# suggestions for areas to live in for work in new york



## shell2706 (Sep 29, 2014)

hi

my husband has a job in new York city and we have three young children so area is very important to us! we currently live in UK and want ideas on areas on where to live? we have been looking at new jersey but any suggestions would help 

thanks in advance


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

Your questions are so vague they are impossible to answer. Will you be renting or leasing, what is your budget, are the children school age, do you plan on public or private school, what kind of commute will be acceptable for your husband, what are your wants/needs/have to haves as far as space and amenities are concerned?


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## shell2706 (Sep 29, 2014)

Thank you for your reply. Are children are aged 5yrs 3yrs and 3 months so need to think about schools! Need to understand school system as our son in already in second year of school here! Looking to rent at least a three bed house small garden for around 3000 a month! Ideally around hour travel to new York city by train.


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## Newyorkaise (Nov 30, 2010)

Shell, you say your son is in the second year of school in the UK. Most 5-year-olds in the US would just be starting kindergarten, which is the first "formal" year of the K-12 US educational system. Do you mean he has been attending pre-school or pre-kindergarten classes? I'm not too familiar with the UK system.

Public (ie, state-sponsored) school in the US is tuition free, although there will likely be fees for certain supplies and/or after-school activities. New Jersey has many communities with good to excellent public schools. Private schools, which include both religious and secular schools, can be exorbitantly expensive, although not always.

Where exactly in NYC is your husband's job? Different parts of Manhattan are more difficult to access by train from New Jersey - once he gets to Penn Station, he may need to take the subway and/or bus, for example, to reach his office, or it may be a bit of a hike. This can affect where you choose to live, given that his nominal hour of commuting may turn out to be closer to 2 hours each way. Bear in mind that there are various suburban bus lines that run through areas not well served by the train - this may be an option.

One additional caveat: if you're living in suburbia, it's nearly always a must to have a car, as shops, schools, libraries, doctors, etc. are seldom within walking distance. Do you have much experience driving? 

I avoided moving to NJ from Manhattan because I often worked until well after midnight, and safe late-night public transportation options for a woman were limited (and I regarded a corporate car service as an excessive expense). This may be a consideration for your husband as well, but perhaps some of his NYC colleagues can give him a sense of the hours he'll be expected to work.

You can look at the real estate section of the New York Times to get an idea of local prices. And I'm sure you can google NJ real estate and find the major real estate brokers. I frankly have no clue whether $3000/month will get you what you're looking for in a town close enough to commute.

Don't overlook the various suburbs both north of New York City (Westchester/Rockland counties) and in Connecticut that would also offer an hour's train commute.

Best of luck with your move.


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## LaraMascara (Oct 19, 2012)

If you live in New Jersey, but you work in NYC, you get taxed in both states. 

You pay two state taxes. 

Look into Queens, Brooklyn, and even parts of the Bronx (there ARE lovely areas), as there are really nice neighbourhoods with good schools. The farther out you go, the more suburban it becomes. 

Look into Long Island as well. 

If you stick to NY, you will pay less in travel (NJ Transit is horrid and overpriced), less in taxes (one state tax), and chances are you will have less long of a commute (the nice parts of Jersey are MUCH farther out), and a more direct commute (changing from NJ Transit to NYC Transit can be a real pain). 

Don't get me wrong... plenty of people work in NYC and live in NJ, but as a native, I think it is an economically unsound decision on a number of levels.


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

LaraMascara said:


> If you live in New Jersey, but you work in NYC, you get taxed in both states.


Not on the same income you don't.

New Jersey has Schedule A that allows a tax credit for state income tax paid in New York (which is paid on income earned in New York).


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

BBCWatcher said:


> Not on the same income you don't.
> 
> New Jersey has Schedule A that allows a tax credit for state income tax paid in New York (which is paid on income earned in New York).


No, but the "tricks" to making sure you only pay one tax on one lot of income make the whole 2555/1116 drill look like child's play.
Cheers,
Bev


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## LaraMascara (Oct 19, 2012)

It's a process. Believe me. I lived in NYC and had a work studio in Hoboken, in the early 90s. 

I moved my studio into Brooklyn because it is just too much hassle - what I saved in rent was totally negated by NJ's horrid transportation, the stress of it all, and the tax forms. 

Also, cabs charge you double fair once you cross the state line, and the tunnel fees are really high, and additional. Even if you drive, you pay the tunnel and bridge fees. 

It all adds up.


