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Hi,
My husband and i will be moving to New York in May, we have 2 children aged 3 and 2. We currently live in Sydney Australia. My husband will be working in manhattan on west 55th. Can anyone give us their opinions on if forest hills or park slope is better in terms of safety ( currently live in neighbourhood where we never have to lock the front door), child care (pre school one or two days a week) and commute? And what sort of budget do we need to have? As rents, childcare and cost of living seems to vary wildly.
Also we are not wanting to bother shipping everything over there, is it possible to furnish a house cheaply, is there good second hand living room furniture etc??
Those neighborhoods are in Brooklyn and Queens, so even though they are located on Long Island, you'd have much better luck asking in the New York City forum.
I think Forest Hills is generally cheaper than Park Slope, though both are fairly expensive. Forest Hills Gardens is extremely pricey, gorgeous neighborhoods though.
Hi,
I had posted this in the long Isand forum, but was directed here so i hope you can all help
My husband and i will be moving to New York in May, we have 2 children aged 3 and 2. We currently live in Sydney Australia. My husband will be working in manhattan on west 55th. Can anyone give us their opinions on if forest hills or park slope is better in terms of safety ( currently live in neighbourhood where we never have to lock the front door), child care (pre school one or two days a week) and commute? And what sort of budget do we need to have? As rents, childcare and cost of living seems to vary wildly.
Also we are not wanting to bother shipping everything over there, is it possible to furnish a house cheaply, is there good second hand living room furniture etc??
Hi,
My husband and i will be moving to New York in May, we have 2 children aged 3 and 2. We currently live in Sydney Australia. My husband will be working in manhattan on west 55th. Can anyone give us their opinions on if forest hills or park slope is better in terms of safety ( currently live in neighbourhood where we never have to lock the front door), child care (pre school one or two days a week) and commute? And what sort of budget do we need to have? As rents, childcare and cost of living seems to vary wildly.
Also we are not wanting to bother shipping everything over there, is it possible to furnish a house cheaply, is there good second hand living room furniture etc??
Thanks
Toots
Both excellent neighborhoods.
If hes uptown ...Id give a slight advantage to Forest Hills(2 stops on the LIRR) which will give you better access to LI and the beaches too.
I'm not familiar with Park Slope, but Forest Hills is a nice area to live. Being in NYC, I think you should always lock your doors, but it is relatively a safe area to live. The heart of Forest Hills has plenty of shopping and restaurants, and easily accessible to public transportation. If your husband will be working at West 55th, he can take the express train from forest hills which will take him right to midtown and probably a couple of blocks walk to where he works.
I assume you will need at least a 2-bedroom, which will run you at least $1,600 and up for something decent. The closer you are to the heart of Forest Hills, the higher the rents might be. The schools are good too. I don't have kids, so don't know about the child care.
Ikea is always a option if you want to furnish inexpensively. However, there is no Ikea in Queens so you will need a car.
A overall budget your working with would help since one person's idea of inexpensive can be another person's idea of expensive.
[quote=danameless;6878845]Ikea is always a option if you want to furnish inexpensively. However, there is no Ikea in Queens so you will need a car. QUOTE]
Just to go to Ikea you don't need to buy a car. We have Zip cars here: you can rent, very reasonably, by the hour. A car can be a REAL problem in NYC: finding a place to park or paying for a garage. You can either PAY every month for a garage or spend a LOT of time searching for a legal parking place. It's worse in Manhattan than the other boroughs, but it's still a potential problem in both Brooklyn and Queens. But one does NOT need a car in NYC.
Hi,
I had posted this in the long Isand forum, but was directed here so i hope you can all help
My husband and i will be moving to New York in May, we have 2 children aged 3 and 2. We currently live in Sydney Australia. My husband will be working in manhattan on west 55th. Can anyone give us their opinions on if forest hills or park slope is better in terms of safety ( currently live in neighbourhood where we never have to lock the front door), child care (pre school one or two days a week) and commute? And what sort of budget do we need to have? As rents, childcare and cost of living seems to vary wildly.
Also we are not wanting to bother shipping everything over there, is it possible to furnish a house cheaply, is there good second hand living room furniture etc??
Thanks
Toots
The question Viralmd has posed is crucial: what is your budget? It seems that Park Slope is a bit more expensive than Forest Hills.
Other than that, I will say that Forest Hills is a more suburban neighborhood with apartment towers and detached and attached single family homes. Park Slope is filled with brownstones and has a more urban feel. The commute to midtown Manhattan should be quicker on an express subway from Forest Hills than it would be from Park Slope. Both neighborhoods have a lot of families and are well-regarded for their relative safety and good primary schools.
If you are just moving to New York – these two places may not be the best options if you are on a budget.
Here's my opinion on both:
Park Slope is divided into 2 areas: North and South. North Slope is inhabited by wealthy upper middle class while South Slope is inhabited by immigrants from Puerto Rico, Latin America, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Ireland. Park Slope rents ranges from $1000 to $3300 based on the size of the apartments. Park Slope is 25 minutes from Manhattan. The F train runs to 7th Avenue and 9th Street, and the D and Q run to 7th Avenue and Flatbush.
Forest Hills is known for having large homes and apartment complexes. Forest Hills is home to mostly upper middle class people of all nationalities. General rents in the area range of studios from $700-$1100, one bedrooms from $900-$1300, two bedrooms from $1400-$2200 and three plus bedrooms start at $2500-up. The E and F trains can have you in Midtown in 20 minutes, and downtown in 35 minutes. One can also commute via the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) at Station Square (Austin Street and 71st Avenue) which will have a commuter in Penn Station in just 15 minutes.
These are not accurate rents from today's market. It sounds like what you've written is cut and pasted from another website, however, whatever website it is is outdated.
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Park Slope Vs Forest Hills?
