https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sun, 26 Apr 2026 03:40:04 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/considering-relocating-to-new-york#post-2261942 Wed, 12 Aug 2015 15:51:44 +0000 avu 2261942@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Thanks everyone for your advices. We decided to stay in Boston after all as the new company wants my husband starts earlier than we can move. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/considering-relocating-to-new-york#post-2260113 Mon, 10 Aug 2015 16:25:41 +0000 avu 2260113@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Thanks so much everyone! In term of good public school areas, would you say all these areas have good public schools: Hoboken, Carroll Gardens, Park Slopes, and Upper West? I also see that in unit washer &amp; dryer are very rare in UWS. Any tips on laundry? :) This is such a big move for us as we are living near our family right now. But it'll be a great career advancement for my husband. Thanks again. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/considering-relocating-to-new-york#post-2260034 Mon, 10 Aug 2015 14:38:25 +0000 MrsSCB 2260034@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Anagram: Ahhhh, yes, I totally forgot about the lack of city tax -- one of our favorite parts of living in Jersey instead of NYC! :-) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/considering-relocating-to-new-york#post-2259962 Mon, 10 Aug 2015 13:05:23 +0000 nana87 2259962@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>we live on the upper west side and love it! I only work part time and basically spend all my time with lo on days she's home with me in Central park, it's amazing! our budget is about the same as yours, and we have a 2-bedroom apt and a car (though we rarely use it, it's parked in a lot in harlem closer to our previous apartment). our daycare is super expensive though </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/considering-relocating-to-new-york#post-2259951 Mon, 10 Aug 2015 13:00:14 +0000 Mama Bird 2259951@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>From what I've heard about day care costs in Boston, NYC costs are in the same ballpark. Housing is on the expensive side, but you can easily find something nice for well under $5K. Parking in buildings can be really expensive, but there are neighborhoods with OK street parking if you know where to look, like Sheepshead Bay and Sunset Park in Brooklyn, and many parts of Queens. And a lot of NYC is an hour away from downtown Manhattan by train. </p> <p>Public school quality is uneven though, so you might want to focus on an area with good schools if you want to stay in the same neighborhood for several years. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/considering-relocating-to-new-york#post-2259850 Mon, 10 Aug 2015 11:55:06 +0000 Anagram 2259850@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@avu: I lived in Jersey City for a year and now live in Hoboken and we love both areas. We moved to Hoboken just because we bought, and we found a condo we loved here but we could have lived either place.</p> <p>JC has a great waterfront area (good neighborhoods to explore are Newport, Exchange Place, Grove Street, Van Vorst, and Hamilton Park). All of Jersey City has totally free Pre-K 3 and Pre-k 4 programs, BUT there are only 1-2 "good" locations in the waterfront areas and people literally line up and sleep at the BOE sign up area the night before to get into those preschool programs. There was a NYTs article about it. It's not a lottery program, but enrollment is capped at those locations so only so many people can get it and the rest are assigned to other preschools in more "low income" areas (for lack of a better word), Exchange place and parts of Van Vorst and Grove Street feed into Jersey City's only well-regarded Elementary School, Cornelia Bradford. JC also has an amazing magnet HS that consistantly ranks in the top 10 HS in the state each year (McNair) and a Talented and Gifted magnet program for middle school. So there are good options for public schools and a lot of good privates as well. Exchange Place has a 10 minute PATH train to World Trade Center, where you can walk or take the subway to anywhere else downtown.</p> <p>Hoboken (where I live now), has PATH connections to downtown and Ferry connections to financial district/wall street/WTC from both uptown and downtown. It's also a short ride--10 minutes ish on both ferry and PATH.</p> <p>Hoboken also has a great free public pre-k 3 and pre-k 4 program that is really well regarded in the community and *every* child gets in. No lottery system. We are planning on sending our oldest next year. The elementary schools are okay, but the schools aren't great after elementary. There are several small private schools though, if you end up staying in the area. A lot of people end up moving out to the suburbs when their kids get older or going private after 5th grade.</p> <p>You can definitely get a 2 bedroom in the $3000-3500 range, depending on size and what amenities you are looking for. For $5000 you can basically get whatever you want (3 bedroom, parking, amenities like gym and pool). </p> <p>Feel free to ask me any questions. Hoboken and waterfront JC are super family/kid friendly. Hoboken is like the Park Slope of Jersey. It's all young families and we've really liked it here. Also, you don't pay city tax living here. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/considering-relocating-to-new-york#post-2259834 Mon, 10 Aug 2015 11:40:37 +0000 hellobeeboston 2259834@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>What about Westchester county, or on the CT border with a train into Manhattan? Maybe too pricey? I think of these areas for ease of getting back up to Boston. </p> <p> I was also thinking Brooklyn? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/considering-relocating-to-new-york#post-2259821 Mon, 10 Aug 2015 11:29:52 +0000 MrsSCB 2259821@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We lived in Jersey City and loved it. Less pricey than Manhattan but super easy for commuting. My H worked downtown and it was very easy to get to work on the PATH train that runs between Jersey and Manhattan. We were just south of Hoboken right on the river and could get into the city faster than a lot of friends who lived in Brooklyn or Queens. In terms of traveling to Boston, there's an Amtrak station in Newark that I far preferred to Penn Station (I hate Penn station!) the PATH takes you right to the Amtrak station. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/considering-relocating-to-new-york#post-2259780 Mon, 10 Aug 2015 10:56:26 +0000 avu 2259780@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Thanks everyone for your advices. I'll look into the suggested towns. My husband needs to commute to downtown Manhattan so living in NJ suburb might be difficult for his commute. In term of nanny cost, how much should I expect to pay for a toddler and an infant? I plan to send my toddler to a morning program daycare/preschool for 3 mornings /week (which is what we are doing here) if we can afford it. How's the Upper West Side comparing to Brooklyn in term of family friendly, housing &amp; childcare affordability, and going back to Boston for visits? Thanks! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/considering-relocating-to-new-york#post-2259771 Mon, 10 Aug 2015 10:50:46 +0000 looch 2259771@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I would look at the method by which you'd both be commuting into the city and rule out options that way. For example, you have a ton of bus services in New Jersey, so I might look for an express bus into Port Authority and connect via the subway.</p> <p>You also have Metro North from NY and CT, so I'd look at towns that are on a train line. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/considering-relocating-to-new-york#post-2259744 Mon, 10 Aug 2015 10:38:14 +0000 Madison43 2259744@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@avu: I lived in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn for several years and really loved it there. Beautiful neighborhood, lots of families and a really easy commute into NYC (less than 30 mins for me to commute into midtown). We moved to a suburb in NJ last summer because we really just wanted more space for our daughter and room to expand. We've been very happy with the move so far - I live on the "midtown direct" NJ transit line, and my commute is 50-60 mins. As for childcare, I have always used a nanny. Infant daycare was scarce in my neighborhood and there are tons on nannies in this area, so that was a better choice for us. Your housing budget should be fine - just be warned that you will not get as much space as you could in MA for the same price, even if you live an hour outside NYC. If you're planning on renting for a while, I might rent in Brooklyn (Park slope, Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn Heights are all great choices for young families) for a while and use that time to experience NYC and get to know the surrounding suburbs before you commit to one. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/considering-relocating-to-new-york#post-2259705 Mon, 10 Aug 2015 10:14:30 +0000 plantains 2259705@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@avu: Don't be nervous about the daycare preschool horror stories, they are way overblown! 5k is a pretty reasonable budget if you are happy to be an hour away, there are a lot of different options and it really depends on what you are looking for. Apt or house? 2 bedrooms or 3? A neighbourhood where your kids can stay i.e. good schools? (that rules out Jersey City) and many other issues. </p> <p>There are suburbs in all directions (Jersey, Connecticut, Westchester and Long Island) and all have completely different feels and a huge variety of commuting times. There are also a ton of extremely child friendly and beautiful neighbourhoods in Brooklyn and Queens. NYC has free pre-K from age 4 so that is something to consider in terms of childcare costs. To give you a point of reference, I pay 2k for my DD for preschool and will pay 2.5k for DS when he gets here for infant care. But DD will qualify for free Pre-K in less than a year, so pros and cons really.</p> <p>Surprisingly, some of the expensive areas have cheaper childcare due to having more options to choose from so it isn't always very clear what type of cost one can expect. With regards to visiting MA, we go to Mystic, CT a lot and if you time it right the traffic is okay you jus have to either leave earlier o Friday afternoon or wait until Saturday morning. Leaving at 5pm on Friday is a recipe for disaster. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/considering-relocating-to-new-york#post-2259676 Mon, 10 Aug 2015 09:52:01 +0000 avu 2259676@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>If we stretch it, our budget for housing can be $5k/month (including 1 car parking). What can we get for housing at this price? We would prefer suburb if possible to keep the commute 1 hour or less to downtown manhattan. I read horror stories about difficulty to find daycare, preschool... I'll look into Jersey City. @MADISON43, can I ask where you live? Thanks! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/considering-relocating-to-new-york#post-2259657 Mon, 10 Aug 2015 09:40:38 +0000 Madison43 2259657@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>This is such a big question! The answer totally depends on what your budget is, whether you want a suburban or urban feel, and generally what your lifestyle is/ what you want it to be. I relocated from Boston to NYC 6 years ago and I love it here ...I will say that the traffic leaving NYC to get to MA can be absolutely brutal on the weekends and holidays, so you may not end up making the trip as often as you think. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/considering-relocating-to-new-york#post-2259652 Mon, 10 Aug 2015 09:37:46 +0000 hummusgirl 2259652@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'd look into Jersey City. We had friends there who loved it and (at the time, a couple years ago) it was much more affordable than most other places. It's also an easy commute by the PATH train to lower Manhattan. </p> <p>We moved away a year ago but we lived in Park Slope, Brooklyn, and it was HEAVEN. Such a great place to have a family, with beautiful Prospect Park close by and tons of kids and playgrounds everywhere. And gorgeous brownstones, tree-lined streets, etc. But, it is insanely expensive. Depends on your definition of "affordable," really. </p> <p>I think NYC is a great place to have kids - you should go for it! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/considering-relocating-to-new-york#post-2259628 Mon, 10 Aug 2015 09:18:12 +0000 avu 2259628@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My husband got a job offer in downtown Manhattan. I'm hoping to make the internal transfer with my company. We are current living 1 hour outside of Boston. Any NY bees out there that can tell us what we are getting ourselves into? We have a 2 years old and a new baby due in early November. My biggest concerns are housing and childcare. Where can we live within 1 hour commute to downtown Manhattan that's affordable and not too difficult to find quality childcare? I'm looking to visit my family back in the Boston area every month or so. Thanks so much! </p>