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## koppazee (Mar 11, 2011)

What you must understand is the commuting time. I must agree with the other posters here and say Brooklyn, Queens and possibly the Bronx. I lived in Brooklyn and Queens. When I had to return for three months two years ago, I lived in Brooklyn. My commute was to midtown Manhattan by subway. Two trains and a six block walk took 1.25 hours each way. Generally, it was a pleasant commute. 

What one must consider relative to all this is the difficulties of their commute. My sister lives in Middletown, NJ. When she must go into NYC to work with her clients, it is a grueling commute. Although there are people who do this on a daily basis, the costs of both the actual commute and the time it takes is a real killer. You certainly can find places to live that are close to Manhattan without spending hours going to and from. How locked into a house rental are you? Would you consider a large flat? There are many large flats in all the boroughs of NYC. 

Equally as others have said, the educational systems are different in NYC compared to the UK. You really need to consider what type of education you are looking for. Maybe a good place to begin is to look at the NYC government website at http://www1.nyc.gov

There is a wealth of information here. Another thing to consider is how long you plan to live there. How do you plan to spend free time? If you plan to spend your weekends in Manhattan doing children's stuff, going to museums and so on, living in the boroughs is a better choice. 

Any further question, please post them for us. We are here to help you and happy to do so! Warm regards!


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## LaraMascara (Oct 19, 2012)

Another thing to keep in mind about living in NJ is that in many commuter towns, you need to drive to the train station and park your car - many stations have a car park waiting list, so it might mean a cab, and the fees for weekly car parking at and around the station tend to be extremely high. 

You won't likely have that issue IN NYC. You most often have busses that go to the station. Or they are in walking distance. 

Tonnes of areas of Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island, and the Bronx have houses, not just flats. 

They have lovely houses with a garage and a garden. 

NY also has better tenants rights for renters than NJ does, which says more about NJ than it does about NY, because NY hardly has any tenants rights anymore - Jersey is just worse.


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## koppazee (Mar 11, 2011)

LaraMascara said:


> Another thing to keep in mind about living in NJ is that in many commuter towns, you need to drive to the train station and park your car - many stations have a car park waiting list, so it might mean a cab, and the fees for weekly car parking at and around the station tend to be extremely high. You won't likely have that issue IN NYC. You most often have busses that go to the station. Or they are in walking distance. Tonnes of areas of Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island, and the Bronx have houses, not just flats. They have lovely houses with a garage and a garden. NY also has better tenants rights for renters than NJ does, which says more about NJ than it does about NY, because NY hardly has any tenants rights anymore - Jersey is just worse.


Lara makes many good points in this thread. When you live in NYC and use public transit, the commute is generally far easier than places like New Jersey or Long Island. The transit fare is only one fare even if you switch between a bus to a train. That fare, in my opinion is quite reasonable. 

The thoughts related in my prior post to flats was not to imply that there were only flats, but flats vs homes could be far cheaper, less work to maintain (ex garden), etc

Can your husbands employer help with any of the issues you mentioned in your post? Warm regards!


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## LaraMascara (Oct 19, 2012)

I'm about to generalise, so be emotionally prepared, and know that I am very aware that I am generalising, and that I'm aware there are always exceptions... 

In GENERAL, the mindset of New Yorkers can be extremely different to the mindset of those in New Jersey. In GENERAL, I'd say that New Yorkers are extremely accustomed to people from different locations, nationalities, backgrounds, religions, and with extremely different views and lifestyles, and in GENERAL, they tend to be pretty accepting. At worst they will simply decide to leave you to it. 

In GENERAL, a lot of New Jersey has much more of a middle-America mindset. 

There are exceptions, of course, but again I am generalising about both States. 

In NY, you will be hard pressed to find anyone who hasn't know people from England, but in many parts of NJ, you will easily come across people who have never known anyone from England. 

In NJ, the closer you are to NY, the less this will likely apply. 

Americans are pretty friendly, in general, but children anyplace can unintentionally be quite mean and ostracising, especially when confronted with the unknown. I doubt this would be much of a problem in NY, but it might be something to keep in mind in regard to schools in NJ. 

I'd suggest talking to other English people who moved to New Jersey about how their kids were received by the other children in schools out there. 

It might be totally fine! But... maybe ask around... 

My English husband and I have spent loads of time in America together over the last 10 years, in Florida, California, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and a few other States... including NJ, and it was ONLY in NJ that he ever had anyone say anything about 'kicking your ass in the war' and it was only in NJ that he was called a 'Limie'. And it happened several times, unprovoked, in different parts of that State, when we went to NJ to visit my brother who lives there. We often came across a 'tough guy' extremely xenophobic attitude in NJ. 

In GENERAL, I hate to say it, but most of NJ wouldn't be described as sophisticated, cosmopolitan, accepting, or liberal minded. 

