Thoughts on Suburbs?

we lived in bklyn for over 10 years and moved out 1.5 years ago for the schools and the space. we went kicking and screaming but now that we are here we really like it. like you we were concerned about hipness, diversity and access to the city, along with good schools and reasonable prices. we considered montclair which we liked a lot and would recommend, though the high school is quite large and we were concerned our kids might get lost.

we also considered the river towns like hastings and irvington, both or which we liked. however, at the end of the day we ended up in pelham. quite a few reasons for this:

1) there is a neighborhood called pelham heights, and another called pelhamwood that are walking distance to the train and the village, so it feels a bit like living in the city. all streets have sidewalks so people walk everywhere.

2) access to the city is unbeatable. 28 minutes to GCT regardless of the train you are on. this is faster than any other town in westchester or NJ.

3) great housing stock. pelham was the first “burb” in westchester and no 2 houses are the same. we are in a 1917 craftsman that was fully renovated.

4) prices are cheaper than any other westchester town that has a decent school system – under $400 psf for a great house.

5) very good school system. not the top rated as we have more economic diversity than many of the “prestigious” towns in the county, which correlates strongly with test scores. nonetheless it is a very good system and is a manageable size.

6) bit more diversity. nothing like the city – but not everyone in town is a banker either. tons of media folks live here, which is what attracted us to it. there’s also a more blue collar area of town where people may not make as much $ but still care about their community.

7) great people. this was probably our biggest concern – will our neighbors be snobs? turned out we had nothing to worry about. pelham is a small town and everyone really cares about the community and is super involved – and in it for the long term. they are also very friendly and outgoing, as people are determined to put down roots. we have honestly made more friends here in under 2 years than we did in 10+ years in bklyn.

downsides – our shopping district is utilitarian – not hip. also restaurants are scarce. that said, it’s a 5 minute drive to bronxville, 5 mins to new ro, 10 mins to larchmont or scarsdale, all of which have the cool things you might be looking for. and it’s a 20 minute drive to the upper west side if you are jonesing for a meal in the city or stuff to do.

all in all, if you are worried about the burbs save yourself some negative energy and know that all is well out here. different from the city, but still a great place to raise a family.

good luck.

As others here have suggested,
you owe it to yourself to consider some
“suburbs” within the city of New York.

-The city’s best school district is district 26 in Queens,
consistently has public schools scoring high 90’s in Reading and Math standardized tests, in ALL the public schools k-5, not just one “prized” school.

-The district happens to include some of the safest and greenest, tree-lined streets in NYC.

-Some neighborhoods to check out;
Bayside
Douglaston
Little Neck
Cloverdale
Whitestone
Bay Terrace
Beechurst

-housing stock varies greatly, from condos on the water at the foot of the ThrogsNeck to free standing Victorians.

-prices are reasonable and you benefit from low real estate taxes like the rest of the boroughs.

-commutes vary, Bayside and Little Neck have their own LIRR stops. Otherwise these are two fare zones with a bus to downtown Flushing to catch the 7 train.

-if you have a car, access to the City and Brooklyn is quite easy catching the Long Island Expressway right into the Midtown tunnel or veering off onto the BQE.

-culturally, you benefit from the richness of Queens diversity (the most diverse place on the planet) and still maintain access to everything in the 5 boroughs.

-going the other way, you have access to Long Island beaches and large parks within the area like Alley Pond Park which is huge and includes Little Neck bay for boating next to Fort Totten/Tilden?? I forget. Also ready access to Long Island’s North Shore (AKA the Gold Coast).

Good Luck.

Cheaper than Bedstuy?

Access to Brooklyn culture via short car ride?

Suburban lifestyle?

After the Billyburg advocate was attacked I’ll probably be mauled for this but I think we’re missing a very obvious option:

Why not just stay in Brooklyn and move farther out?

Marine Park, Bergen Beach, Mill Basin, Manhattan Beach (“new” Mill Basin and Manhattan Beach are pricier)- 1 families w/garage and driveway go for between 350K and 1 mil. Good schools as long as your kid is tracked into the “smart” classes. Commute to Midtown’s 1 hour and 15 minutes not great but you can’t beat the $2.25 Metrocard price or the relatively low property taxes vs. outside NYC.
Still a great place to raise a family.

I looked a few years ago and these the three towns I liked best (in part because I know others there) Long Island– Port Washington. Westchester – Pelham. NJ — Ridgewood. Though none are cheap, you get a lot more for your money than Brooklyn, especially these days, and all had nice downtowns, walkable and people I found interesting. Ultimately, I didn’t want to deal with the commute, was worried about lack of diversity and loved my daughter’s elementary school. But now that I’ve gone through the middle school process, I really regret that I didn’t make the move.