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Will be relocating to the NY area for work soon with a stay-at-home wife and a toddler. Job will be in Hoboken but with frequent rush-hour travel to midtown. Trying to decide between living in Tribeca, reverse commuting on the PATH train and sending our kid to PS 234 or living in lower Hoboken close to work and using private schools there (All Saints or equivalent). My income will be high enough that the tax savings from living in NJ would offset the private school cost. I hate commuting so do not want to do the suburbs. Would be comfortable paying $9k or so in rent if necessary but don't want to waste money.
Will the Hoboken private schools be difficult to get into? Is the incremental Tribeca housing cost worth it? Any other considerations that we might overlook?
Hoboken is not the suburbs at all. Very walkable and urbane. I would stay in Hoboken to avoid the commuting and since you said the math works out on the school, that's your best choice. I'm biased to all things NY and would think you'd love Tribeca/Lower Manhattan, but it boils down to what's best for your fam. Welcome and enjoy all NYC has to offer!
IIRC 234 has a strong reputation, but has also had some big issues with overcrowding and waiting lists in the past few years, so if you move to Manhattan take that into account. Now those waiting lists usually clear out by the start of the new school year, but when they don't, kids can be sent to nearby schools. The good thing about that is that the nearby schools downtown are all pretty decent--no blackboard jungles in Soho or Tribeca!
Also, if you are commuting to Hoboken via PATH, remember that the line comes into the city through Greenwich Village and Chelsea up to 33rd St and 6th. Both the Village and Chelsea have a number of locally zoned, highly-rated elementary schools like PS 33 and PS 41, so you might consider renting in these neighborhoods as well.
All these schools have pre-K programs but I am too far away from that stage to give you specific advice about how that works. Public Pre-K didn't exist when my kids were that age.
We moved to Hoboken recently and are in a similar situation to you.
We ruled out NYC because of the school lottery system. Case in point, while touring Brooklyn with the realtor, she kept pointing out brownstones where she represented the buyer and seller. I asked why such high turnover. Her answer: "school re-districting." You can get into a great school, but then get zoned out. Private school is not only expensive there, but also very competitive. So people willingly paid moving and real estate transaction costs on multi-million dollar brownstones to stay in the zoned school.
BUT, being in the right zone doesn't mean you get into the school! Popular schools are oversubscribed, and you can get waitlisted. Though, once you're in, you're in, as long as you don't move out of the zone.
We never seriously looked at Manhattan (not enough space), but it's the same Board of Ed, so I imagine the issues are the same. If you are seriously looking at NY, you may want to consider hiring an educational consultant to help you navigate their labyrinthine system. It was around $600 when we looked.
Hoboken privates are not very competitive or expensive (25k here vs 45k NYC). The flip side is that none have particularly stellar reputations or scores. NYC does have excellent gifted public schools and privates, but they are very competitive.
We chose Hoboken because we appreciate the fact that we can get 2,000-4,000 sq ft on two or three levels in our budget (our budget was around yours, though we ended up paying way less than 9k for something lovely--would not have been possible in NYC!), a small-town feel, all with close proximity to NYC. My husband works in midtown, and his commute is 30-45 minutes. Since I stay at home, I feel like I can supplement my kids' educations. But they are young, so only time will tell how I'll feel later.
Please update your thread. I'd love to hear where you land.
Neither. Find a suburban town with a school district you like and on NJ transit. Commute to Hoboken, or further into NYC if necessary.
Private schools are ALWAYS financial suicide. But if I had kids, I wouldn't sacrifice them to either NYC or urban NJ schools. So find a high quality suburban school district, and deal with the commute.
I have to disagree about Hoboken private schools. Stevens and All Saints are very good. They're obviously not in the same category as Dalton or Trinity, but the graduating 8th graders all get into elite high schools. Stevens sends kids to all the top NYC high schools and it's because they have a great reputation among NYC admission counselors. The private schools in Hoboken have also become quite competitive in recent years and we know many families that have been turned away. There are so many kids in Hoboken now and not enough spaces. It tends to become easier in the middle grades but getting into K or 1st is not a given.
Hoboken really has a lot of great school options. THe public schools are fine for elementary and the public pre-k is very well regarded. Theee are 3 popular charter schools, including one dua language. Stevens Cooperative is a highly regarded progressive school. All Saints, Mustard Seed and Hoboken Catholic are all good schools with religious affiliations. The Hudson school is a 5-12 school for gifted children and is consistently ranked among the best in the state.
We moved from Manhattan and send our child to Stevens. Could not be happier with the education and community. It'a very similar to Town and Counry school in Manhattan but half the cost. Will probably send our kid to a Manhattan private for high school and figured our chances for admission from Stevens were much better then from a NYC public.
No wait lists at 234 for several years now. No chance of being shut out. 9k will get you a nice 2 bedroom or a smaller 3 bed, maybe one of the rooms technically a den. I have 3 kids and you'll drag me out of Manhattan when I'm dead. We love it here!
I appreciate all the advice. I ended up moving to Battery Park City and love it - easy ferry commute to Hoboken, great schools, great for kids. Very happy.
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. Welcome and enjoy all NYC has to offer!
