DC or NYC which is the best city to raise a family in the suburbs?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm surprised no one has mentioned the housing stock and 'feel' of NYC suburbs compared with those around DC. NYC suburbs have significantly more character in my opinion. Most NYC suburbs were built as railroad towns in the 1800s. You will never come close to finding a spot as charming as Ridgewood or Morristown, NJ (for example) immediately outside of DC.

+1

But to most southerners, the DC area is "the big city" - and everyone else must be from "flyover country". LOL.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm surprised no one has mentioned the housing stock and 'feel' of NYC suburbs compared with those around DC. NYC suburbs have significantly more character in my opinion. Most NYC suburbs were built as railroad towns in the 1800s. You will never come close to finding a spot as charming as Ridgewood or Morristown, NJ (for example) immediately outside of DC.

I agreRidgewood is basically the perfect american town.

How long does it take to get from a house there to midtown Manhattan?

Figure 45 minutes to an hour on the train to Penn Station.

[Anonymous]

It is apples and oranges.

For $1 million, you can be genuinely close to DC. You can easily go into the city (and likely will) several times a month even if your job doesn't take you there. And free...so much is free. This is amazing. And it's a nice city. It's fine.

In NYC, even the "close-in" burbs ain't that close. And $1 million isn't buying you anything all that great "close-in". You won't go to NYC all that often. But when you do...it's NYC!!! It's one of the greatest cities in the world. I'd love to go to NYC 6x per year as an easy day trip.

[Anonymous]

Once you get to Penn station or grand central, you have to transfer to the subway. NY suburbs feel much further than DC suburbs.

[Anonymous]

Have lived in both, NYC and DC, but not the suburbs. IMHO, if choosing the burbs, DC is easier living, because of the lower density of the area. You don't have to move far out to have good schools and suburban living, you could still enjoy all the city amenities by taking a relatively short drive 15-30 min on the weekends, given no traffic. Weekend traffic is much worse in NYC because of huge density and geography, which makes it difficult to drive to Manhattan to enjoy the amenities, you have to time it right, and you have to pay a lot more for parking. Public transit, while great for work commutes is not so great for weekend recreation. I think living in DC you wouldn't feel as much stuck in the burbs and having to do things in the burbs, because the city is doable on the weekend and even evenings. NYC is just huge and it's not doable, we had a car while living in Manhattan and visited people in the boroughs and the burbs, we drove a lot on the days we did that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Once you get to Penn station or grand central, you have to transfer to the subway. NY suburbs feel much further than DC suburbs.

They actually are, the high density urban highrise core of NYC is really large, you have to drive out far to get into the land of single family homes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm surprised no one has mentioned the housing stock and 'feel' of NYC suburbs compared with those around DC. NYC suburbs have significantly more character in my opinion. Most NYC suburbs were built as railroad towns in the 1800s. You will never come close to finding a spot as charming as Ridgewood or Morristown, NJ (for example) immediately outside of DC.

These charming town are not immediately outside of NYC either. They are far.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Once you get to Penn station or grand central, you have to transfer to the subway. NY suburbs feel much further than DC suburbs.

They actually are, the high density urban highrise core of NYC is really large, you have to drive out far to get into the land of single family homes.

You sound clueless. There are literally hundreds of suburban towns in NJ, a ferry/tunnel/train away from midtown, where you can find SFHs. Teaneck, Rutherford, Lyndhurst to name a few. And don't forget about literally all of Queens, western Long Island, and places like Riverdale, Mount Vernon, etc. Public transit is also 1000x more reliable around NYC and runs around the clock weekdays and weekends.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm surprised no one has mentioned the housing stock and 'feel' of NYC suburbs compared with those around DC. NYC suburbs have significantly more character in my opinion. Most NYC suburbs were built as railroad towns in the 1800s. You will never come close to finding a spot as charming as Ridgewood or Morristown, NJ (for example) immediately outside of DC.

These charming town are not immediately outside of NYC either. They are far.

