Moving from London to New York
May 13th 2018, 4:54 pm
#16
Deep in the woods of CT
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 7,002
Re: Moving from London to New York
Did you specify Grand Central Terminal in your first post because the job is in midtown? That is why everyone is recommending points north. If you had said the job was downtown, people would indeed have mentioned that New Jersey is an option. The same way as you would probably not want to trek downtown after coming into the city at GCT, you would not want to trek uptown after coming in from NJ!
May 13th 2018, 5:15 pm
#17
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: May 2018
Location: London, United Kingdom
Posts: 11
Re: Moving from London to New York
Sorry, my job location is literally a 3 minutes walk from Grand Central station.
May 13th 2018, 10:58 pm
#19
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Joined: Sep 2010
Location: Sleepy Hollow, New York
Posts: 2,536
Re: Moving from London to New York
I live near Exchange Place, it's really safe here, proven by the 30 expensive buggies left outside on the street for hours, outside the local nursery The Path train from Exchange Place takes 4 mins into World Trade Centre. Plus there are ferries into World Financial Centre, Wall street and Midtown. If you want to pm me I'll recommend a really good apartment block, it's the one I live in and I love it!
Edited as saw you wanted to be close to Grand Central Station: the Path train will also take you to 33rd street station in about 20 minutes if your place of work is near enough to walk from there, or you can get the 4 & 5 train from Fulton Street (attached to the World Trade Centre Path Station) to GCT, including express trains.
Edited as saw you wanted to be close to Grand Central Station: the Path train will also take you to 33rd street station in about 20 minutes if your place of work is near enough to walk from there, or you can get the 4 & 5 train from Fulton Street (attached to the World Trade Centre Path Station) to GCT, including express trains.
May 14th 2018, 2:52 pm
#20
Forum Regular
Joined: Jun 2016
Posts: 46
Re: Moving from London to New York
Please consider that taking Metro North or LIRR trains every day will add significant cost to your budget. LIRR single ride is about $10, however they do offer monthly pass. Metro North might be similar. Your monthly budget of $2000 may still get you some accommodations in Queens. I do recommend doing some online searches on available apartments in Astoria, Rigdewood, Sunnyside, Woodside, Elmhurst, Rego Park, Kew Gardens, Briarwood. Commuting to Grand Central from all these places is within 45-60 minutes.
May 14th 2018, 3:19 pm
#21
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Location: Sleepy Hollow, New York
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Re: Moving from London to New York
Please consider that taking Metro North or LIRR trains every day will add significant cost to your budget. LIRR single ride is about $10, however they do offer monthly pass. Metro North might be similar. Your monthly budget of $2000 may still get you some accommodations in Queens. I do recommend doing some online searches on available apartments in Astoria, Rigdewood, Sunnyside, Woodside, Elmhurst, Rego Park, Kew Gardens, Briarwood. Commuting to Grand Central from all these places is within 45-60 minutes.
May 14th 2018, 3:46 pm
#22
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Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 46,382
Re: Moving from London to New York
Westchester County has much to offer in the way of quick access to Manhattan and most cities are within a 25 to 45 train ride to Grand Central. Monthly commuter tickets are not all that expensive and many companies participate in the City's voucher plan for commuters offering discounted vouchers (and in my case when I was working) up to a certain amount of free vouchers to be applied to your monthly rail pass. The vouchers can be used either with LIRR or Metro North. If you are working in Manhattan 5 days a week, why would anyone in their proper mind purchase a single rail ticket when a monthly or even a 10 pass ticket is a great savings? Westchester has a great public bus transportation network so I guess I could say you don't need a car here but that is only if you can't drive, don't want to drive, can't afford to drive and don't have the desire to travel through the NE states.
Here is the Metro-North Fare Schedule http://web.mta.info/mnr/html/plannin...s_mar2017.html
A sample from the above:
Hudson Line Hastings, Dobbs Ferry, Ardsley = $268 a month
Harlem Line Scarsdale, Hartsdale, White Plains, North White Plains = $268Hudson Line Tarrytown/Sleepy Hollow, Ossining, Croton/Harmon = $311Harlem Line Valhalla, Hawthorne, Pleasantville = $311
Last edited by Rete; May 14th 2018 at 3:59 pm.
May 14th 2018, 3:49 pm
#23
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Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 46,382
Re: Moving from London to New York
As for expense of commute, what Pootlek is recommending would be quite expensive as you will need to pay for the Ferry and/or Path Train and then the Metro Card for the subway and your commute time will increase by 1/3 or better.
Last edited by Rete; May 14th 2018 at 3:52 pm.
May 14th 2018, 4:54 pm
#24
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Joined: Sep 2010
Location: Sleepy Hollow, New York
Posts: 2,536
Re: Moving from London to New York
From a Westchesterite, I would not venture into Jersey City. High rents, high crime, and you will need a car if you want to go anywhere outside of Jersey City itself. Of course there are lovely areas but not all are the same as with any town or city but to advise someone that they would not require private transportation not true. Hoboken, NJ is also favored as a place for the young and up and coming. Again, unless your plans are only to frequent Manhattan or the city you live in New Jersey, you will need your own car.
Westchester County has much to offer in the way of quick access to Manhattan and most cities are within a 25 to 45 train ride to Grand Central. Monthly commuter tickets are not all that expensive and many companies participate in the City's voucher plan for commuters offering discounted vouchers (and in my case when I was working) up to a certain amount of free vouchers to be applied to your monthly rail pass. The vouchers can be used either with LIRR or Metro North. If you are working in Manhattan 5 days a week, why would anyone in their proper mind purchase a single rail ticket when a monthly or even a 10 pass ticket is a great savings? Westchester has a great public bus transportation network so I guess I could say you don't need a car here but that is only if you can't drive, don't want to drive, can't afford to drive and don't have the desire to travel through the NE states.
