Best place to live in New York, NY for young family?

Question

We will be a mid to late 20's family with one kid and one dog relocating from FT. Benning, Ga. to New York, NY area. Wife is an accountant, I will seek employment with NYPD. Looking for a place that is relatively safe, good schools, house prices that match our jobs, backyard would be nice. Any help would be appreciated.

Answer 1

Unless your wife, as an accountant, makes buckets of money -- you can forget about Manhattan. The average one-bedroom apartment in a decent neighborhood is $2,000/mo rent. If you're looking to buy -- it's about 1,100 per square feet -- about 1 million for less than 1,000 square feet of space, plus taxes, maintenance and utilities. Ridiculously expensive.

Great alternatives to rent or buy are:

In Queens: Forest Hills, Astoria, Long Island City and Flushing.

Forest Hills is beautiful, extremely safe, there's plenty to do, it's only a short 25 minute train ride to midtown Manhattan, and it's very affordable to buy and rent.

Astoria is just across the bridge from Manhattan (a 5 minute train ride to Manhattan). Esthetically it's not much and it is pricier than most places in Queens because it is so close to the city.

Flushing is an Asian neighborhood and is pretty up-and-coming in terms of development. New things are springing up there left and right, but I certainly would not want to raise a child there.

Long Island City is very nice and culturally diverse. It's relatively cheap and you're pretty close to the city (only one train stop away). The only problem is that you will have to rely on the 7 train to get there (which is not very reliable) and it's the only train. If service goes out, you're cabbing it.

If I were you, I would focus on Forest Hills. When NYC was being developed they chose Forest Hills to be like a park with lots of trees and grass (which is great for kids to go and play). It's very family-focused, and there's plenty to do for everyone. There's a huge park (Flushing Meadow Park) with a lake in the center of it where you can rent paddle boats). Flushing Meadow Park has a few tennis courts, a basketball court, a few playgrounds, a place to have a picnic and BBQ, and there's also a place to rent bikes to bike around. It's about a 10 minute walk from Forest Hills. In Forest Hills, they have playgrounds, lost of places to walk, a Starbucks, Barnes and Noble, lots of shopping, etc. It's pretty awesome.

Good luck!

Answer 2

"House prices that match our jobs"

Unfortunately, you probably won't find that in the city itself, unless you look in parts of Brooklyn, Queens, or Staten Island. Bergen County, NJ is also a feasible commute, but can be pricey. MANY of the NYPD & FDNY live in Orange or Rockland Counties and commute the hour or more south into the city because it's more affordable. You just have to factor in the commuting costs into your total package - either by car, bus, or train.

Answer 3

For a balance of affordability, decent schooling and safety, I would recommend a neighborhood in Queens such as Forest Hills, Middle Village or Sunnyside. Hope this helps.

Answer 4

I would live on Long Island and commute to the City. I am from the Island and lots of young people with money settle there.

Answer 5

majority of nypd people live in bay ridge and long island, i guess many landlord is retired pd..
however,
i live in williamsbugh greenpoint,
ps 34, and ps 31 is in top best schools
it's a safe neighborhood, getting more and more younger...
easy access to all trains and easy access for cars to go in and out of the boro's..

Answer 6

Bay Ridge, Brooklyn is nice and has great apartments which are relatively inexpensive (compared to the rest of the city).

Hoboken, NJ is also nice.

Answer 7

I hope you get a raise before you move. NY has a cost of living about 10 times that of GA. Not to mention some of the highest taxes in the country.

Seinfeld quote: "This city will eat you alive."