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Hello, we are a young, professional, somewhat progressive family with 2 small kids (3 YO; 1.5 YO) currently living in NYC and deciding whether to move to Manhasset, LI .
Some more background -
- My husband would be a daily commuter and would need to be in midtown west office by 7:30AM M-F. His work requires him to have quick mental reflexes so sleep is of utmost importance as it directly impacts performance. Living on LI would mean he'd have to get up 5:45AM to make a ~6:30 train. Every day. He'd take a 5PM train back and get home 6PM for dinn dinn. Commute each way on LIRR is ~35min
- We do fall into the high income tax bracket. The city income tax is brutal to us.
- If we stay in NYC, we would likely do public schools. While we can afford private, we're cheap and I myself went to PS so I believe in that. We're planning on having 3 kids.
- Financial things aside, the #1 thing we're actually most concerned about is my husband's health (physical and mental) and are wondering whether a commuting lifestyle will impact his health negatively by making him more tired in general. I heard it can wear you down. And some of those guys on the LIRR ain't looking so good with their pot bellies (offense if you are one of them). We do not aspire to be like that.
So where will we find better health and overall quality of life? Living in NYC (air pollution, noise, but more forced walking) ? or LI (brutal early commute grind, relying on driving instead of walking, but more nature and less air pollution). If we live on LI, I doubt he'll want to work out after he gets home....bc i've done the commute before and its draining you of everything by the time you're home.
What entices us about Long Island is 1) public schools 2)avoid city income tax (which would take a nice large chunk from us) and 3) surrounded by nature
All thoughts welcome! Thank you in advance and god bless America.
I've lived right on the border of Queens (the city) and Nassau (the country) since the 70s as a kid. I've done the commute. It sucks. I've also lived on the UES. That also sucks.
In 2020 my advice to you is DO YOU WANT TO GET MUGGED, STABBED OR WORSE? If you think safety is important to you now and your kids in the future, your decision is pretty easy!
For what it's worth, here's my two cents, having moved from NYC to Long Island last year, with two toddlers, dealing with similar concerns. My wife was worried that the longer commute (from Plainview, which is much farther east than Manhasset) would take a toll on my livelihood, but after considering the pros and cons, it ultimately seemed like a minor sacrifice. Personally speaking, I got used to commute (about 50-55 minutes from Hicksville/Bethpage) pretty quickly and learned to enjoy it. My prior subway commute was still 20-25 minutes so in reality, it's only a half hour longer each way.
Having dealt with subways nearly my entire adult life, it is MUCH more relaxed. For one thing if you leave early enough, you always get a seat. Other than the occasional hiccup, the schedule is for the most part reliable. And, perhaps most important of all, you're above ground so you have internet and cell phone reception. So if I needed to work from the train, I could. And here's where I found the beauty of commuting. After my kids were born, I hardly have any alone time. Once we moved, however, that hour in the morning and in the evening was pretty much the only time I had to read for pleasure. I also watched a number of shows/movies that I could never find the time to watch at home or that did not interest my wife. It was also time to just mentally recharge. And having a car is a nice perk too! Of course there are days where the commute really sucks or drags ass, but for the most part, you learn to adjust.
Of course now my wife and I both work from home, so I don't have to deal with that at all. But, that's only reinforced the fact that the move was right for us. It would have been literally impossible for the two of us to work from our cramped two bedroom apartment with two toddlers and a caretaker throughout the day. Now we have the space to spread out.
As for keeping in shape, one thing I also do now that I never did living in the city is yard work. Unless you're really pressed for time, I would encourage you guys to do this on your own rather than hiring someone else to do it for you should you decide to make the move.
My husband, daughter and I moved from Brooklyn to Manhasset 8 years ago, and shared many of your concerns. I would move again in a heart beat.
I commute to the city (pre-Covid) daily and it's a breeze compared to taking the subway -- I almost always get a seat on the 7:44 am train (with the 6am trains your husband would have no problem) and I'm in Penn station in half an hour. Door to door, I have a 50 minute commute, including walking. There is just one stop (Great Neck) before Penn during normal rush hours. The current schedule may be different due to Covid--not sure since I'm working from home right now.
Re: forced walking, I am a huge fan of walking and so we bought a house that's just a 5-minute walk from the Manhasset train station and the town center. We walk our dog daily and love the neighborhood. Some streets have sidewalks, which we prefer, and Park Ave., which runs through Munsey Park, is a gorgeous tree-line avenue with long sidewalks. We also have a trampoline in our backyard for our daughter, and my husband loves cycling around the neighborhood.
One of the bonuses was the ease with which we found a pre-school for our daughter, who was 3 1/2 when we moved. She loved her elementary school, Munsey Park, and now is enjoying 7th grade at the Secondary School. The schools are excellent, as is the public library. There are numerous athletic teams and ways for kids to stay fit and get involved.
