Which of these 3 options in NYC as a primary earning mom who has to RTO?

[Anonymous]

#2

When my DCs were small, I commuted from the UWS to Brooklyn for work. Door-to-door it took about 45 minutes, and on most days school drop off added another 20 minutes in the mornings. It was absolutely doable, and I secretly enjoyed having that subway time to read.

[Anonymous]

I have lived this life. With one kid. Private schools. Full time nanny then part time after school sitter. In NYC, Manhattan, not much more than 1,000 square feet. It was great!!

Pediatrician was 5 blocks away. Story hour and libraries every few blocks. I could be at every school event. I could do drop off and take the subway to work. We did museums every weekend, play dates, birthday parties, big bookstores, bike riding, street fairs. Nice neighbors. High rises are great for trick or treaters. Takeout, delivery, Fresh Direct, and supermarkets abound. The bakery freed her a free cookie, just like when I was a child. She went to camp in the summer.

There are good public schools, however. And Manhattan is not the only Borough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have lived this life. With one kid. Private schools. Full time nanny then part time after school sitter. In NYC, Manhattan, not much more than 1,000 square feet. It was great!!

Pediatrician was 5 blocks away. Story hour and libraries every few blocks. I could be at every school event. I could do drop off and take the subway to work. We did museums every weekend, play dates, birthday parties, big bookstores, bike riding, street fairs. Nice neighbors. High rises are great for trick or treaters. Takeout, delivery, Fresh Direct, and supermarkets abound. The bakery freed her a free cookie, just like when I was a child. She went to camp in the summer.

There are good public schools, however. And Manhattan is not the only Borough.

This sounds like a young child. It’s completely different having a preschool aged child in NYC and an older child. Older kids require more space, have more belongings and want to participate in sports and activities that are very expensive in Manhattan.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have lived this life. With one kid. Private schools. Full time nanny then part time after school sitter. In NYC, Manhattan, not much more than 1,000 square feet. It was great!!

Pediatrician was 5 blocks away. Story hour and libraries every few blocks. I could be at every school event. I could do drop off and take the subway to work. We did museums every weekend, play dates, birthday parties, big bookstores, bike riding, street fairs. Nice neighbors. High rises are great for trick or treaters. Takeout, delivery, Fresh Direct, and supermarkets abound. The bakery freed her a free cookie, just like when I was a child. She went to camp in the summer.

There are good public schools, however. And Manhattan is not the only Borough.

What was your salary when you had that lifestyle?

[Anonymous]

The people who are suggesting NY publics likely have lower standards. NYC has terrible public schools. There are some decent schools but few and far between and it’s not like the burbs where you can enroll and send your kid through K-12 to good schools. Everyone I know using a NYC public is playing some insane lottery or magnet game and still renting.

JFC. No it does not have uniformly terrible public schools. There are certainly some terrible ones, many decent ones, and some very good ones.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In my lower Westchester town, before school care starts at 7:30 and after school lasts until 6. Plenty of homes are walking distance to the train station (mine included) and the express is 30 minutes to Grand Central. My office is another 15 minutes on the subway. Counting walking, etc., the commute is just under an hour. We have tons of space and the schools are free and excellent.

My sister lives in Brooklyn D15, and her kids also go to an excellent free school. She has less space than we do but is still comfortable, and her commute is shorter by about 20 minutes.

There are a lot of different ways to do this, but you need to familiarize yourself with the many good public schools in NYC and the surrounding area!

I’m the pp who lives in westchester. 7:30-6pm is a REALLY long day for kids to be in before care, school and aftercare. And don’t they age out of before/after care once they hit middle school - then what? Kids need an adult around, don’t they? Asking, not judging - my kids are younger than yours and I’m trying to sort out my own RTO demands. Working in thr city feels really undoable if you want quantity of time with your kids

You need a nanny or stay at home parent. My spouse does a 60-90 minute drive commute each way from VA to MD and its sole sucking. One accident can set you back hours and its the only in/out. They cannot switch jobs and moving is financially not worth it but if I was moving I'd go closer to work.

We have a sitter and a wfh parent and some days we struggle.

If you have a sitter and a wfh parent, then you have a problem. This makes no sense when there are two available adults and your sitter handles most things.

WFH parent is still working from 8-5.
We don’t waste tax payers money like your friends do.