Bradley123

Hi
I realise this may have been asked a hundred times , but i have read through many posts on here and can't find quite what i am looking for.

My husband is coming over to Manhattan to open up offices. we have the choice of where we live. I have 2 children 9 and 10. One likes sport a, one drama / arts. I don't want a pushy school, just somewhere they will be nurtured and happy for 1 / 2 years. Any ideas?
Areas to live .. i would love to live on Long island near the ocean , but the commute would be too long and we wouldn't see the husband/ dad so we may as well stay in the UK.

I don't want the middle of the city. I have been looking at Larchmont area / Scaresdale ... V..... Millburn / Maplewood, as good commutes. We could get a house not an apartment ( the dog is coming too) . I think it would be better to live somewhere there are more expats as they may be more welcoming to folk who are not staying around so long ? Which area is better ?

Open to other areas.. there are so many , must be under an hour commute to Manhattan. Near the ocean would be a dream , i had hoped we would be going to San Diego for that laid back sunshine lifestyle !

Id like a bit of a community / village feel where we can walk to stuff safely, coffee shops, coffee place. The kids like swimming lessons and dance and biking.

Anyone made the move recently and has ANY advice i would be really grateful . We used to live in Clapham , London and now live in Henley on Thames in the UK.

Any ideas of the best agencies to use when looking for property ( I've only discovered zillow ?

Thank you so much

christmasoompa

Hi, welcome to BE.

Might be useful to give people an idea of your monthly budget for rent and also what you'd like for that (i.e. how many bedrooms etc), to help them narrow down areas that might work for you.

Best of luck with the move.

kateinbrooklyn

There are many many suburbs of NYC and each has its own particular flavor and so you have to be careful to end up in the right one for you. Some towns may have great elementary schools, but not such great middle schools. Some are great for buying, but lousy for rentals. I've heard of people using a company called Suburban Jungle Realty and I think it would be well worth using a consultant or real estate agency to help you find the right town and property.

I live in Brownstone Brooklyn and am very happy there, but a lot of people do make the move out of the city. Popular towns for families are Montclair and Maplewood in NJ.

Bradley123

Hi
Thank you , a good idea. I think we would have $8,000 to play with , but we need 3 bed . The idea of a pool would be great ( this would mean we have move further out then the name of anywhere we could look at would be great ). I really wanted to make ethic move for a lifestyle choice. As i said i thought we were going west coast to see blue skies.

Here in London , you can live a 40 min commute on the tube , but go 50 min on the overland train and you get a totally different lifestyle. I would like a home / community. somewhere we can then go and explore the world from in school holidays.

I think both my girls would be in middle school ( age 10 and 11 then ).

Thank you Katie Brooklyn for your quick response.

Rete

Having lived my entire life in Westchester County, NY, I would not recommend Larchmont, Mamaroneck, New Rochelle or Port Chester as places to live. For a relatively simple commute to mid-town Manhattan via Metro North, look into towns like Bronxville, Rye Brook, Purchase, Armonk. These are on the eastern branch of Metro North Railroad. For the western branch good living areas for families would be Hastings-on-Hudson, Irvington, Tarrytown, Sleepy Hollow, Croton-on-Hudson and Cortlandt. Beware of Ossining. Croton and Cortlandt, Purchase and Armonk train travel would be from 35 to 50 minutes depending on whether the train is an express or a local. Homes are lovely, within sight distance of your neighbor but not on top of them and schools are good and activities for children plentiful.

That said, if he is willing to travel up to 50 minutes on the train, why is Long Island out of the question? Same travel time to many lovely areas within easy reach of either the Long Island Sound or the Atlantic Ocean.

You'll find that many towns pick up the kids by school bus at 7 or earlier in the mornings and they are deposited back at home at around 2:45. So hubby will leave for the office at 7 or 8 in the morning and if he closes up shop by 5:30 he should be home by 6:15. Is that much longer than what his present work day is now?

No pool but in your price range in Bronxville and a 20 minute commute via train to midtown
https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_ren...2_rect/13_zm/?

