Hellobee Boards

we live in NYC! happy to chat. childcare is definitely pricey in NYC and a little tricky to navigate post-pandemic but it can definitely be done! given your husband will be working from home, do you have any commuting requirements or does it not matter how far you are from manhattan?

@foodiebee: we still live in Hoboken, which is just across the Hudson from Manhattan. Hoboken is still pricey but lower in price then Manhattan or trendy parts of Brooklyn (a 3 bedroom for rent would depend on factors like if the building has an elevator, amenities like a gym, parking options, etc….but would probably be over 4500-7000 depending on those amenities and features). Buying a 3 bedroom also depends on building amenities but could be 1.2-sky’s the limit.

But…I really like it here. Super easy access to Midtown (where my husband has worked for the 9 years we’ve lived here). His door to door commute is 28 minutes and that includes walking to the bus from our house and walking from Port Authority to his office.

The school district here used to be “bad” (loaded word, there’s a whole history about that, but is quickly changing and my kids have had an amazing experience. There’s free, universal pre-k for 3 and 4 year olds and there’s just less to navigate in terms of school options here compared to NYC. It’s a very progressive school board here—very focused on equitable access to education. My kids are now going into 1st and 3rd grade.

So pros of this are are:close to city, easy access, walkable urban vibe but somehow still small town feel, super family friendly (parks and playgrounds everywhere). Not cut off from other parts of US if you want to travel (compared to day, Long Island or far parts of queens/Brooklyn), so it’s easy to get out of town to the beach or mountains. Cons are expense.

I can answer questions about most places in Hudson County and most of the popular NJ suburbs with easy commutes to the city, if you want to hear it. We have been toying with the idea of a suburbs move for more space, but ended up buying a weekend/beach house instead and now staying in Hoboken longer.

I think you should figure out your wants: do you want a washer/dryer in unit? Will you have a car? Will you want easy access to other locations on the east coast? Where will you be commuting to/how often, how long do you want your commute to be? Do you want a single family home or is apartment living what you want? Do you need outdoor space?

So many factors.

We moved here from Dallas 9 years ago and at the time, thought it would be temporary. I loved Dallas, and I lived in the actual city of Dallas there and had great friends and a great life there. But even with that, I love this area more. I can’t actually imagine moving back anymore. Especially with all the craziness of the last few years, I’ve always been really pleased with my local area’s response to Covid safety, to social change like BLM and Time’s Up, etc.

And the access to the city and the entire eastern seaboard is unparalleled. I’m super into getting out with my kids, and we go all over NYC, all over NJ/CT/NY. It’s just so easy to get around here compared to Texas. In Texas, going from Dallas to Austin is a “short” getaway, and that’s 3 hours/6 hours round trip. Here, in 3 hours or less I can get to various parts of Pennsylvania (rural parts like the Poconos for skiing or hiking, Amish country, Sesame Place, Hershey Park, Philadelphia, Jersey Shore, Connecticut shore, the Adirondacks, the Berkshires, Boston, Newport, RI, Cape Cod, parts of Vermont and New Hampshire.

I could go on and on. After a lifetime of no real seasons, I love the 4 seasons here.

@LadyDi: ha, well I do love it here! But I realize it’s all relative and depends so much on your own personality. I have a coworker friend who grew up here and wants to move to the south so bad, but all their family is here.

But she hates winter (she gets legit SAD and really struggles), she’s also the breadwinner as a teacher and it’s very expensive in the tri-state area and I know that’s difficult, and she hates all crowds and gets anxiety so she never does NYC events because, well….they are usually crowded. So all the negatives for her are positives for me.

@foodiebee: it is a little hard to narrow down! i honestly believe NYC has dozens of neighborhoods that are wonderful, unique, and worth living in. it kind of depends what you want! i'm on the upper west side, living very close to where i grew up, and i think it is a magical place to be, but it is also extremely pricey! i think there are really good deals to be found in family-friendly areas of queens such as sunnyside and forest hills, and areas in upper manhattan that are underappreciated such as inwood and hamilton heights. brooklyn is lovely but at least as pricey as manhattan at this point. and totally agree w/ @Anagram: that hoboken (and IMHO jersey city) are worth considering.

sorry it is a little hard to give you a straight answer, but happy to chat through any specific questions you have.

Yep, still NYC over here, sadly. I'd think long and hard about moving here. It's never been very family friendly (expensive, hard to take maternity leave) but it's dialed up to 11 lately. If you move here, do you have a backup plan to deal with school quarantine/closures? If you have older kids also, this possibility isn't off the table.

Are you OK with your child possibly having to wear an N95 mask to school? I'd say the possibility of that happening is 50/50 right now.

Are you OK with the possibility of kids under 12 not being able to go to a show or a café since they're not vaccinated? We came very close to having that happen last week. The mayor later admitted he "forgot" about kids when issuing his restrictions, and that they'll be exempt. But that's classic - you'd be bringing your family into a place where kids are very much an afterthought.

We do have universal pre-K and 3K though, and awesome Early Intervention, and all kids are eligible for free school lunch. And (for now) there are great options for kids to learn just about anything. Unless more restrictions come down from above...

@foodiebee: let me further entice you with random photos I’ve taken. I’m sitting at a park watching my kids play for going on 3 hours and starting to be bored—so I have nothing else to do!

Oh, man, @Anagram, we have plans to take DD to NYC for the first time next month, and your photos are making me SO EXCITED! It will be my first time back in ten years, and I really hope we don't have to pull the plug because of COVID, as this trip is very overdue.