Lem84

My husband may potentially be offered a job in New York as a relocation with his current employer. We have an 8 year old daughter who is currently in year 3. We are potentially looking at Long Island as we read the schools are really good, but the reality is we are a bit clueless as to where to start, what our money will get us etc. he will get. $3000 a month towards housing but aware we’d have to contribute significantly to that as we’d like at least a 3 bed place to accommodate family when they want to come visit. Does anyone have any recommendations of where to consider on Long Island when moving there with a child?

Nutmegger

Welcome to BE. Perhaps you could advise where your husband will actually be working -- presumably in the city, but midtown, downtown? There are probably better options than Long Island, such as Westchester County, Fairfield County (CT), or even New Jersey, depending upon office location.

robin1234

Two initial thoughts.
1. Quality of schools is by town/school district, not region. So Long Island will have good towns for schools, and bad. Similarly for Westchester and for NJ.
2. Why don’t you go for a two-bedroom apartment for your first year, to minimize your financial commitment initially, saving money for other things? That’ll give you a chance to find your feet and come to a more long term decision about which town to live in. IF anyone comes to visit, they can stay in a hotel.

destone

Agreed re: hotel. Based on my experience the cons outweigh the pros should you upsize accommodation with your guests’ (unspoken/projections) expectations in mind. NYC is not the place to upsize. Midwest would be more apt in that regard.

tht

A lot of families who live in NYC have both parents work, make sure you understand if you need to work and if your husbands visa is one that allows you to work if you want/need to. Not all do.

Make sure you understand the US tax system and how that “housing allowance” will be taxed, likely it will be taxable income.

I am still n Fairfield county CT, and as other have mentioned, in NYC metro are in general “state” schools (called public schools here) are mostly paid for out of property tax’s paid to the town you live in. You exact address will dictate the school your child is allowed to attend. I’m general the better the school district higher the property tax. If you rent your landlord pays that and it’s passed through in your rent. In my town you are very few rentals in the best school districts, most ar e multi family homes on smaller lots zoned for less desirable schools, it’s all relative, the less desirable schools here are way better than other towns and night and day to other states.

My advise to you is to do a budget on a spreadsheet and look at the package your husband has been offered and figure out what you will get after tax, employee contribution to healthcare etc… what seems like a good salary goes very quickly here…. And you will be away from family support system…

Lem84

Thankyou cor your advice everyone. He is transferring with a bank so would be working downtown. I think the reason we had LI in mind was because my husband has a cousin who spends time between Manhattan & LI and his would be boss also lives there so I think he was thinking along the lines that we’d already have a couple of connections there. Both of those people are American though so it’s always nice to get the expat view on things.

I do get the point about upsizing and it’s definitely something to consider. The one thing I’m quite keen to do if we can is broadly keep to our lifestyle here and we do have a large home with a garden so going from that to an apartment I am not sure would be great for us lifestyle wise.

I’ll take a look at the other areas mentioned to see if I can get a feel for rents etc. my daughter also does ballet, tap and performing arts so I need to look into the cost of that. I’d like to work eventually but I think we need to make sure we settle first. My husband would be on an L1 and I’ve ready I could apply for an EAD on an L2 visa

tht

The good news on the L1 is you now get an L2S so don’t need to wait for an EAD.

https://www.uscis.gov/newsroom/alert...igrant-spouses

When evaluating the package offered make sure you look at who pays for repatriation if things dont work out (NY is employment at will, which means you can get fired without cause and have to leave with little time to settle your affairs). And also look at if they will sponsor LPR (Green Card) if you want to stay longer term.. L1 is limited, I think 5 or maybe 7 years depending on L1a or L1b.

i don’t think you will have trouble finding after school activities, ever looked at the ones you mention, but they offer every sport under the sun here for kids.

Lem84

That’s great, I didn’t realise that re the visa. My job doesn’t really translate in the US as I’m a property lawyer but I’m sure I could find something suitable. I guess I just need to be conscious of school and the holidays and not having the grandparents to help out as we do here

destone

Did you look into how you can practice in the State of New York? NY is more welcoming (towards lawyers included) than most states.

postbox134

NY and UK law is pretty similar, I believe you don't need to pass the bar again to practise there.

NJ has good connections downtown, I live in Jersey City and commute everyday via the PATH to WTC - it's not bad. But Jersey City has bad schools. Many of my colleagues live further in NJ, many of those towns have some of the best schools around.

Lem84

Property law doesn’t translate in America as it is a title insured process which is carried out by realtors rather than by lawyers as it is in this country. I do hold a management position here which has transferable skills though so I’m sure I would find something suitable. I think my parent company are based out of America so I could explore vacancies within that business potentially.

Good schools are definitely going to be a must. I read that American children start school later than our children so our daughter might already feel a little behind in terms of the work she is doing when she gets there. She is quite academic so I definitely want to make sure she goes somewhere she will be challenged. I don’t think private school fees will be within the budget unless I pick up a well paid job.

Pulaski

Like Robin said, I'd look at Westchester too, but the "best" location LI v Westchester v NJ, likely depends on where your husband will be working, and which station in Manhattan he will arrive into, as getting from the terminus to office can add a considerable time to an overall commute.

I also agree with Robin, don't look for a home expecting visitors, as in most cases visitors are a lot less frequent than expected. Ditto, for people who buy a minivan or large SUV "for the visitors". .... Your finances are going to be tight enough without adding on the luxury of additional space in your home just to accommodate visitors.

Not sure what you mean by that. I think it varies by state, but the only states I am familiar with (NY & NC) are more legal-centric than the UK .... estate agents/ realtors market the property, match a buyer with a seller, then turn the deal over to the lawyers to close/ complete.

Lem84

thankyou, that’s all really good advice and I had no idea that the process was completed legally in some states so I will look into that

Lem84

I’ve just checked and he thinks he will be based about a ten min walk from Penn rather than downtown. 2 days in the office, 3 at home.

christmasoompa

Although may be a heck of a lot more expensive than the OP will be used to paying. I've read repeatedly on BE about how much more children's activities were in the US, but even though I thought I was prepared I nearly fell off my chair when I got actually got the prices.