Here is the Metro-North Fare Schedule mta.info | MTA Metro-North Railroad Schedules
A sample from the above:
Hudson Line Hastings, Dobbs Ferry, Ardsley = $268 a month
Harlem Line Scarsdale, Hartsdale, White Plains, North White Plains = $268Hudson Line Tarrytown/Sleepy Hollow, Ossining, Croton/Harmon = $311Harlem Line Valhalla, Hawthorne, Pleasantville = $311
Westchester County has much to offer in the way of quick access to Manhattan and most cities are within a 25 to 45 train ride to Grand Central. Monthly commuter tickets are not all that expensive and many companies participate in the City's voucher plan for commuters offering discounted vouchers (and in my case when I was working) up to a certain amount of free vouchers to be applied to your monthly rail pass. The vouchers can be used either with LIRR or Metro North. If you are working in Manhattan 5 days a week, why would anyone in their proper mind purchase a single rail ticket when a monthly or even a 10 pass ticket is a great savings? Westchester has a great public bus transportation network so I guess I could say you don't need a car here but that is only if you can't drive, don't want to drive, can't afford to drive and don't have the desire to travel through the NE states.
Here is the Metro-North Fare Schedule mta.info | MTA Metro-North Railroad Schedules
A sample from the above:
Hudson Line Hastings, Dobbs Ferry, Ardsley = $268 a month
Harlem Line Scarsdale, Hartsdale, White Plains, North White Plains = $268Hudson Line Tarrytown/Sleepy Hollow, Ossining, Croton/Harmon = $311Harlem Line Valhalla, Hawthorne, Pleasantville = $311
May 14th 2018, 8:15 pm
#25
Concierge
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 46,382
Re: Moving from London to New York
My work doesn't do vouchers, but all three companies I've worked for in NYC offered a transit benefits debit card where you pay for your commuting costs by deduction from your salary. A chunk of this (I think it's up to about $150) can come from your pre-tax income which means your taxable income and thus income tax can be slightly lower. The rest comes from your post-tax income. You use the card to buy your commuter rail tickets and/or Metrocards. I think most employers of any size offer this.
May 14th 2018, 11:15 pm
#26
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Joined: Sep 2010
Location: Sleepy Hollow, New York
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Re: Moving from London to New York
Jun 18th 2018, 8:44 pm
#27
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Joined: Jun 2018
Location: Holbrook, Long Island US
Posts: 4
Re: Moving from London to New York
When I first moved to NY, my wife had an apartment in Fort Lee NJ. Not the worst place to live - get the Port Imperial ferry from Weehawken over to 38th St. Then hop on the 42nd St courtesy bus which will take you to Grand Central. I now live on Long Island and do a 2 hour commute which might be a little much for you. But if you can stomach an hour then Hicksville or Syosset are good areas to be based and usually a little cheaper than Westchester.
Jun 19th 2018, 1:51 pm
#28
Just Joined
Joined: May 2018
Location: NYC
Posts: 9
Re: Moving from London to New York
To OP,
My wife and I also moved from Wandsworth to NY just 2 months ago and cost was also a large consideration for us also as I am still searching for work. However to give you an idea of potential alternatives, we managed to secure a recently renovated 1 bed apartment in China Town Manhattan for about $2,300 pm. With a long commute considered I imagine this would be within your budget, though you would certainly be sacrificing space, we love being so central and being able to make the most of New York on the evenings and weekends.
My wife and I also moved from Wandsworth to NY just 2 months ago and cost was also a large consideration for us also as I am still searching for work. However to give you an idea of potential alternatives, we managed to secure a recently renovated 1 bed apartment in China Town Manhattan for about $2,300 pm. With a long commute considered I imagine this would be within your budget, though you would certainly be sacrificing space, we love being so central and being able to make the most of New York on the evenings and weekends.
Jun 23rd 2018, 5:31 pm
#29
Forum Regular
Joined: May 2009
Location: New York
Posts: 61
Re: Moving from London to New York
Can I ask how you set your rent budget? Most people I know moving from London have ended up significantly increasing what they been willing to spend. Standard is to divide your annual gross salary by 40 to get max monthly rent. I'm not suggesting you go this high but it gives you a sense of what would be approved by a landlord.
I'd also recommend spending time visiting different neighborhoods and towns. Remember that outside of work that's where you'll be spending most of your time. Commute time to Grand Central is only one part of the picture. And that commute time changes drastically when you're trying to get back after a night out in the city or at the weekend. That can be a long and expensive Uber ride. There's a reason why millions of people are willing to pay the premium necessary to live in NYC, it's a very different lifestyle.
On an another point it's worth checking that your NY salary is in line with local levels. You'd be surprised the difference in some industries between London and NY.
I'd also recommend spending time visiting different neighborhoods and towns. Remember that outside of work that's where you'll be spending most of your time. Commute time to Grand Central is only one part of the picture. And that commute time changes drastically when you're trying to get back after a night out in the city or at the weekend. That can be a long and expensive Uber ride. There's a reason why millions of people are willing to pay the premium necessary to live in NYC, it's a very different lifestyle.
On an another point it's worth checking that your NY salary is in line with local levels. You'd be surprised the difference in some industries between London and NY.
