Can I find an apartment in NewYork City with 3 kids? (Binghamton: houses, neighborhood)

[Viralmd]

As I've said before, private schools in NYC START at $20,000/year and go up with the grade. There are also the ERB tests to take and those will determine if your children are even interviewed. The process is extremely competitive.

And it's the middle schools that are the biggest problem. Many elementary schools are acceptable, but then it falls quickly off after that.

[dorothymichelle]

Hi Keith! Now Im a bit embarassed! Really Iv never left Missouri....Iv had a very boring life so far, except the cute little boys and running our business. It does seem to alot of my girlfriends like Im going out on a huge limb here but Iv done it before, 5 years ago, I had just had our 3rd baby and decided that my hus and I would quit our jobs and start our own business (neither of us has any business training) we had no family or anything to even help us with our kids and we did it with only 4k of savings and each year weve increased profit by a bunch and our business is making alot of money now.
But my hus is a trained chef and loves it but could never find anything in our area with any growth potential so we did start this other business, but now he has an opp. to do what he loves and possibly get somewhere with it, but it'll be hard to leave behind the high income we have here. Im not sure how much Ill miss it. I wish I could figure out how to run this business from New York. Yeah, Hannibal is charming, for sure. It's nick name is "america's home town" and that's ext. what it is. And there are lot's of tourists with Mark Twain and the river. Mizzou!? How'd that happen? Thanks for "warming me up!" I wont expect luxury, for sure! Your nice!

[dorothymichelle]

Well if the elementary schools are ok then Im good, because they are only in K, 2nd and 3rd. And Im only hoping for one year in Manhattan, after that mabey Queens or one of those other not so far places other people have mentioned. Mabey I can sell one of my houses here and use that money to help with the year of rent there? But Im def. keeping the main house in case I have to run home! But I have a feeling I'll probably never leave once Im there.

So im guessing the tests are for IQ?

[dorothymichelle]

Hi Hyun-soo!
Where do you live now? Yeah it totally seems like the best city in the world to me too. I dont think it's gonna be easy either, but def. worth the extra effort.

Yes I HATE the car culture! Even though Iv loved my cars, Id rather drive them once a month instead of 3-4 hours a day! Yes strip malls are so boring. Well one of my sisters just moved to Houston Texas with her new boyfriend and she said you can go NO WHERE without a car! She the pub. trans there is terrible too!

[dorothymichelle]

Thanks everyone for your input!

[keith talent]

Originally Posted by dorothymichelle

Hi Keith! Now Im a bit embarassed! Really Iv never left Missouri....Iv had a very boring life so far, except the cute little boys and running our business.

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Well, I'd say a vast number of "sophisticated" New Yorkers have never driven through Missouri, or any of the states on its borders!

DorothyMichelle, your quest made me think of this passage from E.B. White's "Here is New York," part of which was posted in the subway poetry project. It's the sort of thing you might see sitting next to a Dr. Zizmor ad ...

"There are roughly three New Yorks. There is, first, the New York of the man or woman who was born there, who takes the city for granted and accepts its size, its turbulence as natural and inevitable. Second, there is the New York of the commuter--the city that is devoured by locusts each day and spat out each night. Third, there is New York of the person who was born somewhere else and came to New York in quest of something. Of these trembling cities the greatest is the last--the city of final destination, the city that is a goal. It is this third city that accounts for New York’s high strung disposition, its poetical deportment, its dedication to the arts, and its incomparable achievements. Commuters give the city its tidal restlessness, natives give it solidity and continuity, but the settlers give it passion. And whether it is a farmer arriving from a small town in Mississippi to escape the indignity of being observed by her neighbors, or a boy arriving from the Corn Belt with a manuscript in his suitcase and a pain in his heart, it makes no difference: each embraces New York with the intense excitement of first love, each absorbs New York with the fresh yes of an adventurer, each generates heat and light to dwarf the Consolidated Edison Company. . . ."

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Mizzou!? How'd that happen?

My folks came here from St. Louis and Chicago, where I was born. But I was in a crib in Queens when I was 6 months old. Lived in a number of other places after I was old enough to leave home, but always drifted back!

Good luck, and don't let all the doom and gloom about schools worry you too much. With a little planning, you can at least get yourself zoned for a decent middle school, either on the East Side of Manhattan, or more likely, in Queens. After that, I hope your little guys are bright! And there's always Jersey, Westchester or the Island if you can't find the right HS for them.

[Viralmd]

The ERB tests run the gamut. But they're only the starting place for private school admission: the interviews are critical, as well.

You'll find that in areas where the elementary schools are good, the rents are higher. You're going to need to do a lot of legwork not only to find areas with good schools, but to find an apartment, as well. 1000 square feet may sound large, but for five people it's microscopic. And wait until you see average NY kitchens.

[KLDanford]

I live in Manhattan in Harlem. We have a 2 bedroom for $1640. Now I live near 129th and St. Nicholas Ave which is changing FAST but still a bit seedy. (don't know if you'd want to have your kids around there.) BUT if you go a little south of that (more towards the north end of central park) and a bit more to the west you may be able to find some nicer neighborhoods that won't break the bank like living lower in manhattan.

[Viralmd]

Originally Posted by KLDanford

I live in Manhattan in Harlem. We have a 2 bedroom for $1640. Now I live near 129th and St. Nicholas Ave which is changing FAST but still a bit seedy. (don't know if you'd want to have your kids around there.) BUT if you go a little south of that (more towards the north end of central park) and a bit more to the west you may be able to find some nicer neighborhoods that won't break the bank like living lower in manhattan.

That's true, but schools are still an issue.

[adg147]

Originally Posted by dorothymichelle

Hi, Im new here: We want to move to New York city with our three kids so that my husband can take a great job he's been offered there. Well it's great compared to pay here in Missouri anyway.

The problem is that niether of us has ever left Missouri, ( we live in Hannibal ) but we really want to live in the city with our 3 kids. We just want to rent a small apt the first year until we get used to it and can make a better desicion as to where we want to live. Any ideas would be so great! Im really nervous about this

New Jersey is also an option--not as expensive as the city, and not too bad a commute. NYC schools are pricy, and real estate in West Chester is very high. Plus NJ is closer to your friends in Philadelphia!