Can you point me in the right direction - residential areas NY
 

Hi,

We are currently researching living in NY (having only been there once for a long weekend) before considering a transfer opportunity. But I am not getting far with so little knowledge.

Please can someone point me in the right direction of towns/ cities to live in that are commutable to the NYC financial district (ideally 45 minutes tops).
So I guess given good transport links I could be possibly including other states too?

We are a young-ish British couple with no kids (so no need to pay to be near good schools) but we have a big dog and need a garden plus some nice local off leash walks (not just dog runs).
We'd obviously like to live in a nice area, with restaurants etc nearby.

Can anyone help? I just want to check out affordability at this stage to give me a general idea of what sort of lifestyle we can/not afford living there.

Thanks

Re: Can you point me in the right direction - residential areas NY
 

Hi and welcome to BE.

If it were me moving back up to the tri state area wanting to save money while living near Manhattan,I would consider north new jersey.Apartment renting and home prices are less expensive in comparison to NYC and crime ,pace of life is better.Check out Bergen county,many townships are 15-20 minutes travel time from the big city.

Re: Can you point me in the right direction - residential areas NY
 

What's your budget for monthly rent? If you're renting, you may be limited in your choices because of your dog. When I rented, I remember seeing pets accepted up to X (fill in number) lbs.

Re: Can you point me in the right direction - residential areas NY
 

Can't do many other states in 45 minutes to the financial district. That is lower Manhattan and not an easy commute unless you are in Brooklyn, Staten Island or on the NJ shore in and around the Hudson for the ferry.

My boss lives in North Jersey and it takes her over an hour to get to the office mid-town. Two trains and one subway. Takes me 25 minutes to get to mid-town from lower Westchester County. Forget WC for letting your dog loose. Not allowed and the few areas that did allow it just curtailed that this pass month. A one bedroom in Westchester would run you between $1200 and $2500 a month depending on the town.

Hoboken is okay and lots of Brits there but very urban and no loose dogs allowed.

Re: Can you point me in the right direction - residential areas NY
 

Just going a bit further west than Hoboken on the train line is South Orange and Maplewood....yes in the suburbs - you said you wanted a garden! - but both with lively bars/restaurants, arts scene and expats. These towns are about 12-15 miles west (as the crow flies) of lower Manhatten, with South Orange being less expensive than Maplewood.

The trains go either into Hoboken with transfer into Manhatten/financial district by PATH subway trains or the adjacent NY Waterway ferries. The Midtown Direct trains go directly to Penn Station, underneath Madison Square Garden. At peak times there are express trains, but in any case the journey should be around 30-35 mins (slightly longer if going to Hoboken and transferring).

On the edge of both towns is the South Mountain reservation; it is enormous and goes for miles with loads of trails in the woods. There is also a new dog park on the reservation. I think dogs are supposed to be on a lead but I've seen plenty of people walking their dogs there without them. Go to Google Earth and you can see the reservation

Rental prices.....check out

http://www.maplewoodonline.com

and also the NY Metro (Northern New Jersey) section of

http://www.craigslist.org

Transport: http://www.njtransit.com

PATH trains: http://www.panynj.com

Ferries: http://www.nywaterway.com

Re: Can you point me in the right direction - residential areas NY
 

Hi thanks for all the replies,

I answer to a few questions...

There is no budget as such, if we can't afford somewhere nice with a graden in a good area that's commutable we simply won't go.

The off leash allowed bit is really important to us - we would never want to live in an area with tight rules and only dog parks again.

So South Orange and Maplewood sound worth investigating further or do they have tough leash laws too?
Is the leash law the same in each state or does it vary town to town?

Thanks again for all your help it is really appreciated
:)

Re: Can you point me in the right direction - residential areas NY
 

apart from all the info EM posts on a regular basis, there's a fair chunk to have a look at in the wiki that'll make a good starting point...and welcome to BE.

Re: Can you point me in the right direction - residential areas NY
 

EM

Several of our attorneys live in South Orange and the office is mid-town. None of them make it here in 1/2 an hour. The Path system sucks big time and has the worse record for on-time performance.

Re: Can you point me in the right direction - residential areas NY
 

If you have the money - Prospect Park in Brooklyn has a large dog run area (I think).

I'm sure there are dozens of NYC dog owners' websites and blogs.

To give us a sense of comparison - where do you live now, (assuming you want somewhere similar)?

Re: Can you point me in the right direction - residential areas NY
 

I would recomend anywhere along the Hudson thats north of Yonkers ;)

Tarrytown or further up, there seems to be an excellent comuter rail service into the city and it's more country side than the metropolis :)

Re: Can you point me in the right direction - residential areas NY
 

Agree. In fact in Sleepy Hollow, f/k/a North Tarrytown, there are lovely new condos going up on the waterfront in the former GE plant. There are two Metro-North stops, one just north of the condos (about 5 minute walk) and one south of it, about a ten minute walk. There are several lovely boat clubs and lovely views of the Palisades and the Tappen Zee Bridge and the old lighthouse.

You can take the dog to Kingsland Point Park for run (off hours) which is just behind it.

But beware, as another poster stated, the areas are heavily populated with Latinos/Hispanic, most of whom are illegal, unfortunately, and live 3 and 4 families to an apartment which has driven rents out of control. For the most part they are hard working people with large families and tend to stay in their own enclaves. Further north in Westchester County the issues with the Latinos/Hispanics is more crime related, i.e. vagarancies, alcoholic issues, and homelessness. The gang issue, so far has remained in the Bronx and White Plains and the rest of Westchester County seems to be absorbing the influx from Central and South America (few Mexicans) fairly well.

Re: Can you point me in the right direction - residential areas NY
 

Hmmm ... I take some of the NJ transit trains in to NYC midweek on occasion and have made it in within 45mins and I am several stops further out than Orange. Granted I haven't jumped on the Path - I just go to Penn then MTA.

BasilBear....my understanding is that New York law requires dogs to be confined or restrained at all times. New Jersey does not have a state-wide leash law. Under Connecticut law, it is unlawful to permit a dog to run at large. HTH.

Re: Can you point me in the right direction - residential areas NY
 

Oh dear - well that makes a huge difference. I had no idea US leash laws were so tough.
I read up on conneticut but misinterpreted to mean 'dogs at large' meant unaccompanied roaming dogs.

I have to say that would pretty much only leave new jersey for us.

Thank you for everyones replies, I have lots of places now to start investigating further should we choose to go - but I think the dog leash laws will be the sticking points.
Dog runs just don't really provide the same fun and stimulation IMO :unsure:

It also sounds, as expected, that the key commutable areas are largely condo / apratment living - which I really don't want to do either :(