Ditmars area, Astoria: Family friendly? (neighborhood, elementary schools, place to live)
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Thank you all so much for your responses! The consensus seems to be overwhelmingly positive about the place.
I have to admit, I'm a little bit confused about why the place is so inexpensive compared to other places we are looking (the BK neighborhoods I listed, and the Upper East Side). Not only is rent very reasonable by NYC standards, but the private schools in the area (looking primarily at the Astoria Lutheran School) are ~50% the cost of the schools in BK or Manhattan. How does this happen? What am I missing?
Thank you all so much for your responses! The consensus seems to be overwhelmingly positive about the place.
I have to admit, I'm a little bit confused about why the place is so inexpensive compared to other places we are looking (the BK neighborhoods I listed, and the Upper East Side). Not only is rent very reasonable by NYC standards, but the private schools in the area (looking primarily at the Astoria Lutheran School) are ~50% the cost of the schools in BK or Manhattan. How does this happen? What am I missing?
What you are missing is that Astoria, particularly the Ditmars area, is not as cool/trendy/hip as the other areas you listed. That is why you will find that it is much cheaper than the other neighborhoods you mentioned. As far as schools go, you would have to list the schools in Brooklyn that you are comparing it to, but in general, Catholic/religious private school tend to be a lot cheaper than other private schools.
I'm going to pile on and concour that Astoria is amazing, especally for families. However, to assist in your search in regards to Queens, also consider:
-Sunnyside, Middle Village, Maspeth, pretty much the whole of NE Queens (East of the Van Wyck and North of Grand Central), Forest Hills-Rego Park (pricey thou). Also, consider Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst, and Midwood in Brooklyn.
I'm going to pile on and concour that Astoria is amazing, especally for families. However, to assist in your search in regards to Queens, also consider:
-Sunnyside, Middle Village, Maspeth, pretty much the whole of NE Queens (East of the Van Wyck and North of Grand Central), Forest Hills-Rego Park (pricey thou). Also, consider Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst, and Midwood in Brooklyn.
Some of these areas (Middle Village, Maspeth, Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst, Midwood) would most likely have a long commute to Midtown, especially since the first two are not particularly transit-friendly and the last three have long rides on the subway to get to Midtown (I believe).
It's ugly, but that's the only knock against it. Otherwise a solid neighborhood. Low crime, relative bargain price-wise, decent commutes, decent schools. Local community is heavy with Greek and Egyptian immigrants. It's popular with young transplants who can't afford fancier areas, too, because of the low prices.
My wife, our 4 year old son, and I will soon be joining the ranks of the transplants in NY, as she accepted an offer with her company there (in Midtown). We are looking for a unicorn, like every transplant family, and I was hoping somebody could give me the lowdown on whether the Ditmars area would be good for us.
The issue here is that she will be the only one working in the beginning, until we are acclimated, so a lot of places that we would like to live would be at least difficult, if not impossible. That said, I like the looks of Ditmars. It seems like rent is reasonable, crime is not bad, and the commute for her would be relatively short. Am I missing something here?
She does want to send our son to a private school, at least for the first couple of years (we are switching countries, too, so we want him to have more attention during the transition than most public schools provide). The options look a bit limited there, but the Lutheran school looks nice. Any others that have a good Pre-K program?
In the interest of full disclosure, here are the neighborhoods (in BK) that she likes, but I personally think are a bit too pricey: Park Slope, Brooklyn Heights, Williamsburg, Cobble Hill. Any thoughts on how Ditmars compares for a young family?
Thanks in advance for any help you can give. Neither of us know NYC beyond tourist-level, so we are kind of lost.
Astoria is a good bet for you guys. I like Astoria and its one of my favorite areas in the city. I'm not sure about raising a kid there in general due to the cost of living in NYC and to a certain degree quality of life example in the public school system, but your child will learn from other cultures which is more than a life time award. Astoria has parks by the waterfront that overlooks a sewage facility, Manhattan, Hell Gate and Tri-borough bridges. Astoria is a better bet than most of hip Brooklyn due to being cheaper, however Astoria has been getting pricier thanks to plenty of careerist Transplants who can no longer afford Manhattan and hip areas of Brooklyn. The commute to Midtown is cool and easy, however the N and Q train gets really crowded and congested in the morning and during rush hours in the afternoon, and a good portion of the riders are Transplants, hell at time the majority. And last the only downside of Astoria is that its aesthetically unpleasing aka, a very ugly area not in blight but in building architecture and design. Overall I think Astoria is your best bet for you guys at the moment, diverse cultures, near to the city, also near to LGA airport. You really cant go wrong. Check out 30th avenue, and check out Steinway if you can.
Thank you all so much for your responses! The consensus seems to be overwhelmingly positive about the place.
I have to admit, I'm a little bit confused about why the place is so inexpensive compared to other places we are looking (the BK neighborhoods I listed, and the Upper East Side). Not only is rent very reasonable by NYC standards, but the private schools in the area (looking primarily at the Astoria Lutheran School) are ~50% the cost of the schools in BK or Manhattan. How does this happen? What am I missing?
Yep, and I have no idea why it has always been a family area, but it has. Very nice indeed.
Some of these areas (Middle Village, Maspeth, Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst, Midwood) would most likely have a long commute to Midtown, especially since the first two are not particularly transit-friendly and the last three have long rides on the subway to get to Midtown (I believe).
While inconvenient, I'm inclined to believe like most parents priority numero uno is their children and no one can argue the family friendly credientals of those areas. Plus, with the exception of NE Queens, they still offer the diverse, urbane, and engaging NY experience many families move here to experience. Not to be rude or direct this at you specifically, but NYers are whiners when it comes to the Subway system. Commute everyday in LA or Atlanta traffic and come back and tell me the trains are so bad....
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Check out 30th avenue, and check out Steinway if you can.