Well, NYC is opposite of DC in that the nice suburbs aren't directly next to the city. You have to get through the gritty stuff first.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm surprised no one has mentioned the housing stock and 'feel' of NYC suburbs compared with those around DC. NYC suburbs have significantly more character in my opinion. Most NYC suburbs were built as railroad towns in the 1800s. You will never come close to finding a spot as charming as Ridgewood or Morristown, NJ (for example) immediately outside of DC.

These charming town are not immediately outside of NYC either. They are far.

Well, NYC is opposite of DC in that the nice suburbs aren't directly next to the city. You have to get through the gritty stuff first.

Yes, manufacturing towns. This is why NYC has a huge blue collar workforce. It also adds a lot of economic diversity, something the DC suburbs lack.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm surprised no one has mentioned the housing stock and 'feel' of NYC suburbs compared with those around DC. NYC suburbs have significantly more character in my opinion. Most NYC suburbs were built as railroad towns in the 1800s. You will never come close to finding a spot as charming as Ridgewood or Morristown, NJ (for example) immediately outside of DC.

+1

But to most southerners, the DC area is "the big city" - and everyone else must be from "flyover country". LOL.

+1M

The same goes for Boston suburbs.

The housing stock in the DC area blows.

[Anonymous]

I lived in both suburbs as a kid (also lived in DC proper):

The NY suburbs feel more removed from the city, compared to DC suburbs. It's more of a project or special event to go into the city. The vibe of the city is totally contained and does NOT leach out into the burbs. And each suburb is different: CT different than NJ, which is different than LI, etc.

In DC, in my experience, depending on how far you are (I was in Bethesda), it's easier to get in & out of the city (subway, bus, taxi, etc). People in the city are more similar to people who live outside of it.

The NY suburbs are more charming (cute old towns). But I think the people who live in the DC suburbs are less child/school focused, more interesting, more diverse, less catty, less materialist.

I'm not talking about the cities at all...just the suburbs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm surprised no one has mentioned the housing stock and 'feel' of NYC suburbs compared with those around DC. NYC suburbs have significantly more character in my opinion. Most NYC suburbs were built as railroad towns in the 1800s. You will never come close to finding a spot as charming as Ridgewood or Morristown, NJ (for example) immediately outside of DC.

These charming town are not immediately outside of NYC either. They are far.

Well, NYC is opposite of DC in that the nice suburbs aren't directly next to the city. You have to get through the gritty stuff first.

Ha, in NoVa you have to slog through Arlington before you get to the more upscale communities like McLean and Great Falls. In Maryland, some of the close in areas are nice but Potomac is farther out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm surprised no one has mentioned the housing stock and 'feel' of NYC suburbs compared with those around DC. NYC suburbs have significantly more character in my opinion. Most NYC suburbs were built as railroad towns in the 1800s. You will never come close to finding a spot as charming as Ridgewood or Morristown, NJ (for example) immediately outside of DC.

These charming town are not immediately outside of NYC either. They are far.

Well, NYC is opposite of DC in that the nice suburbs aren't directly next to the city. You have to get through the gritty stuff first.

Yes, manufacturing towns. This is why NYC has a huge blue collar workforce. It also adds a lot of economic diversity, something the DC suburbs lack.

+1

Also, ethnically-oriented neighborhoods, another thing DC lacks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Once you get to Penn station or grand central, you have to transfer to the subway. NY suburbs feel much further than DC suburbs.

They actually are, the high density urban highrise core of NYC is really large, you have to drive out far to get into the land of single family homes.

You sound clueless. There are literally hundreds of suburban towns in NJ, a ferry/tunnel/train away from midtown, where you can find SFHs. Teaneck, Rutherford, Lyndhurst to name a few. And don't forget about literally all of Queens, western Long Island, and places like Riverdale, Mount Vernon, etc. Public transit is also 1000x more reliable around NYC and runs around the clock weekdays and weekends.

I lived there for 15 years. The commute into Manhattan from anywhere is life draining. Here we can drive and still get to work in 45 minutes max. Houses in riverdale are way over 1m. Long Island is awful to go into the city any time of day. Have you ever done a rush hour commute from queens into Manhattan? A can of sardines has more space.