Tell Me About Living in NYC (or Suburb) on 500k/yr
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Anonymous
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you may want to consider the river towns for an NY suburb. everyone made fun of this article when it came out http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/01/realestate/escape-from-brooklyn.html
but my relatively down-to-earth friends who moved there love it. I would also consider Greenwich - you have the beach, which is a big plus over some of the NY suburbs and the taxes are lower (my understanding is that the taxes are lower there than in Westport). If you do move to Greenwich, you can live comfortably - as long as you aren't the type to get caught up in keeping up with Jones. There are more uber rich there than in arlington and you just have to be the person who isn't going to feel poor when all of a sudden you are comparing your very nice ski trip to Vail to your friend's trip to Chamonix complete with private ski guide and first class flights for her family of six. |
Anonymous
| Look into the part of NJ that's right near Hoboken. Your husband could have a commute less than an hour, but Jersey is less expensive than NY. |
Anonymous
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Hi OP!!
I'm from the Hudson Valley area. Its a little too far North to commute everyday to NYC but its definitely doable for jobs that have the option to work from home a couple times per week. I'm not sure if thats an option for your husband but if it is I LOVE living here. Some really nice towns and school districts. Not to mention its beautiful and there's a lot to do. Good luck with everything! |
Anonymous
| Move to Queens before it turns into Brooklyn. |
Anonymous
What town? |
Anonymous
I'm from New Paltz. It's definitely too far to go to NY everyday though. There are a lot of other towns that are closer to the city as well. |
Anonymous
| Hi OP, check out South Orange or Maplewood in NJ. They are neighboring towns, relatively short commute to NYC (~35 minutes to Penn Station) and very walkable. Maplewood in particular has a very cute downtown area. I live in South Orange and can walk to the train station in less than 15 minutes. Great community, very diverse both ethnically and in terms of sexual orientation. Taxes are high though (we pay $19k on a $600k home). |
Anonymous
I also love Montclair NJ. Or Westfield, NJ (although less diverse and longer commute, but still doable). It is nuts to say that you can't live comfortably on $500k in a NYC suburb, of course you can. Yes there is some serious wealth but that is the exception notwithstanding what is being said on th thread and RHNJ  . Plenty of families live comfortably even in Westchester on way less than $500k annual salary.
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Anonymous
| Another vote for Montclair or Glen Ridge, NJ. Yes, the property taxes are high, however the homes themselves are slightly more affordable than the equivalent in the DC suburbs. Be prepared to research each town's schools -- unlike this area the schools up there are generally local by town, not the large county school systems around here. |
Anonymous
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Westchester towns not too far from Manhattan: Bronxville (expensive), Scarsdale (expensive), Harrison (expensive), Rye (expensive), Larchmont (not quite as expensive but still expensive), Rye Brook (ditto). All have top notch schools and high QOL.
Bit further out includes Pleasantville (very lovely) and Chappaqua (very lovely), both with excellent schools. Those tows are closer to the Hudson River side and vibe is a bit different from the Sound towns I mentioned. Where will your husband be working in NYC? New Yorkers have among the longest average commutes in the nation regardless of where they live. Even within the five boroughs. But if he's commuting by train it's very different than driving as you can do work on the train or relax with a book. |
Anonymous
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OP here. Thank you everyone for your replies. I really appreciate the time you spent to help me!
There are so many options! I think more than we have in DC, by a lot!!! I'm going to look up census data for some of these towns and will be back to update you all later. Thank you again! |
Anonymous
Absolutely ridiculous. Sometimes the insularity on this board just makes me laugh! |
Anonymous
| Dobbs Ferry, NY is nice. Westcheater Co and a quick commute to the city. |
Anonymous
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Anonymous
Have you spent any time in a NYC suburb? Comparing the lifestyle there to that of Arlington is like comparing apples and oranges. |