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Walking distance to somewhere serving a decent range of ales would be a definite plus, I'm definitely going to miss "real" beer when I leave the UK
This will not be a problem in NYC. There are plenty of places with the same ales you'd get in London.
Quote:
Originally Posted by aebrett
On a separate note, as mentioned above my wife will be moving to the US as well, but will be based in Boston because of work, so I'll be commuting up there most weekends. I'm thinking that maybe a motorbike is the easiest way for me to do this - is this realistic or do I need to bite the bullet and put up with the horrendous air/train fare?
My girlfriend lives in Boston, along with many of my relatives and friends, and I do this trip a lot. It's not luxury travel but you can take a bus (either an "official" bus from Port Authority Bus Terminal, which is not far from where you'd be working) or something like Fung Wah or BoltBus, which are even less expensive. Either way it's far less costly than the train and a popular option.
I don't know about driver's licenses and all coming from the UK, but I've also on occasion rented a car near the train station in Mount Vernon, which is about 25 minutes north of Grand Central on the train. The rates are much more affordable than in Manhattan and, even paying for the fuel, I wind up having a car for the weekend trip for a little over $100, which is far less than the round trip on the train (I get the insurance through an American Express credit card for something like $25 a rental and the cost at the rental agency is rarely more than $70 or $80 for Friday-Monday. From Mount Vernon, unless you hit major traffic, it's about three hours (at least the way I drive).
The drive to Boston is 4.5 hours, and traffic on I-95 through Connecticut can be horrible.
You shouldn't take I-95 to drive to Boston. I go up the Saw Mill or the Hutch to 684, then 84 East to the Mass Pike. 95 is definitely the slow and heavy traffic way. The buses go up 95 to 91 since they can't go on the parkways in Westchester.
You shouldn't take I-95 to drive to Boston. I go up the Saw Mill or the Hutch to 684, then 84 East to the Mass Pike. 95 is definitely the slow and heavy traffic way. The buses go up 95 to 91 since they can't go on the parkways in Westchester.
I've done it both ways
1. Hutch to 684 etc.
2. I-95 to 91 to 84 to the pike.
More often than not I opt for I-95 because going the entire way on 84 makes me feel bored and sleepy.
But I have heard the same advice that you are giving - one of my relatives seems shocked that I prefer I-95.
If you're willing to move to Queens, depending on where, you can get a larger apartment for $2,000/mo. Before you get discouraged, Queens is only one stop from Grand Central Station on the subway (maybe 7 minutes' riding). That is Long Island City, Queens. You can go even further into Queens inside of 40 minutes.
-World famous beer garden
-Excellent, trendy, modern bars
-Tons of good and cheap Greek, Italian, Indian, Middle Eastern, Mexican etc restaurants
-Lots of young professionals, very diverse and safe community
-Brand name shopping on Steinway
-30 minutes door to door from Astoria to 49th Street station via the N or W train
-Best amenities of any NYC neighborhood in my opinion
-For $2000 you can have brand new construction, wood floors, 600-700 square foot 1 br apartment, stainless steel appliances and a Manhattan balcony view.
-World famous beer garden
-Excellent, trendy, modern bars
-Tons of good and cheap Greek, Italian, Indian, Middle Eastern, Mexican etc restaurants
-Lots of young professionals, very diverse and safe community
-Brand name shopping on Steinway
-30 minutes door to door from Astoria to 49th Street station via the N or W train
-Best amenities of any NYC neighborhood in my opinion
-For $2000 you can have brand new construction, wood floors, 600-700 square foot 1 br apartment, stainless steel appliances and a Manhattan balcony view.
-buy a return ticket to Boston on greyhound.com for around $40 bucks
-take the N or W from Astoria to 42nd Street Times Square in about 30 minutes
-hop on the bus and 4 hours later you will be in the heart of downtown Boston right on the waterfront
From what I've heard, if the W is cut, the Q would likely be extended to Ditmars. If that happens, Astoria shouldn't be affected that much. But who knows.
I'm starting to feel like a bit of a homer for recommending my own area so much, but, really, the OP sounds like a great candidate for "Brownstone Brooklyn" over Astoria and probably even over most parts of Manhattan, assuming he could afford them to begin with. I believe that you can still realistically find one-bedrooms in that price range in Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Boerum Hill, Park Slope. These neighborhoods really fit the bill as far as amenities.. you will certainly not have trouble finding whatever beers suit your fancy in these yuppified areas (which I say with only the greatest affection...). In terms of aesthetics and general vibe, this area of Brooklyn really reminds me more of London than Queens does, so you may feel a little more at home, if that's at all important. The commute is a bit longer to Midtown but still easily within the 45-minute window. Also, park space seems a bit lacking to me in most parts of Queens. Though I suppose that is also something of an issue in the Carroll Gardens etc. area, Park Slope has Prospect Park, which is about as good as it gets. The commute to Boston will be negligibly different no matter where you are... after a trip of that length, having to take the subway an extra ten minutes from Port Authority/Penn Station or wherever is really not going to make a big difference. For what it's worth, my parents live in Boston and I go up there a few times a year, and usually do Amtrak. The extra cost is worth the comfort, since I do the trip relatively infrequently. But if it were every weekend, I'd do the buses, which I have heard are not too bad.
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