Car-free, but middle class, NYC neighborhoods (New York, Syosset: middle-class, health insurance, crime)

[patrix542]

Originally Posted by wawaweewa

Nonsense and I'm far from rich.

I can disprove your point simply by pointing to all of the cars in NYC. In fact, NYC's car ownership rate is on the rise the past few years.

Most NYC'ers who don't have a car are either childless ( in which case you really don't need a car) or are too poor to afford one (recent immigrants, senior citizens only on SS, etc.).

There are very, very few families who can afford a car who don't have one. If you have a family and can afford a car, it is more than worth it.

4.6 million New Yorkers dont have a car (manhattan only has 1.6 million people) so i guess poverty in New York must be really bad lol. I agree that in some areas families may need a car like Bayside in Queens for example but family can get by without it too, in many many areas of the city. and cars are really not that expensive to buy if you really wanted too so i bet even newcomers - new immigrants could get one if they wanted too, unless they are of course illegal.

[Bronxguyanese]

Originally Posted by patrix542

WTF you sound very ignorant. what planet do YOU live on? You can get by without a car in NYC period. You can live pretty much anywhere in brooklyn and manhattan without a car and most of Queens, if you have a family you dont need a car thats a ridicilous statement and i dont know if you are aware but MOST New Yorkers dont own a car.

so im not the one providing **** advice, you are. Or maybe you are some rich douchebag that thinks using public transport is not for them and only "poor" people use it

Don't make me laugh. Most of Queens one can live without a car? Yes maybe if one lives within walking distance of Queens Boulevard, Or near the 7 train, or a commuter that lives near or in Jamaica and last Western Queens which has some of the best subway access into Manhattan. Some neighborhoods even have LIRR. Some parts of Queens have no subway access and residents have to either depend on bus to transfer to a train or last have your own whip. Same for parts of the Bronx like THroggs Neck, Coop City, Riverdale, Williamsbridge, Baychester, these areas are either Middle Income except for Riverdale which is more upper class, these areas of the Bronx many depend on car to get around because there is no subway access unless one is willing to walk 15-20 mins to the nearest station or wait for the bus to transfer. Staten Island, which is probably one of the last middle class borough in NYC, obviously since that borough has no subway access, one has to be dependent on either a bus or a car to get around. The borough of Brooklyn is the worst place to own a car, no highways insight. Most Middle Class NYC neighborhoods are located far from the city center and many residents there do depend on cars to get around.

For the Op if your looking for a middle class area of NYC with access to subway and amenities, I would suggest Parkchester here in the Bronx, also Forest Hills in Queens, Bay Ridge in Brooklyn.

[BinxBolling]

It seems to me that the crucial thing is that their young kids can walk to their elementary school. When they're older they can take mass transit, and all other inconveniences are surmountable. Washington Heights near PS187 is a possibility. I don't know what the schools are like in Inwood. Yorkville, maybe?

[wawaweewa]

Originally Posted by patrix542

4.6 million New Yorkers dont have a car (manhattan only has 1.6 million people) so i guess poverty in New York must be really bad lol. I agree that in some areas families may need a car like Bayside in Queens for example but family can get by without it too, in many many areas of the city. and cars are really not that expensive to buy if you really wanted too so i bet even newcomers - new immigrants could get one if they wanted too, unless they are of course illegal.

Poverty in NYC is that bad. It's ~25% according to official statistics which means closer to a third in reality when you factor in COL.

Then take into account all of the childless households (room-mate and relationship situations) and you can see that most households with children who can afford a car, have one.

I'm not talking out of my ass like some. You'll have people tell you that families don't need a car yet they haven't ventured out of Manhattan or met a family in years.

[wawaweewa]

Originally Posted by BinxBolling

It seems to me that the crucial thing is that their young kids can walk to their elementary school. When they're older they can take mass transit, and all other inconveniences are surmountable. Washington Heights near PS187 is a possibility. I don't know what the schools are like in Inwood. Yorkville, maybe?

I can get by on 1000 calories a day. Should I eat only 1k calories a day?

Of course people can get by without a car or surmount obstacles as a result of being sans said car. However, many people live not just to get by. lol

[patrix542]

Originally Posted by Bronxguyanese

Don't make me laugh. Most of Queens one can live without a car? Yes maybe if one lives within walking distance of Queens Boulevard, Or near the 7 train, or a commuter that lives near or in Jamaica and last Western Queens which has some of the best subway access into Manhattan. Some neighborhoods even have LIRR. Some parts of Queens have no subway access and residents have to either depend on bus to transfer to a train or last have your own whip. Same for parts of the Bronx like THroggs Neck, Coop City, Riverdale, Williamsbridge, Baychester, these areas are either Middle Income except for Riverdale which is more upper class, these areas of the Bronx many depend on car to get around because there is no subway access unless one is willing to walk 15-20 mins to the nearest station or wait for the bus to transfer. Staten Island, which is probably one of the last middle class borough in NYC, obviously since that borough has no subway access, one has to be dependent on either a bus or a car to get around. The borough of Brooklyn is the worst place to own a car, no highways insight. Most Middle Class NYC neighborhoods are located far from the city center and many residents there do depend on cars to get around.

