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Hey everyone!
Our family moved to US two weeks ago and we hope to get some advice here from experienced members of this community on choosing a place to live.
Understanding how subjective things might be and in the hope to get a more personalized answer, wanted to share a bit of personal info:
We are a couple with a 3y.o. Originally lived in Ukraine, Dnipro city (1M people), but after the Russian invasion moved to Poland. One of us works remotely (a US based company), the other one is staying with a kid. Our family income is ~110k USD before taxes.
We've been to the US a bunch of times as tourists, and also had a 4-month experience of living in Harlem, NYC when were giving birth to our kid. Now we stay at our family member's place in Bedford, NY. We had a short time to look arounds, but screening rental websites it seems we came to a crossroad.
We were trying to find a pretty comfortable apartment nearby (NY, CT area) to stay close to relatives, meanwhile relying to get some help with a kid from time to time. But as for today it seems this area is way too expensive for us to feel financially distressed, renting a 2br apt at 3000$.
We are trying to find a place with
*pretty good walkability (only my husband has a driving experience, I'll have to renew my skills as I haven't driven for 10 years since got a license),
*friendly community (to socialize easy as we are newcomers and don't have a lot of friends here),
*pretty safe and interesting for growing a kid (some classes or lessons for toddlers, places to see the nature, go outdoor, easy access to playground, places for walking, running, doing sports and so on)
*comfortable rental unit, with fresh enough renovation, in-unit laundry (that what we had at home before and used to live in for many years).
We are not sure we would like to start our life in the US from a rental house (that seems to add to our daily routine challenging things we have to figure out how to use and what to do when something goes wrong). So an apartment seems like a wise option for now.
As I said, we haven't seen affordable places matching these points in the current neighborhood and started checking nearby states with lower living costs, taxes and more affordable rental prices. We crossed NJ, MA, CT out of the list with regret.
And honestly we are confused with statistics, opinions and pricing taken from different sources, so we decided to ask experienced and seasoned people, where to look if we missed something here or there.
Things we try to consider in our research:
- availability and cost of rent - given our income we are trying to squeeze in a 2.8k monthly expense(including utilities) for a 2 bd apt (anywhere between 850 and 1100sq.f). For the first year want to keep “European style” of living - an apartment or a condo in a place with a high walkability score (cafes, grocery stores, kids' playground)
- crime situation - Dnipro was not a super safe city (by US standards), but definitely want to consider places with a crime rate lower or eq the national average. Preferably safest neighborhoods
- guns - we’ve seen too many guns in the last few months and would like to focus on places where this is not a point of high interest
- climate - we’ve used to have all 4 seasons and ok with having a dozen cold (15F or lower) and/or dozen hot days (80F and higher) within a year.
- public elementary school - being able to apply to pre K education sooner rather than later is a big advantage
We put an eye on NC and OH as alternative to NY and New England.
NC (Charlotte, Raleigh, Carry)
+ acc to the input we got is booming now
+ lower living costs and rentals
+ Mild and sunny autumn/winter/spring
+ said to be welcomed for newcomers
+ wide opportunities for outdoor activities (ocean, mountains in close nearby)
-drivers said to be pretty aggressive there (worried me as a place to relearn to drive and driving with a kid on board)
-sauna-like summer (we used to hot summers in Ukraine with 86°F from June to September, but not wet and honestly I'm feeling better with summer temp up to 75°F
-open carry guns, state is loyal to weapon
-later pre-K age (comp to NY)
-tornado risks
-allergy on ragweed could happen to be worsted there (we both have different sensitivity to ragweed)
OH (Cleveland suburbs, Columbus)
+lower living costs and rentals
+said to be good medicine
+said to be friendly for kids growing and hospitality to newcomers
+4 seasons climate we used to live in
+not extremely hot summer
+Mountains, rivers and lakes nearby to explore outdoors
-Weapon topic
-lower pre-K age
-country's 2nd worst air quality state
-fewer opportunities to get a good job for me in nearest future and for my husband as well
Thanks everyone in advance for feedback or proposals of the specific cities you can recommend or think would suit us.
