Boston suburbs vs NYC suburbs vs Philadelphia suburbs (compare, places, America)
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Good question. I pointed out Times Square as that would be my commute point for at most three times a month. IF this were a daily commute it would be NYC no brainer.
How's Kingston, MA?
Kingston is a middle class working suburb. Based on desirability, maayybbbeee #80 of 150 towns in Greater Boston? Certainly not where I'd recommend given your criteria, and Certainly not walkable.
Honestly, at $700-$800k, I'd take a hard look at Philadelphia. Not to say you cant make it work in a nice town in Boston/NYC, but there will be "sacrifices" and you'll never get an apples to apples suburbs to what you can get in Philadelphia. Nice towns with good districts nearer to the city will be too expensive in Boston and NYC.
That said, some Boston suburbs I'd consider with the budget and walkability/town core(assuming no commute):
Kingston is a middle class working suburb. Based on desirability, maayybbbeee #80 of 150 towns in Greater Boston? Certainly not where I'd recommend given your criteria, and Certainly not walkable.
Honestly, at $700-$800k, I'd take a hard look at Philadelphia. Not to say you cant make it work in a nice town in Boston/NYC, but there will be "sacrifices" and you'll never get an apples to apples suburbs to what you can get in Philadelphia. Nice towns with good districts nearer to the city will be too expensive in Boston and NYC.
That said, some Boston suburbs I'd consider with the budget and walkability/town core(assuming no commute):
I don't think my budget does very well in NYC or Boston, at least not for a family. Young single dude, sure, great. Not only does the list price in Philly look better, I think it also has a lower tax burden. It all adds up. Thanks.
As others have said, scratch Boston off the list entirely. Outside of a handful of the most elite NYC area towns, MA is probably more expensive on average, and it's the furthest from NYC. I'd also scratch Westchester off the list since you'll only be going into the city 2x per month and can avoid the punitive property taxes there (which they can afford to charge since Metro North is the best NYC commuter line).
I'd probably focus on the further reaches of NJ honestly. Princeton area is quite nice, western Morris county perhaps. Costs are a bit lower than Bergen/Essex/Union counties since the commute is a bit farther, but that won't matter as much to you if you don't need to commute every day. These areas are also served by trains & busses that should be more regularly scheduled into Manhattan than the Philly area.
If you're set on New England (which I get because it's lovely), I'd suggest New Haven county or thereabouts, maybe a touch east of there like Madison or something like that. Would give you nice coastal access without the big pricetags of Fairfield county. Also puts you in easy weekend trip range to the rest of prime New England (including Boston area) vacation spots like Cape Cod, Berkshires, Newport, etc. Commute would of course be longer from there, but 2x per month is doable.
As others have said, scratch Boston off the list entirely. Outside of a handful of the most elite NYC area towns, MA is probably more expensive on average, and it's the furthest from NYC. I'd also scratch Westchester off the list since you'll only be going into the city 2x per month and can avoid the punitive property taxes there (which they can afford to charge since Metro North is the best NYC commuter line).
I'd probably focus on the further reaches of NJ honestly. Princeton area is quite nice, western Morris county perhaps. Costs are a bit lower than Bergen/Essex/Union counties since the commute is a bit farther, but that won't matter as much to you if you don't need to commute every day. These areas are also served by trains & busses that should be more regularly scheduled into Manhattan than the Philly area.
If you're set on New England (which I get because it's lovely), I'd suggest New Haven county or thereabouts, maybe a touch east of there like Madison or something like that. Would give you nice coastal access without the big pricetags of Fairfield county. Also puts you in easy weekend trip range to the rest of prime New England (including Boston area) vacation spots like Cape Cod, Berkshires, Newport, etc. Commute would of course be longer from there, but 2x per month is doable.
Absolutely not set on New England. My initial lean is towards the Philly area. I have a friend in the Princeton area and it's gorgeous. My worry is NJ tax burden vs PA's.
Strongly agree with advice given so far. The Philadelphia area definitely tops Boston for affordability and proximity to NYC. Not undercounting the desirability of the Boston or NYC 'burbs, but astronomical housing costs have only gotten worse. The Philly area has certainly become more expensive as well, but I honestly think the affordability gap has widened even more recently in the former two.
