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Okay, I'm sure there's like 961,740 posts on here asking for help moving, but I need to post another one. If you can provide me some feedback I'd greatly appreciate it! Here's the deal -
Husband got a job in midtown (zip 10035). He'll be making about $100k, and while I'll probably work, too, I don't want to factor that into things yet.
I/We know NOTHING about NYC at all.
We've got a toddler and baby and will probably have more in the next couple years - I know, I know, you're thinking I'm crazy already.
We live in DC now, from Indiana originally, and while DC rent gave me sticker shock, I know NYC will be even scarier. In DC we've lived in a cramped but affordable $1500/mo apartment, and moved to a luxury but expensive $3100/mo apartment. So I've been on both sides and I have a good idea of what's important to us.
I'd like to be as close to my hubs work - 10035 zip code (financial district? i don't really know) as possible - and stay at/below $2000, around $1,600/mo would be awesome.
3 bedroom would be great, 2 bedroom is totally doable. And we thrive well in cramped spaces, that's not that big a deal.
So the most important priority is:
1. Shortest possible commute at/below $2000
The rest are far below, but would be nice:
2. Safety, obviously, for the kids
3. Public transport into midtown
4. Access to grocery store, and normal-people stores like Target
5. Washer/dryer or hookups, at least - imagine wrangling 2 kids in a laundry-mat and folding clothes...
6. Space is nice...3 bed/2 bath would be amazing
7. A yard for the kids...I'm thinking 'yeah, right' but it would be nice
"night-life" isn't an issue for us - did I mention the kids? parks and playgrounds around would be nice, but we can make it work without them.
I've been reading up a LOT and the places I've come up with so far are Astoria, Long Island City, Jackson Heights...am I on the right track? Any other suggestions? Any factors I'm not considering that I should be?
Astoria, Long Island City & Jackson Heights are all in Queens. Other nice neighborhoods in Queens are Rego Park & Forest Hills, but the commute is a bit longer.
Kinda confused b/c 10035 is East Harlem, which is not all that close to midtown.
As Chava said, Astoria, LIC and Jackson Heights are in Queens, which is part of NYC. It's not clear if you're living in DC itself right now, but NYC is considerably more urban than much of DC. Astoria and JH have a large area of relatively quiet (but definitely urban) residential blocks (along the lines of Glover Park or Mt. Pleasant). LIC is for the most part pretty industrial and gritty with some new (and expensive) luxury buildings in various corners.
In those areas, as in any NYC neighborhood, you have to be careful on exact location. Real estate types tend to stretch the boundaries of neighborhoods, and there are plenty of locations that are not near the subway, etc. And, for example, an apartment in "Astoria" could be on a nice residential side street, a gritty industrial area, right across from a large public housing complex, facing a huge highway, underneath an elevated subway, in an area populated with 20-somethings enjoying nightlife, etc. And it could be in any of a number of different public elementary school zones. So the exact location is key. Given the vagaries of transport, it also would help to know the exact location of the job since it affects which trains would be used to get there, and that can affect how long it takes.
Good thing you're OK with smaller spaces. Unfortunately, I have a hard time imagining that you'd find all (or most) of the items on your wish list within 20 mins of midtown for under $2000, especially a yard, 2 baths or even w/d. $1600 would be really tough. Anything within 20 mins (or even 35-40) is likely to be pretty urban and pretty expensive. I'm figuring you're definitely priced out of anything decent in Manhattan. To keep it in the 20 minute ballpark to midtown, Queens is likely your best bet. The closer parts of Brooklyn tend to be more expensive than Queens on average, and most of Brooklyn is a bit farther from midtown.
If you are interested in Queens, Astoria might work. I'd suggest taking a look at Sunnyside Gardens (northern half of Sunnyside, from Queens Blvd up to 39th Av. roughly in the 40s). Queens Blvd is a huge road that's a pain to cross, etc., but it's really lovely along Skillman Av and the side streets in this area. You may find something affordable, but it may be in an apt. bldg. In addition, Rego Park and Forest Hills are nice. The express train from Forest Hills makes for a pretty quick ride. Though it's farther on the map, it probably takes about the same as the ride to the end of the N in Astoria.
Grocery stores in NYC are generally cramped and expensive compared to other areas in the US. There are a couple of Target stores in Queens, at least one (very busy) in Brooklyn, and they're in the suburbs too. Of course it's easier to go to Target with a car, but a car anywhere within 20 mins of midtown is a challenge. Hard to find an apt with parking included, and street parking is very tight in many places.
Given what you're looking for, other than the commute issue, think about whether you want to live within NYC limits or just outside. The towns along the Hudson in NJ are not all that far to midtown as the crow flies, though commute time varies wildly. They range from yuppie and expensive, to nice and under the radar, to not-so-great, but they're all quite urban. The "real" suburbs are a bit farther afield but some in NJ or Westchester County may be worth a look if Queens is not your thing. Particularly if the job is near either Penn Station or Grand Central, respectively. The LI suburbs might take too long to get to midtown from.
The suburbs are a whole different topic and this is long enough. Some towns right outside NYC are very expensive, others are pretty cruddy. One advantage if you find a decent situation in the suburbs is that you don't pay NYC resident income tax, which could be a few hundred a month at your husband's income.
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The thing is, some suburbs can get you to midtown faster than some areas in the city. From the Hicksville station on LI (about 20 miles outside Manhattan), it takes 45 minutes to get to Penn station. When I lived in Maspeth (western Queens, mind you), it took only like 10 minutes less.
