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key word being "depending on where it is". I am in Nassau County, and property taxes on our home is $6,000/year. Since we both work and live on LI, we dont pay NYC taxes either.
As much as I hate the high price of NYC living, I would not live anywhere else. I love the fact that I can spend weekends in Manhattan catching shows, museums, eating at great restaurants, checking out Fashion Week, taking dinner cruises by Chelsea Piers, etc - and not pay a fortune for doing so. We save a lot of $$ by living in the 'burbs..of course, we do not have children (no desire to) so that lets us save even more $$.
I forgot to ask earlier- in what Nassau town do you live?
Not to speak for OP, but the suburbs of NY don't do much for me. They're expensive, the housing stock isn't that nice, and they're still suburbs. If I ever move to a suburb, I'm going to one that gives me the best of that lifestyle (light traffic, cheap houses, nice weather, easy living, low taxes, etc). Which is emphatically not here.
I think you're confusing suburbs with exurbs. One of the advantages of the NYC suburbs, is..... NYC.
key word being "depending on where it is". I am in Nassau County, and property taxes on our home is $6,000/year. Since we both work and live on LI, we dont pay NYC taxes either.
As much as I hate the high price of NYC living, I would not live anywhere else. I love the fact that I can spend weekends in Manhattan catching shows, museums, eating at great restaurants, checking out Fashion Week, taking dinner cruises by Chelsea Piers, etc - and not pay a fortune for doing so. We save a lot of $$ by living in the 'burbs..of course, we do not have children (no desire to) so that lets us save even more $$.
Yea, property taxes are more like 5K -14K on "modest" houses. Plus half of that is usually school district - you generally get what you pay for.
Plus, the real comparison means (suburban property taxes) versus (city property taxes plus NYC resident income tax). Depending on how much you earn, it can be little different or can be cheaper.
There's suburbs, and there's suburbs. The denser, main st-centered, walkable, established suburbs of NYC with restaurants, theater, river or beach access, excellent schools and a 20-25 min. ride to Harlem or a 30-35 min train ride to Manhattan, which is shorter than from many parts of the boros, are a far cry from a built-in-2006, McMansion, cookie-cuttered no-sidewalk, souless, developer's dream subdivision outside some random city in State blah. And NYC is right there, of course.
As for the weather, I like seasons, but the cold ones seem to be getting longer as I'm getting older. Which can';t be right considering global warming.
LOL! What? NY metro winters are NOTHING like the more quite and slow paced states, cities, and towns in the Mid West or New England! We get, what, maybe 2 or 3 "real" snow storms in an average season.
Wow. "Only" 2 or 3 major snow storms per year? I'm sold.
Let me try this another way: before I moved to NYC, I had never owned a scarf in my entire life. I had never worn a thick winter coat other than to go skiing. I had never once put on long underwear to go to the store.
The snow is only part of it. We're tired of daily freezing temperatures for entire months at a time.
I never once suggested we would consider the Midwest or New England.
Not to thread-jack but I moved here from Austin, TX in May 2009 myself but wasn't very overwhelmed with the sheer madness and crowdedness of the city. I feel that my path was different from yours.
When I first moved here, I moved alone without my wife and subletted a room in her friend's place(she's a native NY'er) for $500 while looking for a job. It was a large 4 BD, walk-up apt in Journal Square, Jersey City. Old building but very spacious. Not far from PATH train but a little seedy.
I found a job, moved to Greenpoint BK in a brand new building with amenities and free parking. Wife moved from Austin a couple months after. Loved the neighborhood. A year later, moved to Astoria for a new, larger apt, didn't like where we lived in Astoria but liked it overall.
We decided to take the plunge,downsize, and move to the city(Manhattan). We live on the west side btwn 8th and 9th in midtown for a "reasonably" decent price in a new, doorman building with amenities, pool, etc. We have A/C, and live in a very comfortable apt. We even have a car and pay dirt cheap for parking on the far west side(kind of a hook up, can't disclose location). Midtown is loaded with tourists but we have a very quiet, well-built building.
My point is that I really didn't have the experience of moving into an old, tiny apt in Manhattan paying an astronomical amount of rent like many posters here. I never struggled here; it was a progressive move until we got into Manhattan. We got to experience different neighborhoods and really got to appreciate Brooklyn, Queens, and even lots of urban NJ. We don't go out every night but once or twice per week and usually cook at home. We shop at cheaper grocery stores on 9th, trader joes, and even drive(10 mins no traffic from West Side) once a month to Secaucus NJ to get our bulk items from Sams and Walmart which is much cheaper even with the $9-$12 toll.
We don't have any kids, make decent incomes, and are taxed heavily but we are living very comfortably here. I grew up in Chicago and my wife is from Orange County north of Westchester so the cold and crowds don't bother us. I agree with your post but there are many ways to living more frugally here and still enjoy the city. $6K for a less than $1,000 sq foot apt is outrageous, I work in Real Estate development and know that you can get a doorman, newer building for $1,000 less on the UWS.
The wild card is your 9 year old child. That changes everything. I don't recommend anyone moving to Manhattan with a child unless they make a HHI of at least $300K. I do recommend giving the outer boroughs a chance.
I miss Austin and if you can easily make that move, go for it. Property taxes are high there but everything else is lower there. I'd easily pick Cali or Austin over the burbs of NJ, Westchester, or LI. Sorry for blabbing but the most important fact is to MAKE YOUR WIFE HAPPY!
I might be biased cuz I grew up in a bonafide -13 Fahr Moscow winter, but winter here not that bad. I don't get why everyone wants a nice, warm weather all the time. Cold is good cuz alcohol feels better in the cold and I get to wear timbs.
They are many NYC suburbs that are far more "urban" than parts of Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx. I grew up in a NYC suburb that is a 30 minute commute to midtown on Metro North. In fact, that commute is shorter than some of my colleagues that live in [inconvenient parts] Manhattan! Many, if not most, suburban NYers are in "the city" on a regular basis for work or play. I don't know why people discount places in Metro NY as not really being "NY". Yes, obviously you are not IN Manhattan, but I don't see much of a difference from choosing to live somewhere like in Eastern Queens or Southern Brooklyn vs parts of Lower Westchester. I mean, have people even seen some of the "suburban-esque" parts of Riverdale? You'd be hard pressed to distinguish it from some of the ritzy areas of Westchester... Now, of course, if the argument is "I would get more for my buck in a suburb outside of metro NY" then yes, you have a case...
werd, its still better to be in a suburb here cuz you have all the same and better amenities as anywhere in the country and still close to NYC. It just costs a lot more.
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I feel a twinge of excitement because I'm in the mood to learn something new this evening.