Consider looking into Upstate NY, which is more affordable and some places actually have a visible Ukrainian American(and recent arrival) population. It may come down to if a community/neighborhood fits what you are looking for. Parts of the Rochester and Syracuse areas come to mind, but again, it would come down to you finding a neighborhood that fits everything you are looking for. Webster, an Eastern suburb of Rochester and Solvay, a more blue collar Western suburban village outside of Syracuse are in the top 25 in the US in terms of percentage of residents born in the Ukraine. You could start with those communities and surrounding communities within both areas.
I know with the Syracuse area, the general area from the Tipperary Hill neighborhood on the city’s outer West Side(has a Ukrainian club, church and credit union) going west into Solvay on through to Camillus, (quite rural) Elbridge into the city of Auburn(has a Ukrainian club in its NW Quadrant across the street from a Polish Club) is where much of the Ukrainian community is located.
If you are open to it, Downtown Auburn may be worth looking into due to having a Wegmans grocery store, restaurants, a YMCA, parks nearby and it is walkable. There is a serviceable public bus system as well(CENTRO). Auburn is a small city of about 28,000. It is about 30-40 minutes west of Syracuse/50 minutes-an hour east of Rochester. An apartment building in that area: http://loganparklofts.com/
Downtown information: https://www.auburndowntown.org/
In the city’s NW Quadrant: https://peterandpaulukr.com/ (used to have an attached school too) https://www.facebook.com/123068691099960/
An article that states that the county it is in has the highest percentage of people of Ukrainian descent in NY State: https://auburnpub.com/news/local/sec...c2135e5ca.html
Webster does have a walkable village within the town and there is big box shopping on the edge of the village.
Last edited by ckhthankgod; 09-18-2022 at 05:52 PM..
What about Danbury CT? Real estate prices are cheaper than NY, it's close to Bedford, NY near your family, the schools are good, a hospital is in town, every big box store and car dealer is in Danbury, there's an indoor mall, cute second-hand shops, low crime, and Candlewood Lake area is beautiful. The walkability isn't so great, but you can always get a cheap Uber ride to a restaurant or shopping I guess. Besides, you still have very close access to Westchester County, NY for more hospitals, shopping, restaurants, parks, etc., and you can take the train into NYC. Just to note, North Carolina has venomous snakes, so be careful where you look in that state.
(I didn't know what you meant about regretfully crossing CT off your list, I didn't know if you eliminated CT before you moved to Bedford or eliminated it altogether, as never moving there, ever)
Location: Chapel Hill, NC, formerly NoVA and Phila
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You didn't mention this as an option, but how about the Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania which includes the cities/towns of Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton. There is a large Ukrainian community there, and you would still be fairly close to your relatives in New York. All three towns have a walkable downtown. If you are interested, you should ask specifically on the Lehigh Valley board. It should be much cheaper than NY. Easy access to mountains and the beach.
As far as North Carolina goes, you will have significant number of days in the 90s in the summer - from June to August. There are also much fewer "European style" walkable cities/towns here than in the Northeast. You can find it, but you need to look for it. And of course, you will be quite a distance from your relatives.
As far as schools go, I think New York has one of the latest cut-off dates in the nation. Most states/school districts seem to use September 1 (plus or minus) for a cutoff. Very few areas (that I am aware of) use Dec. 31 anymore except parts of New York. We almost moved to New York about 12 years ago, and I remember thinking that my November-born daughter would have been in the "wrong" grade if we moved there (she had already started school).
Consider looking into Upstate NY, which is more affordable and some places actually have a visible Ukrainian American(and recent arrival) population. It may come down to if a community/neighborhood fits what you are looking for. Parts of the Rochester and Syracuse areas come to mind, but again, it would come down to you finding a neighborhood that fits everything you are looking for. Webster, an Eastern suburb of Rochester and Solvay, a more blue collar Western suburban village outside of Syracuse are in the top 25 in the US in terms of percentage of residents born in the Ukraine. You could start with those communities and surrounding communities within both areas.
I know with the Syracuse area, the general area from the Tipperary Hill neighborhood on the city’s outer West Side(has a Ukrainian club, church and credit union) going west into Solvay on through to Camillus, (quite rural) Elbridge into the city of Auburn(has a Ukrainian club in its NW Quadrant across the street from a Polish Club) is where much of the Ukrainian community is located.