But, as I said above, there are always exceptions... There are ignorant people everywhere, even in NY. 

(Hides under a table for fear of being attacked by the cast of Jersey Shore... Or people on here who love Jersey... Or people on here who hate NY... )


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## koppazee (Mar 11, 2011)

I do realize you are generalizing here, but I strongly disagree with many of the points you raised Lara. I will not expand on them, but honestly, the same can be said for any place in the world.


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

I'm hard pressed to find many (any?) reported incidents of anti-English/anti-British bigotry or "Anglophobia" anywhere in the United States in recent years/decades. Is there an epidemic of such incidents in New Jersey that nobody seems to have reported?


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## LaraMascara (Oct 19, 2012)

Well, we didn't report it... LOL. It is hardly something anyone would report. 

And yes, these things can happen anywhere. I never said they couldn't. 

Just sharing my personal experience as a native born Manhattanite who lived there for 40 years... and had a brother in NJ for 20 of them. 
He lives in Bergen County, in an area called Ridgewood Heights. It is pretty safe there, but we ventured out, and we have had those experiences. NJ has a very large population of what they call 'Guidos'. They are not known for their social skills. 

Many Americans love the English - they love the accent. 

Again, we never had any experiences like that anyplace else in the USA - not even in South Carolina, Texas, or Tennessee. 

Again, feel free to ignore me or attack me - that was our experience in NJ and only in NJ, repeatedly.


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## koppazee (Mar 11, 2011)

LaraMascara said:


> Well, we didn't report it... LOL. It is hardly something anyone would report. And yes, these things can happen anywhere. I never said they couldn't. Just sharing my personal experience as a native born Manhattanite who lived there for 40 years... and had a brother in NJ for 20 of them. He lives in Bergen County, in an area called Ridgewood Heights. It is pretty safe there, but we ventured out, and we have had those experiences. NJ has a very large population of what they call 'Guidos'. They are not known for their social skills. Many Americans love the English - they love the accent. Again, we never had any experiences like that anyplace else in the USA - not even in South Carolina, Texas, or Tennessee. Again, feel free to ignore me or attack me - that was our experience in NJ and only in NJ, repeatedly.


Lara, I spent the majority of my life living in both Brooklyn and Queens. I knew many, many people who were of Italian decent and heritage. Some of these people I was proud to call my friends. None of them ever said a negative thing to me about the Brits. Not only do Americans love the accent as you pointed out but as two nations we share a history together. This is no different than the French. If the truth be known, I have had several Americans remark about the French. These people were not persons I would have defined as "being the sharpest pencil in the box", but that would not be a reason to tell people not to move to France or any specific place in France. 

Not everyone can be deemed as a sensible human being. Some people speak off the tops of their heads, especially New Yorkers. A person who might refer to a Brit at a Limey, a French person as a Frog or even a Southerner as a Red Neck. It doesn't make it acceptable but I would not necessarily define it as a racist remark. It would in my opinion be defined as an uneducated remark. Sadly, this does not just happen in New Jersey, New York but everyplace in the world. 

It is very important, again in my opinion that when a person comes to our forum asking for some direction, we offer the best information possible. The OP must understand that your opinions expressed about New Jersey are just that, opinions. For me, I will be returning to New York in the next few months. My company actually offered me a discounted price on a flat and even to pay my transportation costs as the flat is in NJ. I turned it down but only due to the commuting issues. Now that is a reason to tell people who work in NY not to live in NJ (but that has been expressed here a few times). Warm regards!


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## LaraMascara (Oct 19, 2012)

For the record, although I am aware that many people associate 'Guido' with Italian-Americans, nowadays a 'Guido' isn't necessarily an Italian-American. 
It is just a New Jersey style, and a particular mindset, and it isn't automatically ethnic-based. 

So, as with any move, it is important to consider the type of culture you wish to live around... That is all I'm saying.


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## koppazee (Mar 11, 2011)

LaraMascara said:


> For the record, although I am aware that many people associate 'Guido' with Italian-Americans, nowadays a 'Guido' isn't necessarily an Italian-American. It is just a New Jersey style, and a particular mindset, and it isn't automatically ethnic-based. So, as with any move, it is important to consider the type of culture you wish to live around... That is all I'm saying.


I am sorry and respectfully disagree with your stereotype here. I sent your post to my sister and brother in law who live in NJ and they do not know this stereotype. I do agree that it is important to know the cultures where you wish to live, but there are stereotypes everyplace.


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## LaraMascara (Oct 19, 2012)

That is cool. Maybe the OP can move close to them!


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