Hellobee Boards

Do you have a budget in mind for renting? That would help narrow down neighborhoods.

I want to point out Hoboken. There are more bigger apartments and it's really family friendly. It has a really active mom group. Also the PATH and ferries go to WTC as well as other points in lower manhattan (mainly the village but also 33rd st. for access to midtown). The buses run frequently and you have the option of either tunnel to the city to the north and south. We really loved our time there. We lived in an 1000 sq ft apt with a yard...just the two of us and then had DD there for over a year before we moved to the burbs due to a new job for DH.

What an exciting move! I'm no longer in the city, sadly, but of course I still have opinions on the neighborhoods

For Brooklyn, I LOVE Brooklyn Heights and I think Ft. Greene is pretty ace, too. And both have easy commutes into the city, which helps significantly. If you are into the high rise living, it seems like downtown Brooklyn is coming along quite a bit, too.

@Modern Daisy: we pay 3k for a 2-bedroom, 10k for a 3-bedroom seems kind of steep to me! But I do think it would be between 4-5k for a 3-bedroom on the UWS, which is still pretty outrageous! But the Upper West Side is an amazing place to live with children, the access to parks, museums and restaurants is pretty awesome!

@PinkElephant: Here's a really nice 3 bedroom in Battery park city. Spacious, building has gym, etc. $9800 a month. http://streeteasy.com/building/the-soundings/5e

This one is nice, too http://streeteasy.com/building/the-verdesian/23c $8424 a month

I love looking at apartments online...what's your ballpark budget?

We live in Carroll Gardens and it is super family friendly. I actually didn't realize how many kids there were until I went out on maternity leave and walked the neighborhood during the day. Not sure what your budget is, but a true 3 bedroom apartment can be hard to find in Carroll Gardens and if you do, it's going to be pricey. As for list serves, Park Slope and Carroll Gardens both have active list serves that you can check out. There's so much kids stuff going on at all times, I wouldn't worry too much about missing.

Park Slope! It's seriously the best, and if you're far enough north, really close to subways that will take you to downtown easily. We are moving back to our home state in August and I'd offer you our place but it's too small. I highly recommend being close to Prospect Park - it's amazing, especially in the summer/fall.

I would definitely check out Hoboken. Super family friendly, cheaper, and if your husband is working downtown the NY Waterway Ferry has stops at World Financial and Wall Street pier so the commute is a breeze!

Also, I used to live at 45 Wall which was a great building that had 3 bedroom apartments, but I have no idea what rent would run you these days.

@meredithNYC: I didn't realize 3-beds were hard to find, what do I know?! NYC real estate is such a b*tch...
We moved in last April so not too long but we feel lucky bc our apt is amazing (dishwasher, elevator, laundry in basement, live-in super) and was definitely cheaper than some of the others we looked at! I think it's bc our block (83rd st) is kinda crappy- it has a post office, a fire house, some half-way houses and a bunch of parking garages. But still, I think the location is fantastic and we'll most likely be staying here until we move out of the city!

@Trailmix: I don't blame you -- I think I would stay put, too! I feel like a kind of "meh" block is nothing to worry about since you just turn a corner and it's a different situation, you know? Such is life in NYC!

@lawbee11: nyc real estate is a crazy thing but we also save money by not having car payments, insurance, gas etc.

@hotchildinthecity: True...didn't think about that. Gas is hella expensive.

@lawbee11: We don't live in manhattan, so our mortgage is significantly better--but still crazy by Texas standards.

We moved from Dallas to here, and I look at Zillow alllll the time for the McMansions we could afford in the suburbs of Dallas for what we pay for our 2 bedroom here.

Ah well. I really like where I live right now and it's been a great and supportive place to be a first time mom (I can throw a stick and hit a dozen mommy's groups), so it's been really good for the stage of life we're in now.

@MrsSCB: When did you move away from JC? It's been blowing up recently. Rents are still reasonable compared to Manhattan, but the Newport/ExchangePlace/Grove street areas are changing so fast. It's fun to see. I lived there last year.

We live in Carroll Gardens and love it! My husband commutes to lower Manhattan without a problem (about 20 minutes door to door), and there are lots of families in our neighborhood. Not sure about the availability of 3 bed apts, but we have a 1.5 bed and the apartment as a whole is really spacious compared to a lot of other ones I've seen.

@lawbee11: also blowing my mind and I live in nyc!!!

I grew up in fort greene and park slope, awesome neighborhoods! But I live in queens cause I can't afford to live there hahaha

I am in Boerum Hill (between Fort Greene, Cobble Hill and Brooklyn Heights) and have to say it is a wonderful neighborhood, super family friendly and great commute on many trains. Other places not really mentioned yet are Prospect Heights and Clinton Hill. Both offer great transportation and family friendliness and you can probably get a true 3 bedroom in your price range in a newer building. Cobble Hill and Carroll Gardens are both great, but most brownstones offer just 2 bedrooms. Downtown brooklyn near the court houses is undergoing a building boom right now and there are tons of big, tall new buildings that might give you what you want. I would get in touch with a broker and they can probably send you some listing by email in your price range so you can start to see what is out there. Most of the big RE firms have Brookly offices, Douglas Elliman, Stribling, etc.

As for the double stroller, I think that yes, since your older LO is only going to be 26 months and you will be doing a lot of walking, you need one. My LO is 2 and we are expecting another in June and we are looking at our double stroller options now. You can probably get away with a double umbrella stroller since you won't have a newborn any more.

Good luck!

i would say that you do need a double stroller at that age. we just got to the stage where we can get by with just a buggy board (at 4) since charlie doesn't nap anymore.

brooklyn isn't really cheaper than manhattan, but you do get more space for the same amount of money. a 3 bedroom on 5 is definitely doable, and you could get a nice place in brooklyn, but 3's go really fast since there are so few of them. real estate is also really hot right now, so rents are high.

brooklyn heights is definitely a good option since it's just one stop into the city. i would prefer to live there than in the financial district since there is a lot more to do there. fort greene is also cool. park slope is a great place to live, especially north slope because you're right by the 2,3,b,q trains. the q train is only 3 stops to the city. prospect heights is right beside park slope and the same train stops.

Sounds like Brooklyn Heights might be a great fit for you. We've always had to use brokers to get decent places. Try surfing broker sites like Warren Lewis, Corcoran, Ideal Properties, Brown Harris Stevens, and google Brooklyn realtors for more.

Good luck!