If you are open to it, Downtown Auburn may be worth looking into due to having a Wegmans grocery store, restaurants, a YMCA, parks nearby and it is walkable. There is a serviceable public bus system as well(CENTRO). Auburn is a small city of about 28,000. It is about 30-40 minutes west of Syracuse/50 minutes-an hour east of Rochester. An apartment building in that area: http://loganparklofts.com/
Downtown information: https://www.auburndowntown.org/
In the city’s NW Quadrant: https://peterandpaulukr.com/ (used to have an attached school too) https://www.facebook.com/123068691099960/
An article that states that the county it is in has the highest percentage of people of Ukrainian descent in NY State: https://auburnpub.com/news/local/sec...c2135e5ca.html
Webster does have a walkable village within the town and there is big box shopping on the edge of the village.
Thanks for your response and links especially
We actually considered Upstate NY towns at first stage of our research (for example Rochester, Ithaca, Geneva, Finger lakes area towns), but stopped because they are very limited in apartment options and said to have not best reputation in terms of crime and community development. As we can see through the web, these areas are pretty rural (at least in our current understanding). So mostly houses are available for rent, and not many to choose.
We would like to pick a city (or it's close suburb) with wide opportunities to grow, to find a well paid job if needed (that's why we are focusing on Columbus, OH and Charlotte/Raleigh, NC).
Sorry for my inconsistent presentation in the main post. It's not easy to summarize a ton of thoughts and factors at once immediately
Thanks for your response and links especially
We actually considered Upstate NY towns at first stage of our research (for example Rochester, Ithaca, Geneva, Finger lakes area towns), but stopped because they are very limited in apartment options and said to have not best reputation in terms of crime and community development. As we can see through the web, these areas are pretty rural (at least in our current understanding). So mostly houses are available for rent, and not many to choose.
We would like to pick a city (or it's close suburb) with wide opportunities to grow, to find a well paid job if needed (that's why we are focusing on Columbus, OH and Charlotte/Raleigh, NC).
Sorry for my inconsistent presentation in the main post. It's not easy to summarize a ton of thoughts and factors at once immediately
Ithaca is generally safe and has been growing steadily, while Geneva is an even smaller “city”. They both have apartments, but due to being smaller, they will have less than bigger cities.
Rochester varies in terms of crime, like most decent sided American cities. The city proper is only 35-36 square miles and first ring suburbs there would be like outer city neighborhoods in those other cities. It is the main city of a 1 million person plus metro area. So, it is different than those smaller cities(Geneva is actually in the Rochester metro area) and would still be worth looking into. Some apartments in the immediate area(Monroe County): https://www.apartmentfinder.com/New-...nty-Apartments
If interested, first ring suburbs like Brighton and Irondequoit(particularly West Irondequoit) offer some walkability and very good schools. Brighton in particular is near some “trendy” parts of the city’s SE Quadrant.
What about Danbury CT? Real estate prices are cheaper than NY, it's close to Bedford, NY near your family, the schools are good, a hospital is in town, every big box store and car dealer is in Danbury, there's an indoor mall, cute second-hand shops, low crime, and Candlewood Lake area is beautiful. The walkability isn't so great, but you can always get a cheap Uber ride to a restaurant or shopping I guess. Besides, you still have very close access to Westchester County, NY for more hospitals, shopping, restaurants, parks, etc., and you can take the train into NYC. Just to note, North Carolina has venomous snakes, so be careful where you look in that state.
(I didn't know what you meant about regretfully crossing CT off your list, I didn't know if you eliminated CT before you moved to Bedford or eliminated it altogether, as never moving there, ever)
Thanks for tip! We are planning to visit few apartment listings in Danbury in the next couple of days. Today checked Stamford. Trying to get the vibe of the cities/towns as well in our short trips, to understand what do we need now here.
Preliminary we considered CT and MA (Boston suburbs in 95 highway circle area) as a first to go through states, but was disappointed with the real estate market situation. My husband says it might be better to come to "lower cost" states and stay there until our family income grows to appropriate level to rent a good place in congenial cities (states), plus winning some hundreds dollars on difference in taxes, rentals, food costs, car leasing and insurance costs. All that will cost us pretty much due to the fact we are newcomers with new driver license, no credit score, no history and so on)
But if you have in mind what to recommend in CT or MA, we will be happy to check that for sure (I'm mostly sure we might use not 100% right tactic in our research).
