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Job may be taking me to NYC, working in Midtown East area. I have three kids ranging from pre-K to 5th grade this fall. I would especially value input from those who are currently living and/or working in NYC (or have had significant/recent experience doing so) on neighborhoods with:
- Excellent schools
- Safe enough for kids to walk around & ride their bikes (with good parks)
- A reasonable commute (something like < 45 minutes)
- Can get a good place (clean, updated, washer/dryer in unit at minimum - building with pool and/or unit with balcony/patio/outdoor space ideally) for about $5K give or take
I'm only superficially familiar with the city and I've seen articles suggesting Upper West Side, Windsor Terrace, Roosevelt Island, and Forest Hills Gardens.
Very open to constructive suggestions informed by first-hand experience and also links to existing threads that could be helpful.
You MIGHT find a 3 bdrm place on the Upper West Side on yr budget, but it will likely be in an older building with smaller rooms, maybe a walkup, maybe a brownstone, maybe w/o washer and dryer onsite. Certainly no swimming pools. But occasionally you can find something in an elevator building, with wash facilities on site--which I would make my minimum requirements here, especially with 3 young kids. If you can find that, the UWS is a great place to bring up kids, as we did with ours. Public schools are quite strong--education is a mania among UWS parents. It's nice that you also have two huge "backyards". Central Park is on one side and Riverside Park on the other (littlest kids would need supervision, of course). Lots and lots of other families with kids living in a vibrant city neighborhood. Commute would be easy.
Roosevelt Island is also an easy commute to Midtown East via the subway (F line). It's also an easy place to own a car, which the UWS is not. The local public school is good. The vibe is very different than the UWS though, as RI is all new construction, much quieter, with far less retail activity (though all the necessities), and of course, some wonderful views if your place faces the Manhattan skyline. Lots of room for kids to run around outdoors when they're a bit older. It feels very very removed from Manhattan's hustle and bustle, nearly suburban. As to rents I suspect they'd be around or slightly above 5000 for three bedrooms.
Forest Hills is less expensive than the above two neighborhoods and you'd have many more choices there. There is also a lot of newer construction, and many high rises, so you'll see more apartments offering the stuff you'd need. Many apartments do come with balconies, laundry facilities and parking. You might even find a nice single family to rent in FH at this price point. The vibe is very middle-class, and it's an easy commute to East Midtown. Lots of local shopping. I know there are tons of kids in the neighborhood, but can't comment on parks and playgrounds. As an middle- to upper-middle income area the locally zoned elementary schools should be strong. In NYC "demographics are destiny" when it comes to locally zoned schools. (see insideschools.org site for detailed school reviews and info). And IIRC Forest Hills Gardens is just an enclave within Forest Hills, composed mainly of million-dollar-plus mansions and very few apartments.
Safety and crime are not major concerns in any of the above three areas.
The other neighborhood in Brooklyn, Windsor Terrace, I don't know about.
You MIGHT find a 3 bdrm place on the Upper West Side on yr budget, but it will likely be in an older building with smaller rooms, maybe a walkup, maybe a brownstone, maybe w/o washer and dryer onsite. Certainly no swimming pools. But occasionally you can find something in an elevator building, with wash facilities on site--which I would make my minimum requirements here, especially with 3 young kids. If you can find that, the UWS is a great place to bring up kids, as we did with ours. Public schools are quite strong--education is a mania among UWS parents. It's nice that you also have two huge "backyards". Central Park is on one side and Riverside Park on the other (littlest kids would need supervision, of course). Lots and lots of other families with kids living in a vibrant city neighborhood. Commute would be easy.
Roosevelt Island is also an easy commute to Midtown East via the subway (F line). It's also an easy place to own a car, which the UWS is not. The local public school is good. The vibe is very different than the UWS though, as RI is all new construction, much quieter, with far less retail activity (though all the necessities), and of course, some wonderful views if your place faces the Manhattan skyline. Lots of room for kids to run around outdoors when they're a bit older. It feels very very removed from Manhattan's hustle and bustle, nearly suburban. As to rents I suspect they'd be around or slightly above 5000 for three bedrooms.
