Ridski

Staten Island, Hoboken, or somewhere in Brooklyn like Park Slope, Carroll Gardens, Williamsburg or DUMBO. If he's serious about the 30 minutes door to door thing, from Wall Street, those are the only safe bets. If he had more time and wanted to get really suburban, I'd suggest somewhere like Middletown in NJ, as there's a ferry from nearby Atlantic Highlands that gets you into Wall Street in 45 minutes, but if he's hell-bent on 30, those three places are where you go.

Back when I lived in Sunnyside, Queens, I had a job in Wall Street and it was just under an hour commute on the N train. Read a lot of books, but I did get sick of it eventually.

lapin_windstar

I like those neighbo(u)rhoods, but I don't think they're very much like Richmond-upon-Thames!

Ridski

That's the point. Nowhere 30 minutes from Wall Street is like Richmond Upon Thames.

robin1234

Kew Gardens, New York differs in several respects from Kew Gardens, Surrey.

Patrick Hasler

ONLY 30 MINUTES ???? .......... How about 34th street

FFS .... you can wait 30 minutes for the f**kin subway train to arrive if you live anywhere else

MsElui

if he is really fed up with the work to live ethic then he should check out the thread thats currently near the top called land of the slave or something similar as it discusses this point quite a lot and might open his eyes and change his expectations.

LadyBelle

Park Slope area (Carroll Gardens too), Brooklyn Heights, DUMBO, and Hoboken are 30 minutes or so. How much they'll feel like 'suburbia' is another story and in some cases would depend on how much you can afford so to have a 'garden'. Park Slope has a beautiful park and a lot of brownstones which might give you a little bit of a feel of your home. Prospect Heights is nearby too; I'm not sure how that neighborhood is now, but it seemed to be gentrifying a lot last we were over there.

Wall Street area makes it tougher to have an easy commute from further out in NJ and in Westchester, unless you'd consider the ferries Rete mentioned, which I know nothing about.

nooka

I think that you would really struggle. Downtown means the nice bits of Queens are not possible, or any of the commutes out from Grand Central or Penn, as it might take you half an hour to get to the station. Check out the lines from NJ that connect to the PATH, as these go direct to Wall Street, but beware commuter trains do not go as often as UK equivalents (quite a few are only every half hour). Otherwise you need to look at the ferries.

nooka

Brooklyn (Park Slopes and around Prospect Park) looked and felt to us like North London. Nice, but very city I don't think that your fiance would like to live there. NJ is much more Surrey like (green and leafy, car dominated, with little town centres), but in general the bits closer to NYC and therefore nearer to Newark and Jersey City are grottier.

pejpm1

I never realised how much I'd miss parks and open space until I moved here. I'm from Clapham which whilst it is in London, still has a massive common and also has a community feel to it. I live in Manhattan and I do like it, but I miss more green open spaces. I like my commute (8 mins in a cab, 20mins if I take the subway) but I'd love to live somewhere with more a small community feel.

outtatouch

summit, nj is an ideal commute to wall street. i took the 8:30 and got there by 9:30 but also had to take the ferry or path. it was a pleasant commute. i also lived in battery park and had an 8 minute walk to work. battery park is worth checking out - removed from the rest of manhattan and a beautiful esplanade to walk or jog on.

CitySimon

Park Slope in Brooklyn is nice. We were looking to move there when we first came over and actually went as far as looking at apartments. They were $2000 a month six years ago. Nice place though and about 10 minutes on the subway to Manhattan.

Tryin2help

Hi,
You could try a few places just over the George Washington Bridge. My daughter lives in Rockland County, a 15 minute drive from the city. I live in Brooklyn. There are some nice areas here too. The subway will get you into the Wall Street area quick enough. Especially from Bay Ridge. Saying that, any commute into the city always depends on what's happening on the day. I've gone from my place in Brooklyn, through Manhattan, up to my daughter's place, which on the best day takes just under an hour when traffic was light, to almost 3 hours, when traffic was a nightmare. It's only a 40 mile drive. Of course this wouldn't be his drive but I'm just trying to give you a picture of how widely the trip varies. The best way in and out, and cheapest, saving on tolls, parking, petrol, is the commuter train or subway.
Good luck on your move and the job and, if you come, welcome to New York.