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We are a family of seven (soon to be eight) moving from the ex-urbs of ATL (Forsyth Co.). Originally from midwest. Small town people. Relocating for job in NYC. Currently, we have a five bdrm house ($263,000) w/basement on cul-de-sac, tons of nhood kids, swim/tennis community. No. 5 school in state. Creek in backyard. Wonderful area.
1. Are we nuts for moving? It is for a much better job and much more $$.
We don't mind moving to new areas of country- love new experiences. We did move to GA from IN after all. We're ready for our next culture shock.
2. We like what we have seen (on internet) of Monmouth Co. NJ. Hubby would take ferry to job. However, ferry is expensive, so want to keep an open mind about other areas. CT "seems" quaint and small townish. We like the small town over surburbia or urban areas. Must have good public schools. We have five kids, so private is not an option for us. Hubby does not want to switch trains a million times- is that what CT would entail?
We are looking in the 300,000 to 450,000 range, four bedrooms.
Do you know the location of your husband's office? If it's on the east side, trains from Connecticut and Westchester are more convenient through Grand Central. For the west side, New Jersey and Long Island will minimize train switching through Penn. However, if he will be in an area like Times Square, which has the shuttle from Grand Central and subways from Penn, either area would work.
Since you are looking at the ferry, I am guessing that it's Lower Manhattan, in which case a train to subway is inevitable.
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All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages.
~William Shakespeare (As You Like It Act II, Scene VII)
We are a family of seven (soon to be eight) moving from the ex-urbs of ATL (Forsyth Co.). Originally from midwest. Small town people. Relocating for job in NYC. Currently, we have a five bdrm house ($263,000) w/basement on cul-de-sac, tons of nhood kids, swim/tennis community. No. 5 school in state. Creek in backyard. Wonderful area.
1. Are we nuts for moving? It is for a much better job and much more $$.
We don't mind moving to new areas of country- love new experiences. We did move to GA from IN after all. We're ready for our next culture shock.
2. We like what we have seen (on internet) of Monmouth Co. NJ. Hubby would take ferry to job. However, ferry is expensive, so want to keep an open mind about other areas. CT "seems" quaint and small townish. We like the small town over surburbia or urban areas. Must have good public schools. We have five kids, so private is not an option for us. Hubby does not want to switch trains a million times- is that what CT would entail?
We are looking in the 300,000 to 450,000 range, four bedrooms.
Again, maybe we are nuts.
Thanks for any help!
Monmouth County NJ is a great area because of excellent school systems and low crime.
If you have any questions feel free to contact me through DM or start a thread in the NJ forum. Personally, I believe your family would be better off in NJ over CT.
We looked at houses in CT this summer before we bought on LI. The farthest we were willing to go was Fairfield (which is still 75 mins on the Metro-North) and we were really disappointed in the houses we saw. I looked at lots and lots of houses, we also really wanted 4brs, but even for 500k there was not much. Property taxes were lower than here though. Fairfield was nice but in the end we didn't see anything there that we liked half as much as the house we are in now. Don't know anything about NJ though...
I'll second looking at LI. I was raised there and absolutely love the area. I've been in Fairfield County, CT since 03 for school/work, and while it's very nice up here, I'd always pick LI over CT. Unfortunately, prices in both areas are not cheap. I don't know much about NJ. Commuting from LI or CT would be about the same. If you do CT, I don't recommend past Fairfield as the commute gets long. And you'll need to arrange some way to park in Fairfield bc the waiting list for train parking is extremely long (prob 5-10 years?) I believe some of Stamford's schools are good as well, and it's about a 50 minute express shot into the city. It also has what I consider the best mix of suburban life with a downtown/city feel.
I can tell you that the ferry from NJ is great, but to get to SoHo he will have to take a train once he gets off. I don't know anything about CT, but I absolutely love Monmouth County.
Thank you all for your responses. I think we are ruling CT out, the lack of parking at the train station would be a prob. Also, since hubby would be in SoHo, it would be too far. I think west NJ is too far also- so Monmouth is still looking good. We may investigate LI or perhaps Staten Island too. Monmouth seems appealing, because it "seems" less dense.
The problem with Staten Island is that the school system can have issues, being NYC public schools. The middle schools and high schools can be arduous, especially when students commute to the specialized schools in other parts of the city. And, since your children are new to the city, and to the schools, it could be a difficult adjustment. Read reviews of the schools on InsideSchools.org before committing to Staten Island. The taxes will be lower than the suburbs, but you may be more likely to get a school system on par with what you're leaving in a suburban setting.
__________________
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.
~William Shakespeare (As You Like It Act II, Scene VII)
Monmouth County would be a good fit for you because there are a lot of homes with 4 bedrooms. On Long Island, 3 bedrooms is the norm and if you find a home with 4 bedrooms, you will pay dearly for it.
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