Consider Bucks County, which lays northeast of Philly. Areas like New Hope/Solebury, Doylestown, Newtown, and Yardley are top notch and offer everything you'd ever want from East Coast suburbia.
FYI, The Blue Bell/Ambler area further west in Montgomery County has a fairly high Asian-American population (notably Korean), so that's an option to consider if you're looking for more of a presence of that community.
Strongly agree with advice given so far. The Philadelphia area definitely tops Boston for affordability and proximity to NYC. Not undercounting the desirability of the Boston or NYC 'burbs, but astronomical housing costs have only gotten worse. The Philly area has certainly become more expensive as well, but I honestly think the affordability gap has widened even more recently in the former two.
Consider Bucks County, which lays northeast of Philly. Areas like New Hope/Solebury, Doylestown, Newtown, and Yardley are top notch and offer everything you'd ever want from East Coast suburbia.
FYI, The Blue Bell/Ambler area further west in Montgomery County has a fairly high Asian-American population (notably Korean), so that's an option to consider if you're looking for more of a presence of that community.
For MontCo, Cheltenham has an Hmart and several other Korean stores with a few Chinese and Vietnamese sprinkled in there. *FWIW, there's a Vietnamese Buddhist temple right around the corner from me on Oak Lane rd and a Presbyterian Church off of Cheltenham Ave.
I would not be buying a house currently. In Summit, my best friend's aunt's house was listed for 800k, and sold 200k above asking as a tear down. If you're actually looking for ”blue chip” suburbs in NJ currently, you're gonna get outbid on the houses you want at your budget. *Northern* Bucks County is pretty, but you get what you pay for (in terms of infrastructure), and last time I was out there it was all NY plates, either from people moving to their country houses or buying up homes for relatively ridiculous prices. IMHO, the nicest areas with lots of land and a viable commute to NY are Morris and Somerset counties, but you're still gonna run into the bidding war problem. Good luck!
I don't think its been mentioned above but the Acela b/t Wash DC and NYC is much more reliable than the Acela train b/t Boston and NYC. If you get stuck behind a regional train in CT it gets very frustrating. Though since you're only heading in 2-3 days a month that might not be a factor.
I do think the Philly burbs on either the PA or the NJ side would be ideal. I like the towns of Haddonfield/Collinswood on the NJ side. Though I wouldn't totally throw out the idea of the many desirable places in NNJ that fit within your budget with higher prop taxes.
These suggestions are a bit further out and I'm not sure they tick the box regarding Asian presence but have you though about Frederick MD or somewhere around the Lancaster/Harrisburg PA area. I've worked with people in Manhattan that have done remote commutes several times a month from both and they always had good things to say about it.
I don't think its been mentioned above but the Acela b/t Wash DC and NYC is much more reliable than the Acela train b/t Boston and NYC. If you get stuck behind a regional train in CT it gets very frustrating. Though since you're only heading in 2-3 days a month that might not be a factor.
I do think the Philly burbs on either the PA or the NJ side would be ideal. I like the towns of Haddonfield/Collinswood on the NJ side. Though I wouldn't totally throw out the idea of the many desirable places in NNJ that fit within your budget with higher prop taxes.
These suggestions are a bit further out and I'm not sure they tick the box regarding Asian presence but have you though about Frederick MD or somewhere around the Lancaster/Harrisburg PA area. I've worked with people in Manhattan that have done remote commutes several times a month from both and they always had good things to say about it.
On your own dime, you’re not going to take Acela from Boston to NY Penn. You’re going to take a Northeast Regional train at 1/3 the price. The track infrastructure in Connecticut is so pathetic that Acela isn’t much quicker. Acela is for expense report travel.
IMO, if you have to be in Manhattan 3+ times per month, you want to be close to frequent direct Amtrak service. I think 3 1/2 hours from Harrisburg on Keystone is farther than I’d want. Ardmore to NYP is 2 hours. 6:31am arriving NYP at 8:30. The 6:35pm NYP train home gets in at 8:28pm. That’s a full work day and you won’t be wiped out with the travel when you get home. I’d pick towns near the Keystone Line Philly suburbs. Downingtown is as far out as I’d go and that’s farther from Philly than I would prefer.
I know nothing is ever apples to apples and the above 4 are different in their own right, but share some similarities. I may be veering way off course here, but it appears King of Prussia is a peer of the above 4?
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