Bilsonfamily

Hi all,

Wanting some advice my husband has got a new role which means we have to live on the east coast either new York or Boston....we currently live in Manly, Sydney australia although originally both from the uk.

We have two girls one is 3 and the other 18 months ao I have to take into consideration schooling for my eldest daughter.

I have been trying to look st areas, I know we don't want to be right in the centre of the city but somewhere near a smaller suburb town would be good also would like some outdoor space for the kids to play rather than apartment living.

Somewhere that is commutable to the city but my husband is based from home so won't need to go in everyday...

Getting so confused on where to go new York or Boston...?..

Help!

Thanks

nun

Boston!

It will be less expensive and an easier commute

robin1234

Both would work in that there are a myriad of pleasant towns and suburban areas within commutable distance. And if he doesn't need to go in every day, but just once or twice a week, even more doable.

The strength of New York in this respect are the commuter rail systems that get you into Manhattan. The three main systems (that I know of) are

• Metro North, a couple of commuter lines that go out through The Bronx and Yonkers into Westchester County and beyond
• New Jersey Transit. Extensive network of commuter train lines out into suburban NJ
• Long Island Railroad

In each case, you can Google the system by name and get a route map, then research each town that has a station.

As for Boston, you'd be more likely to be driving in. There, I'd be looking at pleasant towns to the west of Boston like Ashland, Harvard etc.

Englishmum

We had some Scottish expat friends who lived in Needham, Mass. (Boston suburbs) although they've gone home to the UK and they thought that the New Jersey suburbs were comparable in terms of housing and commuting costs.

My spouse commuted daily from our house in NJ (Millburn township) to his office in Times Square (although sometimes downtown in the financial district) and it took an hour door to door including walking from Penn Station at 33rd St up to 42nd St. The Midtown Direct train on New Jersey Transit has extra trains at peak hours inc. some express ones. I would often go into NYC for an afternoon or evening. There is just so much to do in NYC throughout the year, I just don't think Boston compares in the same way and for such a fantastic opportunity to live in either Boston or NYC or surrounding areas then I think that the Biog Apple wins hands down.

Our house is approx 17 miles west of Manhatten in one of the best public school districts in the north east. We've considered it the best of both worlds; to be so close to the Big Apple yet for our son to be able to go to a great local school, to live in a house with a garden (big at the time for us as we'd been living in a Singapore apartment) and only 15 mins from Newark international airport.

Oddly enough, most of our closest friends in NJ are Aussie expats - there are many Brit and Aussie expats in the NJ suburbs - and we're all going away together at Christmas I've actually been to a few American Australian expat events with my friends, it's a kind of networking association for Aussie companies doing business in the US:

https://www.americanaustralian.org/ (I guess you now have Aussie citizenship?)

PS. I have a friend who lives with her partner and little boy in a Manly apartment - she is desperate to move to somewhere larger with a garden but says that the Sydney house prices are now so insane that they just can't afford to move out. I think you will find that property in the NE of the US will be more affordable whether renting or buying.

Bob

What's the visa?
Will you want to work or not?
What kind of budget and commute are you interested in?

Loads of threads on both places to search out and get a idea on things.

Childcare is stupidly expensive in Boston and the burbs, downtown can have a couple years waiting list to get into the best places and whilst you might not have that in the burbs, you can be paying $1500 a month a kid for 3 half days a week but hit the I-495 ring and it'll be closer to that money for full time childcare, for instance.

For the burbs, any where on the Redline will be premium, but a nice run into Boston. Greenline sucks arse in winter, but it heads out to Auburndale/Needham and that's a lovely area.

Ashland isn't far from the commuter rail but Harvard is in the middle of nowhere and the roads are iffy in winter so that making it down to Concord for the commuter rail won't be fun.

Loads of nice towns though, going out to Holliston which has good run by I-95 and the Mass Pike, I-90. You've got the 3 W's which are all decent towns with downtowns and good schools - Wellesley, Wayland and Weston.

Newton is lovely, Natick is well placed but a little bland. Concord/Lincoln/Acton/Stow/Sudbury are a nice collection of lovely towns. Traffic to Boston is murder, but they're all not to bad from a commuter rail and if you're not using it daily the cost won't be to bad. They're expensive towns to rent in though and rental stock can be hard to find, especially heading into winter.

Worth looking at north of Boston too, with Andover and towns around there which are all mostly lovely, little less brutal and humid in the summer and close enough to nice beaches and a quick run to ME/VT/NH which is great for hiking and skiiing.

Head south and you've got Quincy, Boxborough and those towns which are lovely. Commute by road is murder though, but you're closer to NYC and you've got other fun and nice places to check out along the Cape and CT.

Quite a lot of threads from the beginning of summer would help you out for towns and things to consider though if you look them up.

rpjs

Not necessarily - the "T" commuter rail system is nearly as comprehensive as the NYC systems. Having said that, the only "T" commuter rail line I've ever ridden at rush hour, the Providence line, seemed a lot, lot busier than my usual commute to/from NYC on the Metro-North Hudson line.

robin1234

I know, I lived in the Boston area for many years. Of course, the T itself is frequent but I feel the commuter lines are a bit bare bones (not that many journeys, outside rush hour.). By contrast, the New York options have a more comprehensive, all day schedule. Also, I feel Boston is easy enough to drive into, or leave your car at Alewife, Wellington, or Braintree or wherever, and take the T in. I think the OP indicated only occasional trips into town, not every day.

Bob

The commuter rail on the Worcester line, that hits the Greenline for the T is pretty regular, but only during commuter hours.

The other line, that hits Concord into Northstation is really just during commuter hours too, but the stops along there have more parking, even if a lot of them are reserved for town residents. They're also not covered and a bit meh during winter.

Also last train out of Boston is around 11:30pm or so and an hour from end to end. Not cheap either.

Driving in sucks the biscuit and parking costs a fortune, but as you say, just hit the last stop like Alewife and it's $7 a day if you can find parking and 10-15 mins on the T to hit downtown and it's mostly covered parking. 45 mins if you hit Riverside, the Greenline stop and that's open parking and not much of anything else around if you can't find a spot in the lot.

robin1234

I feel the drive in is fine. So long as you know that you have the right of way in all circumstances, the other drivers will probably give way

Bob

I need to drive a truck...or a big SUV and I might feel the same