Move to work in Manhattan (Yonkers, New Rochelle: apartment, rental, house)

[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.

P.S. Sorry for the repeat post. The first time I posted this I attached a poll to it and for some reason it would not show up in the "New Posts" list. I am obviously new to the forum.

[Dockside]

Originally Posted by sgdagg

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?

You are going to get a lot of opinions.

The commute. Forget driving into NYC. It is tedious, nerve-wracking and expensive. Check out Metro-North at http://www.mta.info/mnr/. It has schedules, and even better, it has maps.

Education. Westchester County in NY has many great towns and schools. I'm mostly familiar with coastal areas. Larchmont, Mamaroneck, Rye, Rye Brook are great towns with great schools in safe areas. New Rochelle has good schools, nice homes, but it has some rough areas that might put you off. Worth checking out though.

Check out the journalnews.com for stories about schools in Westchester County. http://www.greatschools.net/ has rating of schools.

Reasonable cost of living? Welcome to the land of sticker shock. Homes and property taxes are high. Utilities are high. Everything is pricey around here.

Stay away from Yonkers, Mt. Vernon and Port Chester.

Be sure to consider NJ too.

[sgdagg]

Thanks for the input. I definitely don't plan to drive. Where should I be considering in NJ?

[mels]

Also consider Fairfield County, CT. The only places to avoid there are Bridgeport and select neighborhoods in Stamford and Norwalk. For the most part all school systems are very good and Metro North can get you into Grand Central in a half hour from lower Fairfield County. Of course this comes at a price.

[Dockside]

I'm not familiar enough with NJ to give you an intelligent answer. Try the NJ boards, they can help.

Also consider CT. Greenwich is absurdly expensive, but great schools and low mil rates. I wouldn't go any further up the coast than Fairfield, the train ride gets too long and you'll never see your kids.

Good luck.

[Manhattan-ite]

If money is not an issue, why don't you move to Manhattan? Commuting sucks, so it's nice to be right where the action is. You might even find a yard (I've got one in a rental apartment).