Live in DFW, want to move to NYC. Small family, don't need to commute! (New York: transplants, real estate)
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I'm a 30 year old with a wife and a 7 year old son.
I make ~$110k/year, work from home as a web developer for a SF company so commute is *not* an issue, only internet.
Currently living in a suburb of Dallas (Allen), looking to sell my home and move to a big city where the summers aren't god-awful and there's actually stuff to do
As I don't need to commute, location *may* not be an issue for me as long as I'm a short walk away from a subway line that can take us to Manhattan for nights/weekends to walk around.
I can afford appx. $2k for an apartment, give or take a few hundred. We have two vehicles, can probably sell one, would like to keep the other.
My priorities would be safety and quality of school. I don't think I can live in Manhattan proper and send me son to a private school unless I stopped eating!
Suggestions for areas to live in? We're currently still in the "look at different cities and fall in love" phase.
Other areas we're interested in are Miami, Denver and San Jose.
NYC is big and is comprised of five boroughs. Each borough is different. To give you a rough idea Brooklyn alone has almost as much population as entire city of Chicago and Brooklyn is just one borough.
At 110k salary for family of 3 in say Manhattan will be huge change in your life style and 110k does not go far here. Reason why I say this is because lifestyle you live and afford at 110k in Dallas will mean you probably need to bring in somewhere north of 200k in NYC for similar lifestyle. Housing cost being the highest expense. Not only that, quality of public school and NYC do not go together. If quality of school is priority for you then NYC is not the place. You need to look outside like the burbs of surrounding area (Long Island, North NJ, westchester, etc.)
If I were you, I'd look at places with much cheaper living expense like Denver. Another option isn't NYC but you look at NJ. NJ living cost is high too but if you just want access to city at night or weekend. You can find something near by where you can commute by train. Even then 110k in Dallas means your living expectations will need to lower.
I may sound like I'm exaggerating or making it sound harsh but I assure I am not. Do some googling and check out the living expense. If you want to get even more serious, jump on real estate sites and look at what you can afford at 2k in NYC. You'll be shocked and will quickly write NYC off for you at 110k for family of 3 based on your current life style in Dallas.
God I hate when others try to discourage and tell someone where they think a person should live after they expressed wanting to live here.
OP, true living in NYC is no cake walk. Only you and your family can decide whether or not you can hack it. $110/k you could live on here, you didn't say if your wife would be working too since that would be a plus.
Pros of living in NY is there is more to do. I can understand the frustration of living in a city with not much to do since I came from that and wanting a fuller life is what many on this board can't understand since they may see NY as nothing but strife.
True you'll be giving up a lot you may take for granted living in the Dallas area but you'll have to weigh it and see if the move is worth it.
Cons of raising children here: sick a$$es are everywhere, kids grow up fast here (they have to) and it seems the more money you have the better they strive or have a chance to make it to adulthood. One plus is that you work from home so you can be there for your son.
I would try the other cities. San Diego. Miami, Denver. Add San franscisco.
Id take san francisco off its just as expensive as NYC! Also public schools in NYC is crap unless if you plan on living on the fringes of NYC neighborhoods with a suburban atmosphere, far from Manhattan and not much to do! Maybe Staten Island or Bayside Queens for example . To be honest I hope your wife can find some work here in NYC. Having two incomes in an household can do wonders versus having one. To be honest NYC is very expensive especially child care cost. Do reasons why native New Yorkers get by with child care is through closw family support structure and system. Transplants and other career driven people have to shell out big bucks for day care.
Last edited by Bronxguyanese; 11-20-2013 at 01:01 PM..
You could make it in NYC on $110K, but it wouldn't be the life you'd imagine. You would remain bored because you wouldn't be able to afford to do much if you are supporting a wife and child on that in the city. Also, unless you end up living in a distant part of the city or a suburb. You'll also want to sell *both* cars as they are incredibly expensive to maintain here -- especially if you have to pay for a parking space. You would never be able to buy a home here at your salary either.
If you can boost your income somehow to at least $200K then go for it. You could live in a nice neighborhood and get to go out on occasion.
You'll sometimes read about people in Manhattan paying very cheap rent by the way. That is because they are in some form of affordable housing that probably took them years to get into -- or had a connection. Someone coming in from the outside will have to rent market rate housing.
Everyone is assuming he wants to live in manhattan or Brooklyn or other trendy areas. I live in Staten Island. You can definitely live on 110k here. Our schools may not be the best in the country but definitely some of the best in NYC. For people who say there is nothing to do here are probably just spoiled by living in manhattan. Guess what we have access to all the same stuff we just have to travel a bit and trust me it's not as far as everyone makes it out to be. I commute to west 57th for work everyday. Takes me 35 minutes. A night out with friends to manhattan isn't too much trouble either. We also have close access I Hoboken, Brooklyn, New Jersey. Maybe an option for him and his family.
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