Best of luck making your decision. If you have any questions, I'd be happy to elaborate.
Update- after months of due diligence, deliberation, and looking at an absurd number of houses in Manhasset, we decided to stay in the city.
We grew tired of looking at moldy, humid basements and 100 year old houses that don’t even have nice yards. It’s such a rip off. A bit crazy we put in all this work..it’s a sunken cost..but we’re confident in our decision. There’s no place in the world like NYC, no matter what..and we’ll enjoy it all we can while we’re still young-ish (early 30’s).
Plus With more people getting the vaccine, we’re feeling optimistic about 2021 in NYC - We personally know of lots of young families moving back..it’s going to be a blast!
Thanks to all those who replied and tried to help
And sorry for all the disses I made at the fat people.
We made the same decision to stay as well beginning of December, had been mainly looking at Manhasset (and Port Washington earlier on), we probably went to some of the same open house. Where we didn't see too many "fat people"... but the housing stock didn't seem great. Lot of houses in need of renovation even if they looked "shiny" inside but old appliances, HVAC, roof, ... and had a few with moist basements too. Bunch of folks bought 1.5-2mm houses that they won't want to stay in after a couple of years. If something very good comes up at some point we might reconsider.
And no idea when folks will actually be vaccinated but agree 2021 in NYC can only be better! So much pend up need to go out and socialize!
Update- after months of due diligence, deliberation, and looking at an absurd number of houses in Manhasset, we decided to stay in the city.
We grew tired of looking at moldy, humid basements and 100 year old houses that don’t even have nice yards. It’s such a rip off. A bit crazy we put in all this work..it’s a sunken cost..but we’re confident in our decision. There’s no place in the world like NYC, no matter what..and we’ll enjoy it all we can while we’re still young-ish (early 30’s).
Plus With more people getting the vaccine, we’re feeling optimistic about 2021 in NYC - We personally know of lots of young families moving back..it’s going to be a blast!
Thanks to all those who replied and tried to help
And sorry for all the disses I made at the fat people.
Enjoy your Deblasio screwed up NYC. It must be nice dining in a covid-infested outdoor tiny shack when its 30 degrees outside (assuming your fav resturant has not been driven out of business yet). And Deblasio openly admits that he wants to redistribute your wealth since you are an evil wealthy person thats ruining nyc.
I had my "city time" in my 30's when I owned a condo in dumbo. NYC was at its prime under Bloomberg.
Sold it in 2015 shortly after comrade Deblasio was elected and my second kid popped out. Now in my 40's with kids in my LI surburb phase. Regretted it when 1st left the city, but with this COVID nonsense and crime friendly Deblasio admin, I'm glad I'm here.
Update- after months of due diligence, deliberation, and looking at an absurd number of houses in Manhasset, we decided to stay in the city.
We grew tired of looking at moldy, humid basements and 100 year old houses that don’t even have nice yards. It’s such a rip off. A bit crazy we put in all this work..it’s a sunken cost..but we’re confident in our decision. There’s no place in the world like NYC, no matter what..and we’ll enjoy it all we can while we’re still young-ish (early 30’s).
Plus With more people getting the vaccine, we’re feeling optimistic about 2021 in NYC - We personally know of lots of young families moving back..it’s going to be a blast!
Thanks to all those who replied and tried to help
And sorry for all the disses I made at the fat people.
There will be a lot more housing stock starting in February/March during busy season. Right now there isn’t much on the market except for the houses that have been sitting.
There will be a lot more housing stock starting in February/March during busy season. Right now there isn’t much on the market except for the houses that have been sitting.
OP's city property probably lost value, and Manhasset prices are jacked up because of COVID demand.
So OP is probably better off financially staying put.
OP's city property probably lost value, and Manhasset prices are jacked up because of COVID demand.
So OP is probably better off financially staying put.
Luckily we've been renting! We were able to get a great deal on a new lease in the city with all the concessions. Feels like vacancies at least not going up in the city anymore now but might take until late spring/early summer to really start filling back up...
Manhasset prices probably are pretty jacked up and everyone with a shi..y place understandably making use of Covid to sell it!
Luckily we've been renting! We were able to get a great deal on a new lease in the city with all the concessions. Feels like vacancies at least not going up in the city anymore now but might take until late spring/early summer to really start filling back up...
Manhasset prices probably are pretty jacked up and everyone with a shi..y place understandably making use of Covid to sell it!
Then now is the perfect time to buy in the city. Mortgages rates are historically low. Every horribly outdated grandma house in my town (Roslyn) has sold at ridiculous COVID jacked up prices.
I'm actually contemplating getting a studio near nyu. NYC real estate has always been good to me. Made a killing when I sold my DUMBO condo.
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