Moving with young Family to NYC - possible on $160k?
 

Hello all,

Realise that a similar question to this has been asked before but my circumstances are slightly different so thought a new thread would be ok.

So much like Bradley123 post "Family moving to New York"

...I have been offered the opportunity to go and work for my firms NYC office for a 3 year period, if I decide to take the offer the start date would be towards the back end of this calendar year. I have two children (5 and 3) and a third due in May.

I'll likely be on a L1-A or L1-B visa.

Our relocation package covers 2 months rental in country and shipping. Healthcare regarded as good and generally happy with the relocation package (I think).

My biggest concern is the cost of accommodation. My wife is unlikely to work, and will be looking after our children. My understanding is that the credit check on renting accommodation requires 40 x your monthly salary. At the moment is looking like my salary will be ~$160k - this will be our sole income, so we would have a budget of $4k per month for accommodation.

So question is is it just a pipe dream to work in NYC with family on that salary?

Relocating will be a huge upheaval so we need to end up with an experience / lifestyle that would make the upheaval worth it. I have lived all over London and enjoy both city and suburb living. So I would either like to experience NYC life or be in a suburbs that has something genuinely different/good to offer. In terms of areas to live I would be pretty flexible. In London I have lived in east London (Walthamstow, Bow), Battersea/Clapham and later moved out to the London Croydon/Surrey boarders suburbs so I am used to different lifestyles of city versus suburb living.

It would be amazing to live in Brooklyn and have access to the beaches - but is Brooklyn a non-starter for accommodation fit for a family of 5 on my salary?

What about further afield? New Jersey?

I also need to consider schools for my eldest initially and later our middle child. Really feel overwhelmed with where to start on this.

Finally - what is it like outside the urban sprawl of NYC and the neighboring cities? I enjoy the outdoors life that Surrey offers, is there anything like this within an hour or two of NYC, so if my family and I need to escape the city for a day we can get away?

Any advice or guidance would be amazing - from a confused but eager prospective expat :)

Kevin

Re: Moving with young Family to NYC - possible on $160k?
 

Welcome to BE! Where is your office located? If midtown, Westchester County, NY, and Fairfield County, CT, are good places to live, if downtown, Brooklyn or New Jersey. NYC does not have the kind of urban sprawl that London has — you are into the country pretty rapidly in most directions. With three children, I think Westchester, CT, and NJ are going to be better options than a cramped — and very expensive— city apartment. You will also find excellent schools in most of the commuter towns.

Re: Moving with young Family to NYC - possible on $160k?
 

It's probably doable if you're thrifty and live outside of the city.
There's a ton of cool stuff to do in upstate NY.

Your wife will have to have a car to get around and not lose her mind being a SAHM.

Re: Moving with young Family to NYC - possible on $160k?
 

For 3 years you could make it work, but it will be a struggle. Try looking at an area in Westchester or maybe Connecticut - lots of expats and similar to Clapham high street or a Surrey village, plus 35-45mins from grand central, and various beaches close by, but expect around $5k. Don't worry about the 40x (at least I didn't) - a copy of your contract and/or a letter from your HR are enough. Double check your medical - it is unlike anything you have ever seen, and with a third on the way, you're going to be out a pretty penny. Plus, ensure you get serious Tax advise thrown is, as you'll be in that territory where you are probably not away long enough from the UK to full benefit from non-resident status, and will likely end up with complex tax calculations, and tax credits and carryover etc.. Oh, and last thing, do think about schools...take a look at Niche or GoodSchools (which is why i suggested Westchester as although rent is a little higher, if you are in the right school district it is like a private education).

Re: Moving with young Family to NYC - possible on $160k?
 

Thanks for the quick responses!!

My office is bassed downtown near South Ferry station. Looks like that could be quite a slog for Westchester?

Re: Moving with young Family to NYC - possible on $160k?
 

Then New Jersey would be an excellent option. Search for posts by Englishmum, who has provided excellent information about living there with a family. Good luck!

Re: Moving with young Family to NYC - possible on $160k?
 

Probably NYC is not viable at that salary - unless your family doesn't mind living in a closet.

Re: Moving with young Family to NYC - possible on $160k?
 

Look into Metuchen, NJ. It is a bedroom community to NYC and about one half hour from the Jersey Shore and under one hour to the countryside of Pennsylvania (Buck's County) as well as Philadelphia. The public schools are considered ok, too. Of course, it is NJ, but nothing's perfect. Forget Brooklyn. I'm not sure why ex-pats are so enamored of it except that it is considered hip/cool. It's expensive, trendy as well as being crowded and dense. If you prefer Bubble Tea shops to the old ethnic delis and bakeries that once were the glory of that borough, then Bk'lyn is the place to be. At least we still have Junior's.

Re: Moving with young Family to NYC - possible on $160k?
 

Thanks NYER,

If Brooklyn is just a hipster spot (I understand where you are coming from if I compare it to London's East End), then what is the "sell" of Metuchen, NJ?

I guess I feel like I know what I might be getting with Brooklyn - however with NJ and the surrounds I am less sure about the benefits of living in those places and what to expect.

Re: Moving with young Family to NYC - possible on $160k?
 

For nice towns in NJ, CT, and Westchester, think a pleasant small town in somewhere like Surrey. Mind you, I haven’t been to Surrey in many moons, so someone may have a better present-day example! Green lawns as opposed to city streets.

Re: Moving with young Family to NYC - possible on $160k?
 

I mentioned all the "sells". Unless you want something else which I don't know about.

Re: Moving with young Family to NYC - possible on $160k?
 

Brooklyn is NOT just a hipster spot. Brooklyn is far more like London than Manhattan is and extremely diverse. I live in one of the more desirable parts of Brooklyn (Cobble Hill/Carroll Gardens) and you can get a nice 3 bedroom for until $4k a month. There are so many tower blocks going up at the moment, that there are deals to be had. Your wife and kids will make friends here easily and it's a great community for families. Childcare costs are enormous, but you won't have to worry about that.

My advice would be to pick an area you are going to be happy, then find a decent school (there's tons of info online, e.g. insideschools.org) and base your apartment search around the area that is zoned for that school. Some of the better Brooklyn schools are in Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn Heights, DUMBO and Park Slope.

Re: Moving with young Family to NYC - possible on $160k?
 

The point is British people seem unduly attracted to Brooklyn because they think it is a hipster spot. It is a huge borough, formerly its own city, with the usual NYC pockets of very wealthy and poor with the middle class being squeezed out. I checked the NYTimes real estate section and my old neighborhood of Carroll Gardens produced exactly 2 apts. that had a 3 bedroom under 4K ($3800) and 1 in Cobble Hill. Square footage was not included in the ad. The public schools at the time I lived there were bad; they may have improved with gentrification.

Re: Moving with young Family to NYC - possible on $160k?
 

Hi we moved over to NJ last year with our 5 yr old and happy to help with any questions you have.
The salary will be tight but more then doable in my opinion but obviously it depends on your expectations.
Things are very expensive here but there are lots of things that you can do here that won't break the bank.
We have loved the community feel here and all the things that the school and the town organises, the schools we looked at in different towns and the one we settled on, are amazing and if anything l think our child is further ahead then l think he would have been in the U.K. (although that is my impression and impossible to know for sure).
Everyone reacts differently but so far (9 months in) we love it here and so pleased we did it.

Re: Moving with young Family to NYC - possible on $160k?
 

Many thanks kateinbrooklyn