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LIE is - I think - for people who don't know - the Long Island Expressway. Which = a car. Which is something the OP is trying to do without. Do most of the people you know in New York own cars? Robyn
When I lived in Queens, not too far from MJ I had a car too. Queens is for people that live IN NYC but ON Long Island - best of both worlds. Subway, RR in to Manhattan, car out to LI.
I have looked in to the cost of retiring in NYC. I hate yard work, I hate snow blowing. Growing up I never lived in anything larger than a 500sf' apartment. I love the crowds and feel of the city. 55 years old and I still feel that way. We talk about retiring in Maine too, but the need to come back to NYC every year is there. I have several friends with kids renting in the city, I know the cost. My daughter and 2 of her roommates from college are looking to rent because it would be cheaper than the dorms because it's for 12 months not just the 8 months classes are in session. Their price point for the 3 of them is about $3K per month.
The easiest way to retire in NYC is to have lived and worked here before. So like the OP, give up the house and car and move to NYC, what would I save, what would it cost? Here's my simple math - I pay $8000 in property tax in NY. $500 per month for a car is $6K per year. Heating last year - $3500, homeowners and car insurance - $3500, lawn care another $1K . . . That's $22,000 right there. That means I can put that towards a $3500 per month apartment in my chosen neighborhood on the UWS and cover 6 months rent. Sell the house and put the equity towards the other 6 months of the year and I'm good for 18 years. Again, simple math, no rent increases or investing the home proceeds factored in, just today dollars.
The likelihood of this happening? Slim and none. I love to think about moving back but I think there are better or at least more practical options and then we can just visit a couple of times a year.
If you dislike big cities, your advice on a good place to live will clash with those who like big cities.
I don't dislike big cities at all. I've just been in enough of them to realize that being a tourist - especially when one is splurging on a vacation (which is what one generally has to do in many big cities - they tend to be expensive) - is very different than actually living in a place. FWIW - when I travel to a big city - I try to figure out what I want to do - and try to stay near most of the things I want to do. Because getting "across town" can be difficult/take a lot of time. IOW - I think the concept of "neighborhood" is very important in big cities/metro areas. Because the simple fact of the matter is 90% of the stuff you're going to do when you live in a place (apart from perhaps commuting to work) will be in your neighborhood - not in a distant part of the metro area.
To give a for example - how many of you who live in the NYC metro area go to any museum often enough to have a membership there?* How many of you went to the Magritte exhibit at MOMA this past winter (one of the great art exhibits in our lifetime)? Maybe you don't like art. Maybe you're a fan of the symphony - opera - ballet? Who has season subscriptions to those things? Or perhaps you like high end restaurant fare that's very difficult to find outside all but a small number of cities in the US. Who frequents 3 star Michelin restaurants - even occasionally?
No question New York - especially Manhattan - has tons of this stuff. And my husband and I frequent it on trips. But there's no way on earth we could afford to live there (in Manhattan) unless we were prepared to live in a teeny tiny place/bad neighborhood/neighborhood that doesn't have the things I'm interested in/crummy building/etc. Which I'm not willing to do. For 1500 sf (about half of what we have today) - in a neighborhood I like (we usually stay at the Four Seasons in New York - and I like that neighborhood ) - in a nice building - we'd probably be looking at rentals starting at $8k - condos starting at $2 million. And rent is just the start of it. Heck - the Ys in New York cost about 3 times what we pay here (almost $2k/year compared to $600 and change). If we lived in Manhattan - we probably wouldn't be able to afford all the things we like doing when we visit there (like going to great restaurants). Now maybe the OP - who lives alone and probably needs less sf than my husband and I do - is willing to make compromises that I'm not willing to make. That's for her to say. Robyn
*To Escort Rider - you're right that cultural attractions can be expensive in big cities. But there are some good deals - like museum memberships. If you go to a particular museum > once a year - a membership is almost always the way to go.
