Thoughts on Suburbs?
This may be the most unlikely question to be posted here, but we are really looking for some opinions. We have been in BedStuy for the past 6 years, great house, nice neighbors. Growing family and less disp inc we are reluctantly considering relocating out of the city. Know nothing about NY suburbs. Not a…
This may be the most unlikely question to be posted here, but we are really looking for some opinions. We have been in BedStuy for the past 6 years, great house, nice neighbors. Growing family and less disp inc we are reluctantly considering relocating out of the city. Know nothing about NY suburbs. Not a huge suburb/country person so looking for a place that is diverse, has a nice walking village area, not a 3 hr 1-way commute to the city, “hip”-ish like BK 🙂 and a reputation of happy residents. I know it’s asking for a lot. Some folks have mentioned Riverdale, Garden City, Westport, Hoboken. Just wanted to see what others thought. Thanks sooo much!
Someone said BRonxville? Bronxville is VERY EXPENSIVE. Of course it’s beautiful but it’s EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE. My mother works in Bronxville and I lived in Eastchester for years so I know from experience.
the OP wants something cheaper than Bed Stuy, bronxville is like moving to Brooklyn Heights cost wise, maybe even more.
What you could do is move to the part of Yonkers that is close to Bronville on the other side of the Bronx River Pkwy. Although then you would have to send your kids to Private School as Yonkers Public schools are the WORST.
LL07 – considering the same for my family. A three bedroom with a yard in a decent school district. Priorities change if you have kids…
As has been said above, when looking at property taxes consider how much you are already paying in NYC resident income taxes that you won’t have to pay.
I don’t have personal experience, but a work colleague moved out of Astoria to a place on the Hudson (renter in both areas). When they added up the two cars, the cost of Metropass, train ticket, and heating for their gigantic standalone house, I think they were spending more or it was a wash. Also if owner, gotta watch out for taxes.
are real estate taxes really so different from NJ to Westchester?
if you stay – check out PS84 in Williamsburg. It’s a magnet school, so you do not have to be in district 14. Terrific pre-k program and growing excellent dual language program in Spanish (will have 2 K classes this fall). Adding a dual language program in French in the fall of 2011.
don’t bother reading about it online because the school has dramatically changed and will change further next year. new wonderful principal, invested parents in the PTA, added enrollment from middle/upper middle class families, etc….
several bedstuy families who bought there are coming to this school now because they like it better than their local zoned school. the ones with younger kids put them at Williamsburg Northside preschool or in their infant/day care program. in fact one of the PTA officers is a bedstuy resident.
The other place that I would suggest would be Philadelphia or DC. Both fantastic places!
I agree with everyone who said Montclair. Great housing stock, decent commute, great schools and there’s actually some culture and stuff to do (dare I say more than some Brooklyn neighborhoods)
As for LI – I second Garden City (very expensive tho) – Rockville Centre is also nice, and well serviced by the LIRR.
I 2nd (3rd? 4th?) both Montclair, NJ and Bronxville, NY. Both have great commuting times to NYC, excellent school systems, and lively, walkable downtown areas. (In fact, Mtclr has 2.) Montclair also has a great park with a terrific dog run, and lots of community activities. I think it’s more diverse than Bronxville.
Montclair also has a diverse housing stock with many pre-war homes on tree-lined streets. I get weekly Montclair real estate updates, and right now there’s a decent selection in the $500-$700 range.
WE left Brooklyn almost 2 years ago, for Westchester. I cannot say enough good things about it. First, as for RE cost – we spent less than we would have spent on a Brownstone in the Heights, Park Slope or Boerum Hill (our favorite B’lyn areas) and got a 3850 SF house built in 1910, but fully renovated. We love the house, and the space. We have a big fenced in yard for our dog to run around and play in. A big 2 car detached garage so we never have to worry about parking. Granted taxes are higher, but we dont pay NYC tax – so, the RE tax increase is a wash with the savings from the NYC income tax.
The commute is excellent – 10 minutes to the train station; and then 35 minutes on the train to GCT. Cant really beat that. Plus, you always get a seat and the ride is more pleasant than the subway.
The downsides area few – much fewer good restaurants; less “stuff” to do; slower pace of life; etc. But, we found a few really good restaurants and we still go out to eat in Manhattan quite a bit. As for the slower pace/less stuff to do… well, now that we have a 9 month old baby, we tend to stay home more any way.
All in all, I couldnt be happier with the move – the space, yard, beautiful greenery when walking the dog, etc…