In Tarrytown, a Hudson River town, on Martling Avenue, which is a very desired neighborhood to live in with excellent schools, this home is part of a condo complex which will give you the pool, etc. but is a stand alone restored French Country house for $5,500.

https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_ren...9_rect/12_zm/?

fbf2006

Where in Manhattan is his office? LIRR and NJ Transit go to Penn and Metro North goes to Grand Central. So depending on how close he is to these train stations, you might need to add additional minutes to his commute. I would think you should be able to find something in a nice LI town by the water. If not, one of the towns close to the Hudson river might work. Most of the towns would not have transient folk though, that doesn't mean you won't enjoy them.

Ecto17

I don't know any of the ny towns so can't offer you any advise but NJ is lovely and very family friendly with the walkable down towns you want. If you follow the train line you find some great towns like Summit, Milburn, Short Hills, Chatham etc and they are all great and full of commuters.
For 8k you will get a lovely house in these towns, not necessarily a mansion or anything but for that l would expect 4 beds and in really nice condition. Maybe a pool.
The plus for NJ is the school system, it is really fantastic and one of the best in the country.
I used realtor.com for my initial research and when we were looking. Found it really useful as it open gave details on what rating the local schools had etc.
I would definitely check the towns l mention out if the commute is something that works.
I hope all goes well with your move.

fbf2006

You can get similar schools on Long Island and in Westchester County, especially for that budget. Personally I'd choose Westchester County (Rete's suggested towns), especially if his office is closer to Grand Central.

Rete

For the OP, NJ is a lovely state and has many good public schools with good reputations. The school systems in the US differ from town to town. The town that Ecto lives in might have his definition of a fantastic school and yet the NJ school system my sister lived and raised her children in middle Jersey did not have a good rep for a high school and as a result her children went to a private school.

This holds true for each state country wide.

Ecto17

She!!
Very true of course schools vary across every state. The towns that l mention however do have lots of great schools but again double check the school that any house your considering is assigned.
I found the school grading system really useful when looking as it gave an indication as to how a school performed. I would always try and visit a school before signing a lease if possible just to make sure it is right for your child as every child and school is different.

JosiesJourney

Hi!
My husband is opening up an office in Manhattan and we are moving over to the US in 3 weeks eek!! We had exactly the same dilemma as you have a few months ago and initially toured the towns in Bergen county - Ridgewood, Glenrock, Fairlawn, Paramus, Inglewood, etc. We loved Ridgewood but soon discovered the commute into NY would be tiring and want the transition to be as smooth as possible. We have 3 children (9, 7, 2) and needed good schools too. We have now settled on Essex county, Summit (I know there are a few expat families and the schools are excellent). It's pricey but it's like anywhere in the world - good schools, expensive houses!
The other areas we would have happily chosen would be Millburn, Montclair, Shorthills. If your husband is commuting daily he will want a direct (express train if possible) so he gets there in an hour or less, you would therefore want the Gladstone line - these towns I mentioned are all on that line. Do you have an immigration company helping you out? we would have really struggled without that support!
Good luck!

J

JosiesJourney

Ecto17....looks like I posted a very similar response! great minds ha!
Do you live in one of these towns?

fbf2006

I live in Essex county and do like it. Montclair is on the Montclair-Boonton line and has a few train stations with direct access to Penn station. It just depends where the OP's husband's office will be located in Manhattan. I agreed with Westchester county because of the proximity of some of the towns to the Hudson river. It seems like a consolation prize for the OP's initial desire for an ocean town.

Englishmum

Josie's Journey- FYI Summit is just over the Essex County line and is in Union County! Our house is just inside Essex County....if I walk two blocks and walk just to the side and behind Millburn High School, it crosses the township border into Springfield which is in Union County.

I think a tiny brook is the demarcation line

Englishmum

To the O/P - check out Maplewood, NJ. Lots of expats and has a nice walkable "village" and a good pub! Quite diverse and arty too � ����