I am still several years away from retirement, but lately I have been playing with the idea of relocating to NYC from FL to retire. My thoughts are as follows: I am a single woman, native of FL and like the idea of mass transit that could get me all over the city and have access to transportation to other areas, such as Boston, etc. -- all without the need of driving a car. I also like the idea of no longer owning a SFH so when something breaks I can call the super/landlord instead of worrying about it myself. I don't have any close relatives in NYC though I do have a couple of cousins who live there and a couple of others who live in Connecticut. I Have an adult daughter who currently lives in FL but who knows what she will be doing in a few years. I realize that the winters are cold in NYC, but I have been thinking that since I would be retired I would have the option of staying inside on the coldest days.
I am not wealthy but I would have a reasonable pension in addition to SS to cover living expenses, etc. I would be willing to downsize to even a studio apartment since I do not need much space. In addition, I am thinking that the increased housing expense might be offset by the money I would be saving on car insurance, car payments, car insurance and even homeowners insurance.
I have not been to NYC for about 30 years so I realize that I would need to visit and give it a try before doing anything permanent and I also realize that I could live there for a couple of years and relocate again if I decided to do so.
I am wondering if anyone here as any thoughts that they would like to share with me concerning this idea. I searched but did not find any posts on this specific topic. Am I crazy for even considering this idea?
First of all , reality Check. You have to make a distinction between New York City and Manhattan. Most folks don't know much about the outer boroughs many of which function as if one were living in a suburb of Oklahoma City. Everyone wants to live in Manhattan, below 96th street, However you'd need a super high income to pull that off. Brooklyn as of lately has become very chic and culturally orientated. Areas that were once looked down upon are now very expensive.
The city rental board has just raised the rents 1% for a one year lease, 2% for two years and 3% for three. If on a fixed salary Manhattan or Brooklyn should be off your list. Queens is O.K. and Staten Island is like living in the middle of no where. In addition the mind set there is as if you're living in 1955 Alabama or Mississippi.
The Bronx can still offer you workable rents but most of the Bronx is kinda dilapidated, except for Kings bridge or Riverdale, but then again rents there are outrageous.
If you're thinking to take advantage of New York's cultural advantages it's si come si, si come sa. Subway is $1.25 per ride with the senior card. Out door exhibits are free as are street festivals, however the Met is now $20.00 and a broadway ticket on the cheap side Is $75.00 if you can get it.
Sorry but New York , Manhattan and Brooklyn in particular, are for millionaires!
He lives in Eastern Queens. The car owning and usage habits are rather different than the closer in parts of the city.
Yes - I know where he lives (although I've never been in the specific place he lives). A lot of my family used to live in Queens. I would have gladly paid for a car to drive my aunt from Queens to Manhattan to have lunch with us (had she not insisted on paying for it herself) to avoid going to Queens (my idea of a vacation is Manhattan - not Queens ). FWIW - my aunt used to love to come into town to have lunch with us at Cafe Boulud (before she moved to a senior facility in Westchester). Robyn
I don't dislike big cities at all. I've just been in enough of them to realize that being a tourist - especially when one is splurging on a vacation (which is what one generally has to do in many big cities - they tend to be expensive) - is very different than actually living in a place.
But you just said earlier you dislike being in big cities.
But you just said earlier you dislike being in big cities.
Where? Probably wouldn't care to live in one (couldn't afford my current lifestyle) - but my husband and I visit them all the time. In the last few years - we've been to Paris - Berlin - Stockholm - Tokyo (twice) - Los Angeles - New York - Toronto - Houston (big although not very urban) - and we're off to Singapore in a few months. Note that we travel first class - usually during times of year when the weather's nice - and it's all very agreeable. You know what they say about "...nice place to visit...". Robyn
First of all , reality Check. You have to make a distinction between New York City and Manhattan. Most folks don't know much about the outer boroughs many of which function as if one were living in a suburb of Oklahoma City. Everyone wants to live in Manhattan, below 96th street, However you'd need a super high income to pull that off. Brooklyn as of lately has become very chic and culturally orientated. Areas that were once looked down upon are now very expensive.
