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We have lived in NYC (10th+Hudson) before and left for L.A. 2 years ago when we had 0 dogs and 0 children, now we want to move back to NYC and our situation has changed:
1) Married w/1 year old girl.
2) 2 Small Dogs.
3) 2 Cars (Would like to keep so we can take road trips)
4) Need at least a 2bd + Den (~1200+sqft)
5) ~3k a month for rent.
6) Wife works on Wall St and need the quickest possible train in.
.
We want to be as close to NYC as possible, but would entertain New Jersey, Connecticut and NY. I am thinking Park Slope or Astoria but not sure about the cars in these locations.
Please help us, my wife and I are having a hard time deciding if we can do this.
Do you already have a job offer from someplace in the Financial District? Because, if you peruse many of the threads here, you'll see that they're actually laying off personnel.
Putting that aside, however, you'd be hard pressed to find a place with essentially three bedrooms that permits dogs (this always makes the rent go up) with really good schools, where you can park easily on the street with that budget in Park Slope. Do you have to have TWO cars?
Do you already have a job offer from someplace in the Financial District? Because, if you peruse many of the threads here, you'll see that they're actually laying off personnel.
Putting that aside, however, you'd be hard pressed to find a place with essentially three bedrooms that permits dogs (this always makes the rent go up) with really good schools, where you can park easily on the street with that budget in Park Slope. Do you have to have TWO cars?
You'll have better luck, I think, in other areas.
Yes my wife can transfer to Deutsche Bank on Wall St, she transfered to L.A. from NYC. Solid job.
Yes we have 2 cars, I know that is a problem but we like to drive to the Poconos and Mountains sometimes. It isn't worth renting for 150/day.
I guess we could go down to 1 car.
Considering other areas, where would you advise we look? L.I.? What about Stamford, CT?
Honestly, it's the two dogs that are going to be the issue. Don't get me wrong, I love dogs and have two, myself, but so many places don't allow them. But you might have luck negotiating a damage deposit with the landlord and putting such wording in the lease. You might want to consider NJ. Especially with a Wall Street commute.
With two cars, I would suggest looking in other areas as well, perhaps Bayside, Douglaston, Litte Neck, in Queens or Riverdale in the Bronx. From Queens, your wife can LIRR to Penn and then to Wall St., and from Riverdale she can MetroNorth to GCT and transfer to the subway. Or, she can take the Wall St. express bus from Queens or Riverdale as well, the QM11 and BxM18, respectively.
Park Slope for that space and cars is going to be a challenge, unless you find some off-street parking for one or both cars. The area is also hyper when it comes to enforecement of parking and alternate-side regulations.
You didn't say how long a commute you were looking for, but it's a long haul from LI to the Financial District. I used to live in eastern Nassau and it took as long as 90 minutes each way. Lots of people do it, but I found it exhausting with all the modes of transportation required -- car, train, subway AND walking -- not to mention never getting a seat on the subway and often not getting one on the LIRR either.
I don't know anything about Brooklyn, but here are some thoughts on Queens.
Re: Astoria -- I'd guess you could probably get a 2.5 BR for $3000, but the dogs will make it harder (they always do). Commute-wise, you're looking at about an hour each way on the W train to Whitehall St, which is probably a 10-or-so-minute walk to 60 Wall. Driving and parking there is generally a nightmare and I'd urge you to get rid of at least one car if you're going to live there.
Other places in Queens: Long Island City along the #7 train would be faster that Astoria -- I'd guess like 40-45 minutes -- but you probably won't get a 2.5BR for $3K there. Woodside or Sunnyside along the #7 would probably be more like an hour -- both are considered decent neighborhoods and certainly cheaper than LIC. I hear Middle Village is a decent commute to downtown, about 30 minutes to Broad Street, which is also close to 60 Wall -- but it's a sleepy neighborhood (lots of cemeteries) and I don't know that there are a lot of rentals there. You might also consider Forest Hills (where I currently live) -- the apartments are bigger and the schools are reputable. There are several options for commuting to downtown -- you can take the subway (which will take an hour to an hour and 15 minutes depending on route), the LIRR to the subway (about 45 minutes but expensive), or the express bus (about an hour -- this is what I do -- expensive, but you always get a seat and it's pretty comfortable). You could also consider Forest Hills along Metropolitan Ave., where you can take a bus to the M train in Middle Village.
As was previously mentioned, eastern Queens (Bayside/Little Neck/Glen Oaks/Bellerose/Douglaston/Floral Park) might fit the bill as well -- nice, pseudo-suburban neighborhoods, relatively car-friendly, with good schools and a lot of space for your money. Commute-wise, you'd be looking at either taking the LIRR to the subway (~1 hour, I'd guess -- being near a station on the Flatbush line might be a few minutes faster than the Penn Station line) or the express bus (the QM1A goes from Glen Oaks to downtown in about an hour and 20 minutes).
Mach, I would recommend to you some of the newer highrise buildings right across the river in Jersey City. $3000 will get you a good-sized 2 bedroom and parking is often available as well. I really don't know about restrictions regarding dogs in those buildings. The commute will be very quick for your wife, as the trip from the waterfront in Jersey City to the World Trade Center via PATH train is only five minutes. Deutsche Bank on Wall Street is an additional ten minute walk from the PATH station.
Please let me know if you would like me to give you the names of nice buildings in the area. As for suburbs, I am much more familiar with suburban New Jersey than Westchester, Connecticut, or Long Island. New Jersey suburbs to consider (within a <1 hour commute to Wall Street) are Cranford, Westfield, Scotch Plains, Fanwood, Union, Millburn, Chatham, and Maplewood. These are all very nice towns with cute downtown areas and train service to NYC.
As for areas in NYC like Park Slope and Astoria, they may be doable for you on that budget. Someone I know rents a two bedroom with a full dining room (could be used as a den, I suppose) in the Ditmars section of Astoria for $2700 - this includes one parking space. The commute would be about 40 minutes on the N train to Wall Street. As for Park Slope, your budget is a little low, but when you exclude parking, a nice 2 bedroom (probably without den, however) can be had for under $3000. The parking in Park Slope will cost you hundreds per month alone, so if you get rid of one of the cars you may be able to do it.
Last edited by Marlin331; 11-30-2008 at 02:12 PM..
Thank you for the perspective everyone, yes unfortunately in 2 years living in L.A. we have accumulated stuff that would be considered a burden in NYC and will cost us a lot to move with or part with really, such is life in different areas.
I will definitely look more into the area's suggested. So far it sounds like New Jersey may be our best option, plus then we would be closer to the Pocono's as well.
Have you considered Westchester county? I have clients that live in WC and commute to NYC via metro north and subway....lower Westchester to NYC you can get "down town" Wall St. in under an hour (yes under an hour...if you stay in lower Westchester, Fleetwood, Bxville, Ynks, train stations). I know of some buildings that allow dogs but there is usually a weight restriction.
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