DC or NYC which is the best city to raise a family in the suburbs?
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Anonymous
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Does anyone experience both? Lots to do in both cities. More free activity. In DC
Dc is also warmer. |
Anonymous
| How much money |
Anonymous
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Can budget $1 million for a house fairly easily
What would provide most experienced and opportunities for the daughters |
Anonymous
Both will suck , DC will be better but quite disappointing at the million range. |
Anonymous
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I thought housing prices were higher in the NYC area?
I am open - what areas / cities would you recommend? Thank you |
Anonymous
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Have you considered NC? Great colleges and lower house prices. Banking industry is great there
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Anonymous
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You'll get more bang for your buck in the DC area. I'm not sure what your financial/employment situation is, but in NY you have to go farther out to have a suburban yard and such, which would impact commute. And keep in mind property taxes which are huge in the NY/NJ area. Like $25k/yr on a $800k house.
I grew up in the NY suburbs, and temporarily live here now. I personally don't care much for Queens/Long Island, though something like Manhassett would be nice - good schools, not too far from the city. We're in lower Westchester now - I like Bronxville here. Though you have to watch the listings, some places have a B'ville address, but are not in the school district. In NJ, I like Bergen County, but that may not be close enough to the city for you. I have a friend in Maplewood, NJ and liked what I saw there too. Apparently a lot of young families who used to live in Brooklyn are moving there, if you like that vibe. In the DC area, if it were me with that budget, I'd probably look at Falls Church city or North Arlington. I feel like we need to know more about your situation to answer your question properly though. It's an odd criteria to use as a sole determining factor, without knowing the employment/commute considerations. |
Anonymous
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DC -easier to access cultural resources. More transient population which made for nice diversity. Metro is less of a hassle than LIR, Metro North or Path - you don't have to transfer from commuter rail to subway. Downtown parking is easier. Your kids are more likely to do stuff downtown in DC than commuting in NY. Property taxes are MUCH lower in DMV - they are approximately 3x higher in NY.
schools in NY suburbs are pretty decent in most areas. But competition is now stiffer in DC area. Both NY and MD state colleges are ok - there is no flagship school in NY. But if you are a DCUMer your motto is IVY or bust, so it's probably a nonissue. Ny is...well NY so opportunity for more unique experiences. I'm a transplant from NY and I don't see moving back EXCEPT the jobs in my field are all heading to NY or Chicago. I do love the Hudson Valley but commuting to NYC from a burb sucks... I second Bergen county as a nice option - lots of houses, some jobs/corps, great schools. More bang for buck in Rockland than Westchester but commute is tougher and there is nothing to do... |
Anonymous
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My DH is from NY. my thought is commuting from long Island or new Jersey or CT to Manhattan would be hell, I'm not sure what you could afford in a close-in part of Brooklyn like Park Slope, and I dont like what ive seen in Westchester, but I'm mostly familiar with rye, new Roch and white Plains there (totally no way).
For $1m, you can live well in Fairfax county or Montgomery County. |
Anonymous
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Where are you from originally, where can you get employment,,and what are your expectations? I'm from the NYC suburbs originally, and to me, NYC wins hands down. There's just no comparison between NYC and DC as cities.
However, if you grew up in middle America, are wedded to your car, and don't have sharp elbows, you may not like it there. Yes, commuter trains aren't fun, but as a general rule they work and the infrastructure is there to move people to and from them. I don't get people who drive into Manhattan for work - that is masochistic behavior. You will find a wider range of social classes relying on public transportation and their own feet to get around. Property taxes are much, much higher in NY/NJ/CT. |
Anonymous
| I don't think that there is such a thing as "the best". There will be plenty of experiences and opportunities for your daughters in the suburbs of either city, especially if you can easily budget $1 million for a place to live. |
Anonymous
| i grew up on Manhattan and we never moved to the burbs, in part because my working mom felt that the suburbs are so cut off from the city that in the event of an emergency it would be difficult to get home quickly. Getting from Wall St. Or even midtown, to Westchester/CT/LI without the help of commuter trains is very difficult and slow. |
Anonymous
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Much easier to live in the DC suburbs than the NYC suburbs because DC is so much smaller and you don't have to travel as far. It's also a bigger deal to move out of the city if you're a NYC resident because the city is really the hub of activity in the region. In comparison, DC accounts for much less of the total population in the DC region.
Top suburbs in the DC area are Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Potomac, McLean and Great Falls. Arlington and Silver Spring are also close-in suburbs and kind of like the DC equivalent of Queens. |
Anonymous
Not to derail, but what is your field? Trying to relocate to NYC or Chicago... |
Anonymous
| All I would say is to avoid Long Island at all costs. So old and creepy. |