The city rental board has just raised the rents 1% for a one year lease, 2% for two years and 3% for three. If on a fixed salary Manhattan or Brooklyn should be off your list. Queens is O.K. and Staten Island is like living in the middle of no where. In addition the mind set there is as if you're living in 1955 Alabama or Mississippi.
The Bronx can still offer you workable rents but most of the Bronx is kinda dilapidated, except for Kings bridge or Riverdale, but then again rents there are outrageous.
If you're thinking to take advantage of New York's cultural advantages it's si come si, si come sa. Subway is $1.25 per ride with the senior card. Out door exhibits are free as are street festivals, however the Met is now $20.00 and a broadway ticket on the cheap side Is $75.00 if you can get it.
Sorry but New York , Manhattan and Brooklyn in particular, are for millionaires!
Yep the brownstone next door to my son in the Sty Heights section of Bed Sty of all places just sold for over 1 million
Manhattan is getting so expensive people are moving over to Brooklyn and driving real estate and rents up.
Son and DIL also have an apt in the west village, elevator but no doormen, it's about 500 sf if that and they rent it out for over 3K a month
Also - perhaps you're confusing the things that I don't like about big cities (like ridiculously crowded subways and street festivals) with the things I like (the things I actually do when I'm in a big city). The more money you have (whether you're a resident or a tourist) - the more you can insulate yourself from the less agreeable aspects of life (which tend to be more intrusive in big cities than elsewhere). Robyn
First of all , reality Check. You have to make a distinction between New York City and Manhattan. Most folks don't know much about the outer boroughs many of which function as if one were living in a suburb of Oklahoma City. Everyone wants to live in Manhattan, below 96th street, However you'd need a super high income to pull that off. Brooklyn as of lately has become very chic and culturally orientated. Areas that were once looked down upon are now very expensive.
The city rental board has just raised the rents 1% for a one year lease, 2% for two years and 3% for three. If on a fixed salary Manhattan or Brooklyn should be off your list. Queens is O.K. and Staten Island is like living in the middle of no where. In addition the mind set there is as if you're living in 1955 Alabama or Mississippi.
The Bronx can still offer you workable rents but most of the Bronx is kinda dilapidated, except for Kings bridge or Riverdale, but then again rents there are outrageous.
If you're thinking to take advantage of New York's cultural advantages it's si come si, si come sa. Subway is $1.25 per ride with the senior card. Out door exhibits are free as are street festivals, however the Met is now $20.00 and a broadway ticket on the cheap side Is $75.00 if you can get it.
Sorry but New York , Manhattan and Brooklyn in particular, are for millionaires!
I hate to break it to you clip314 but most native Staten Islanders have left the island and I don't blame them. It's overcrowded, filled with townhouses, traffic is a nightmare and the population is getting out of control. It's not at all like the 'country atmosphere' we used to have. Most of the people living here now are from Brooklyn.
And I really resent this quote from you..
Quote:
In addition the mind set there is as if you're living in 1955 Alabama or Mississippi.
Where in the hell did you pull that idea from? You make it sound like we hang blacks for fun here. My physician is black for gods sake.
Stop talking out your ass and actually come here. Ask anyone where they're from originally and I bet they'll say from Brooklyn.
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) - in a nice building - we'd probably be looking at rentals starting at $8k - condos starting at $2 million. And rent is just the start of it. Heck - the Ys in New York cost about 3 times what we pay here (almost $2k/year compared to $600 and change). If we lived in Manhattan - we probably wouldn't be able to afford all the things we like doing when we visit there (like going to great restaurants). Now maybe the OP - who lives alone and probably needs less sf than my husband and I do - is willing to make compromises that I'm not willing to make. That's for her to say. Robyn
). FWIW - my aunt used to love to come into town to have lunch with us at Cafe Boulud (before she moved to a senior facility in Westchester). Robyn