For the Op if your looking for a middle class area of NYC with access to subway and amenities, I would suggest Parkchester here in the Bronx, also Forest Hills in Queens, Bay Ridge in Brooklyn.

i guess i see it from a totally different perspecitve, americans seem so lazy when i read something like this. and why cant you use that damn bus? is walking 10-15 mins to train station that bad? lol THATS NOTHING

[livingsinglenyc]

Originally Posted by Schermerhorn

My wife and I are planning to move back to NYC in the next 4-5 years. She's from Kyoto (Japan's former capital; it could be NYC's sister city given the similar layout), and while we like it here just fine, we want to raise our child in America and then give him the choice on where to go from there.

(A lot of people are jumping ship, or planning to -- the Japanese government is devoting all its resources to the elderly and the rich and really sticking it to younger working folks. Sounds a bit like the US? )

Now here's one thing that makes most of America unlivable for us: we both have impaired vision (that's how we met each other) and neither of us will ever be able to drive a car. There are plenty of places where you can still get by without a car, but because most people have cars, everything is built around automobiles. The last thing we want is to be socially ostracized when our child's friends' parents casually ask us to go pick someone up at school, or whatever. We want to replicate what we've got now, which is a neighborhood where everything is within walking distance, almost no one uses a car on a daily basis, and

That means living somewhere really central. I make a good income by Japanese standards, but NYC is another world. Above 110th Street or in the outer boroughs are where we're looking. But the further out you get, the more cars you see. Anyone have any data (it's city-data.com, after all) on lowest rates of car ownership? And I mean non-poverty-related non-car-ownership, if that make sense.

We don't need a lot of space -- we have 380 square feet now, and plenty of people in our building are raising multiple kids in that space! -- so a one-bedroom apartment with partitions is just fine. What are Washington Heights and Inwood like? We had been looking at Brooklyn, but the built-up areas are just too expensive. Any other car-free folks out there with neighborhoods that they'd like to share?

The issue with your question is you are not looking to mover for another 4-5 YEARS! A lot changes with neighborhoods over time. And in 5 years middle class neighborhoods may become higher end. Your best bet is to search up and coming neighborhoods because in 5 years they will probably be middle class. The issue though may be with good public schools.

[NyWriterdude]

Originally Posted by patrix542

WTF you sound very ignorant. what planet do YOU live on? You can get by without a car in NYC period. You can live pretty much anywhere in brooklyn and manhattan without a car and most of Queens, if you have a family you dont need a car thats a ridicilous statement and i dont know if you are aware but MOST New Yorkers dont own a car.

so im not the one providing **** advice, you are. Or maybe you are some rich douchebag that thinks using public transport is not for them and only "poor" people use it

Huge parts of Queens don't have direct train access. Most people drive! Eastern Queens and Northern Queens in particularly don't really have subways lines. You'd have to take the bus to the subway, and the grocery store maybe a distance from your home. So a lot of people drive. The North Bronx has plenty of train lines going down into Manhattan, but if you had to get around the North Bronx, its a lot easier with a car.

Honestly, if someone wants everything within quick walking distance Manhattan is the best place for that. Outside Manhattan, certain parts of Brooklyn and Queens close to Manhattan should be fine. But the further way from Manhattan you go, the more likely you are to need a car. And yes, there's a reason the freeways and streets are so full of cars.

Also, depending on where the OP were to move to, he and his wife may need to arrange transportation for their kids to go to school. A lot of people in NY drive their kids to school, especially if local schools aren't their cup of tea . So the OP will need to think out very well whether it makes sense to move to NY and want neighborhood.

[NyWriterdude]

Originally Posted by patrix542

i guess i see it from a totally different perspecitve, americans seem so lazy when i read something like this. and why cant you use that damn bus? is walking 10-15 mins to train station that bad? lol THATS NOTHING

I can answer that. Not many people want to wait 30 minutes for the bus in all kinds of weather, so if they have the money for a car, its nicer. As for walking 15 minutes to the train station, yes things like weather and time are factors. Do you realize how far a car can go in 15 minutes?

[nei]

Originally Posted by NyWriterdude

I can answer that. Not many people want to wait 30 minutes for the bus in all kinds of weather, so if they have the money for a car, its nicer. As for walking 15 minutes to the train station, yes things like weather and time are factors. Do you realize how far a car can go in 15 minutes?

Many, maybe most buses in NYC have a higher frequency than 30 minutes. The OP probably realizes how much more a car can go than on foot in 15 minutes, but as they CANNOT drive, they have no choice. It's irrelevant that a car can go more. Fifteen minutes walking is manageable, and with good planning they can find better.