, as if it's 1995 or something. I am in Central NJ, near Red Bank and Middletown. There are 1960s-era garden apartments near me. Commute to Manhattan from here is at least 90 minutes, more depending on where and what mode of transportation. The apartments start at $1499 for a one bedroom.
It's usually New Yorkers who think that NJ is cheap. We still get the occasional Brooklynite asking about rents under 1000, as if it's 1995 or something. I am in Central NJ, near Red Bank and Middletown. There are 1960s-era garden apartments near me. Commute to Manhattan from here is at least 90 minutes, more depending on where and what mode of transportation. The apartments start at $1499 for a one bedroom.
So true! Even rural NJ is by no means "cheap" and you are looking at a 1.5 hour commute minimum, like you say. Bergen County? Forget it! I wish people would look at housing prices and rents in some towns...and I won´t even get into the outrageous property taxes if you own! I remember traveling in parts of Europe and I felt like an extremely wealthy man coming from NY/NJ when I compared the prices in other places in the world to what we pay here just to live a very modest life. And yeah, rents under 1000? LOL. Not even a room in Hoboken or JC will cost you less than 1000. I´ve seen cheaper rooms in parts of Queens!
I would look into Country Club in the Bronx. It's like a gated community without the gate. It's not near the train, but there is a bus that takes you to the train. While it takes you to the 6 train and the 6 train sucks, the area is quite and friendly. All major shopping is within one mile. I can walk that in 15 minutes, so a mile is not as far as it seems.
Even most people in the Bronx don't know about it unless they live near it, because the highway cuts it off from the rest of the Bronx. It's like living in the suburbs.
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