We think we can handle the situation if we settle in place which will be in up to 5-7 hours from Bedford (as we realize that we won't visited our relatives let's say every week). In such case we put our every day comfort and financial stability for our family higher than possibility to see our relatives often. The same thing with Ukrainian diaspora. That might be a super helpful and supporting, but we won't stick to this factor.
You didn't mention this as an option, but how about the Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania which includes the cities/towns of Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton. There is a large Ukrainian community there, and you would still be fairly close to your relatives in New York. All three towns have a walkable downtown. If you are interested, you should ask specifically on the Lehigh Valley board. It should be much cheaper than NY. Easy access to mountains and the beach.
As far as North Carolina goes, you will have significant number of days in the 90s in the summer - from June to August. There are also much fewer "European style" walkable cities/towns here than in the Northeast. You can find it, but you need to look for it. And of course, you will be quite a distance from your relatives.
As far as schools go, I think New York has one of the latest cut-off dates in the nation. Most states/school districts seem to use September 1 (plus or minus) for a cutoff. Very few areas (that I am aware of) use Dec. 31 anymore except parts of New York. We almost moved to New York about 12 years ago, and I remember thinking that my November-born daughter would have been in the "wrong" grade if we moved there (she had already started school).
Good luck! We are pulling for Ukraine!
Thanks for supporting!
Will check the Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania, I've never heard about this area. We thought about Pittsburg, but the sort of weather there plus impression on the city itself (based on YouTube native city guiders) let us search further.
As for the schools question. Our kid was born on Oct 16th, 2019. So I have a tiny hope to get him to a Pre-K in next few months (because he is in a new place, he is new in English speaking society and adaptation process might take a while). But I think that would be great to apply on spring 2023 to get him build a social skills and free few hours in a day for me to start work. Our family member's kids started visits to Pre-K at almost 3yo in a charter pre-school in NYC, and continue in Bedford.
Thanks for tip! We are planning to visit few apartment listings in Danbury in the next couple of days. Today checked Stamford. Trying to get the vibe of the cities/towns as well in our short trips, to understand what do we need now here.
Preliminary we considered CT and MA (Boston suburbs in 95 highway circle area) as a first to go through states, but was disappointed with the real estate market situation. My husband says it might be better to come to "lower cost" states and stay there until our family income grows to appropriate level to rent a good place in congenial cities (states), plus winning some hundreds dollars on difference in taxes, rentals, food costs, car leasing and insurance costs. All that will cost us pretty much due to the fact we are newcomers with new driver license, no credit score, no history and so on)
But if you have in mind what to recommend in CT or MA, we will be happy to check that for sure (I'm mostly sure we might use not 100% right tactic in our research).
We think we can handle the situation if we settle in place which will be in up to 5-7 hours from Bedford (as we realize that we won't visited our relatives let's say every week). In such case we put our every day comfort and financial stability for our family higher than possibility to see our relatives often. The same thing with Ukrainian diaspora. That might be a super helpful and supporting, but we won't stick to this factor.
You're welcome. I don't know MA, I've only been in Boston twice on vacation, great city for that!
The traffic on I95 around Stamford is murder, it's the third busiest traffic corridor in the United States! The traffic on I84 into Danbury could be busy also. I don't know if the traffic is lighter now because many are still working remotely from home due to covid. Danbury is more like country living, imo. I don't imagine the job market is great there, although you could find work in White Plains, NY, it's about a 30 minute drive. I wanted to sell my house in southern Westchester and move to northern Westchester to Somers, NY in a condo, but the prices got so high all over the NY Metro area with NYC residents moving out due to covid and rising NYC crime, it's not worth it to sell my home to spend lots of money on a much smaller place. The further north in NY you go away from NYC, the cheaper the rents, but what about the job market in those areas? Same thing in CT, there are nice places to live cheaper further north on I95, like Madison, Guilford, and other nice towns, but is there work?
I can't advise you that way, maybe someone else will chime in.
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and would like to focus on places where this is not a point of high interest