Jillian, I think you are going to have to cross off some of the items on the wish list. Forget the washer/dryer hook ups. If you are lucky, you might be able to find an apartment building with some laundry facilities. Otherwise, you might be able to rent part of a house with a washer/dryer in one of the boroughs. Also, keep in mind that our electricity rates are the highest in the country, however, we do not use electric heat here. Are you planning to keep a car? That can be a headache in NY. NY is not very big with big box or chain types of stores here. Think about how you are going to do your grocery shopping with the little ones in tow without a car or dragging them along with the groceries to where you can find parking back to your house. I don't think you are going to be able to find a 3 bedroom in your budget and $1600 for a two bedroom is going to be tight. You might also want to look into areas that have suitable play groups or nursery schools for your little ones. Our city parks may be more concrete than what you are used to. Consider Forest Hills/Rego Park/ Kew Gardens in Queens or one of the burbs outside the city. Forest Park would be a nice park for the kids. If you don't mind expanding the commute and want something more suburban, try eastern Queens-Bayside, Douglaston, Auborndale, Bellerose.
Don't worry too much about being scared by rent, since, on average, DC is slightly more expensive than New York, removing from the equation super-luxury buildings, and including the outer boroughs in New York. Your preferred rental range is a little tough, however, in close proximity or within the city itself. However, for a good neighborhood that has just about everything that you want, though you might have a laundry in building as opposed to in unit at that range, and you're in 2BR territory, unless you find a smaller or multi-family house in which you can rent a floor, I would recommend Riverdale in The Bronx. In North Riverdale, closer to the Yonkers border, you could find a smaller 3BR in your preferred price range, ($1700-$2000).
The downside to Riverdale is that much of the neighborhood is removed from the subway, but it has shops, a Target nearby in Marble Hill (down the hill), and the subway is a short city bus ride away on Broadway (5-10 minutes or so, depending upon stop to W231 & Broadway). There are express buses, however, the BxM1 and BxM2 that go to the east and west sides of Manhattan that leave from a good number of stops in the neighborhood. And, there's the BxM18 that travels to/from Lower Manhattan during the morning and evening rush hours. You can also catch the Metro-North Railroad at Riverdale or Spuyten Duyvil and be at Grand Central in under 30 minutes. It's also relatively easy to keep a car in Riverdale, so you can go to larger shopping areas in Lower Westchester in a few minutes, and to take the children to Van Cortlandt Park and other parks in the area, though there is a good deal of parkland in the area. The other issue with the subway is that it's the 1 train, which is a local train that makes many stops before getting to Midtown and Lower Manhattan.
It's an area that ranges from apartments in multi-family homes to single-family homes on an acre or more, overlooking the Hudson River, that range into eight-digit price tags. The apartment buildings are a mixture of older co-op conversions to modern condos, and span price points from around the $1600-$2k range upward, higher in prime areas of Central Riverdale and Spuyten Duyvil. There are also many families in the area, and it's very safe, on par with the Upper East Side. Being the most northwestern area of the city, and isolated from the rest of the Bronx by geography (Riverdale rises high above the Hudson River), the commute can be a bit longer than some other areas, but that depends upon your destination. For the Financial District, it would be around an hour or so, but less for parts of Midtown and the UES/UWS.
Be wary of ads that lump Kingsbridge with Riverdale, since that area is down the hill, an it's not bad, but it's not to the same standard as Riverdale. Also, the school district is not the same, so schools can be more of an issue, whereas Riverdale has top schools in District 10.
Good luck in your search!
ETA: Another consideration with a W/D is to get one of those single-unit washer/dryers that can hook up to a kitchen faucet. Basically, it's a unit that is on casters and can be rolled to the sink, washes and dries in one machine. Friends of mine have that setup in some of their apartments, though be sure to have it specified in the lease, since some buildings are finicky about them because of the potential for water leaks. You might have better luck with a smaller building and an individual landlord for this type of arrangement, as opposed to a large building and a management company.
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All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages.
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It's gonna be tough. Even living in Astoria is tough if you have a kid. If you ever want to go to the city with your baby you're likely gonna have to hike up and down long flights of stairs for the el trains. NYC is no place to raise a baby unless you're pulling in a quarter mill and up in my opinion. If I were you I'd think about a commute from Nassau, Westchester or somewhere in Jersey - at least you know your family can retreat to a comfortable pace and the schools will be better. 100k won't get you very far for a family in NYC.
I would suggest Riverdale. It has more of the suburban feel you are looking for. And there are Express Buses that will get your husband down to Wall Street fairly quickly. There are good parks and the local schools are also really good.
i think if ppl stop with the whole you need 234234234234342 trillion dollars to raise a family in ny, then we wouldn't have so many threads on CD about income when moving to ny.
anyway, with that said the OP is not going to find what she's looking for. cross most of your list out and come with an open mind. astoria seems to be the default answer to any and everyone's question nowadays...try astoria.
the best thing is to come with an open mind. you are not finding what you're looking for for the price that you're looking for...lol @ the washing machine stuff too. sorry.
My suggestion would be to live outside NYC. Looking to live in NY for $2,000 per month rent with young children is a recipe for unhappiness. My wife & I have a toddler and an infant and I cannot imagine living in a small NY apartment. As it is, our 3 bed/2.5 bath townhome in Jersey with finished basement feels cramped!
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