Forest Hills is less expensive than the above two neighborhoods and you'd have many more choices there. There is also a lot of newer construction, and many high rises, so you'll see more apartments offering the stuff you'd need. Many apartments do come with balconies, laundry facilities and parking. The vibe is very middle-class, and it's an easy commute to East Midtown. Lots of local shopping. I know there are tons of kids in the neighborhood, but can't comment on parks and playgrounds. As an middle- to upper-middle income area the locally zoned elementary schools should be strong. In NYC "demographics are destiny" when it comes to locally zoned schools. (see insideschools.org site for detailed school reviews and info). And IIRC Forest Hills Gardens is just an enclave within Forest Hills, composed mainly of million-dollar-plus mansions and very few apartments.
Safety and crime are not major concerns in any of the above three areas.
The other neighborhood in Brooklyn, Windsor Terrace, I don't know about.
Thanks - this is super helpful! I'm also open to suggestions on other areas that I didn't mention but may fit the profile. Others mentioned to me include Long Island City, Jersey City, Hoboken, and Greenwich CT (office more convenient to Grand Central than Penn)
Thanks - this is super helpful! I'm also open to suggestions on other areas that I didn't mention but may fit the profile. Others mentioned to me include Long Island City, Jersey City, Hoboken, and Greenwich CT (office more convenient to Grand Central than Penn)
Jersey City, Hoboken, and Long Island City don't have very good public schools. Greenwich CT would be a much longer commute than 45 minutes.
Upper East Side and Park Slope are two other good areas for families with young children.
Forest hills is your best bet in terms of affordability, commute, school, space and amenities.
Thanks!
Are there many renters in Forest Hills Gardens? Asking to get a feel for the prospects of integrating into a neighborhood that presumably is more ownership-oriented.
Besides Forest Hills Gardens, are there other areas to focus on within Forest Hills?
Last edited by acousticbiker; 07-16-2015 at 02:00 AM..
I would suggest Nassau County (areas like Baldwin, New Hyde Park, Floral Park, Franklin Square). If your husband is near the LIRR (I know it stops at Penn station), commute would be a piece of cake. The school districts in LI are a hit or miss but I am not to sure. The only "very low rating" school district in Hempstead in LI from what I was told.
Forest Hills is nice but far tho if your spouse is planning to drive but definitely easy commute on the train (F line).
Bayside in Queens have a top notch school district but its also far as well by car but easy commute on the LIRR
Its also an expensive neighborhood; one of my colleagues lived there before she transferred to a different dept but her husband had his own computer company. She loved the neighborhood
Forest Hills is an easy commute especially from the 71st Avenue/Continental Ave express subway stop with access to the E/F express trains (as well as the M/R local ones). So I would focus on the areas around this subway stop which is also an area with good schools as far I know.
I love Forest Hills. I'm trying to convince my spouse to move there. Great area and it has shops/restaurants within walking distance. Look in areas that are within walking distance to the E/F trains - you'll be in east midtown in 30-45 minutes. It's more co-ops but I think there's rentals in the area too. The schools are good but make sure that the good ones are what your child is zoned for (zoning depends on your home address so you'll have to go to the Board of Education's web site, enter in your possible address and you'll get the list of schools that your child is zoned for). I think zoning only counts for elementary and middle school but I would double-check.
Before you shop suburbia, or decide Park Slope/UES housing is too expensive to gain the public school option, try crunching the math in a middling neighborhood, in order to afford 3 private schools. Some schools offer slight discounts for siblings. The tuitions are beastly but if you compare it to housing in places like Greenwich CT, maybe the math would equate. I don't know, but I think it's worth your consideration.
Study Morningside Heights or Hamilton Heights (Manhattan), Prospect Heights (Brooklyn), which are pretty well integrated neighborhoods. Look at them only as residential properties, without concern for their zoned public schools. Sell a lot of your stuff so you can live smaller than you had envisioned. NYC kids don't keep as many clothes and toys as suburban kids; they get out more into the community with their parents for parks and cultural things which are abundant. A clever cook can prepare a great family meal in a medium sized kitchen without acres of counter space. Etc.
Getting home in time to enjoy dinner and a home evening with family, especially 3 kids in this age-range, is valuable and a lifelong investment. You'd all have more time and proximity to raise the family in NYC together.
The good suburban public schools are a big selling point, but if you get assigned one bad teacher, your elemetary school child is stuck with that all year. It depends what you're willing to sacrifice, really. Personally, I like to keep making choices throughout a kid's school year. If you live inside NYC, you can shop private schools for what fits your family best. Beyond that, use NYC's cultural offerings (many are free) for families to further enrich their educations.
Last edited by BrightRabbit; 07-16-2015 at 10:05 AM..
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