Move to work in Manhattan (New York, Huntington: house, good schools, income)

[sgdagg]

I currently live in Maryland on a 2 acre lot with 4 kids. It would take me about 45 minutes to get into DC for work. I am being asked to relocate to NY for a job in midtown Manhattan.

What are my options to find a place to live that will provide a:

• good education for my kids;
• decent sized house with a yard or alternate play space;
• safe location for my family;
• reasonable cost of living; and
• decent commute into midtown?

Is this even possible?

Thanks for your time.

[gmagg]

I have to say that would be very tough, New York City is similar to Washington DC but much bigger and on steroids, not to say its not possible, But a two acre home 45 min outside DC, seems nice. If you want to live in Manhattan forget about the two acres or grass for that matter. 45 min outside NYC with two acres, good schools, transit, etc. your looking at suburb of Manhasset, NY, Tenafly, NJ, Westchester Co. area. Most homes are at least 1 million or more. A longer commute is necessary if you want more affordablity- look at 1-1.5 hr commute. Its doable. Not sure if you'd want the boroughs of NYC, especially if your coming from a nice DC suburb.

To give you an example: I live in Huntington, NY area in Western Suffolk County (mapquest it) which by train ($18.50 round trip/day) is 1:05hr into NYC+ 15min subway ride on average to the door of your office. Current home is 1 acre, value: 850k with 15,000/yr in taxes. Average income of area is about 100k

You would really have to come up here and take a look, depends on salary, schools and lifestyle preference, if there is an added benefit to working in Manhattan or DC. NYC is a lot more urban environment but suburbs are just as nice as DC.

[sugarbeet]

If they are offering you the money you need, then do it. There are many great suburbs not far from the city with terrific schools. Homes are expensive, but compared to what? Hard to know what you mean by "reasonable cost of living." As gmagg said, $1 million is probably what you would pay for something like you have in MD. Check out the homes on Realtor.com.