Question for New York, Connecticut, New York people
*EDIT* I mean NEW JERSEY too.
My girlfriend is about to graduate college and has 3 potential jobs. 1 is in Atlanta, one in Chicago and one in New York. I'll be moving with her if she goes to Chicago or New York but I know little about the cities. She is from Chicago so I'm covered there. New York is the one I'm curious about. She'll be working in the Financial Disctrict in south NYC. She recently was flown up to NYC for her 2nd round job interview so there is a good chance she'll get the job. I'm not sure how much she'll make but I'm guessing roughly $50-80k (though I'm not sure how different cost of living is than ATL and how it affects pay). We'd also only be there for 1.5-2years before moving to Chicago. I'll be continuing school full time for another year and a half so I'll bring in little income. Okay so that's the basic info. Here are my questions/issues/curiosities - What are good areas to live (in NY, NJ, CT) - We've considered CT but would be in Stamford area. Is that area just too expensive of an area and how hard would it be for her to get to work - Does NJ really suck that much worse than NY? - Is NYC easily accessed from New Jersey - I'll have guns - Dog friendly areas? - any good mountain (street motorcycle and off-road bicycle) riding nearbye? - What are the areas to avoid at all costs - Good suburban areas - avg cost of 2bed apt rental - I'll have a truck and motorcycle along iwth her having a car I'm sure I'll think of more later. Appreciate any info |
I live on long island and work in brooklyn and the bronx.
Living in the burbs isnt bad but is a lil pricey in some places, plus youre a slave to mass transit to get to downtown manhattan, although thats the same with jersey. As for the guns, make sure the paperwork is all legit, not many have concealed carry permits here and they are not easy to get. if yo uhave vehicles stay out of manhattan since parking is a nightmare, the outer boros are a little better, but is still a major PITA and you will PAY if you want private parking. If you look into LI LMK since I can tell ya what areas/towns to avoid ;) Tom |
I only know about CT. Any city in sw CT is nice, Stamford, Darien, Norwalk. It is very expensive and $80K a year in not very much money there. On that kind of salary you'd have to be further east but it becomes a ghetto quickly and Bridgeport in the center of ghetto universe. Fairfield is nice but you are over an hour away by car. She could take the train in the the city though. I lived and worked in Straford. It was ok but a 2 bdr shit hole apartment was $1800/mo.
Guns, yeah your ok there. Think about where the old gun manufacturers started.. in CT. North of Danbury you start to get into some mountainous areas. Good riding up there. Personally if it was me, and I had no kids, I'd live in Manhattan, but that's just me. Good luck with your decision. |
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LMK = ? We'd consider Long Island but normally when I hear "Island" I think expensive. It'd only be for 2 years so I could "suffer" for 2 years before we move to Chicago (burbs). We both aren't excited to move to NY. Infact she pretty much had her fill staying in Times Square for 1 day. We're hoping for Chicago or Atlanta but want to be prepared way ahead of time if she takes the job. I'm guessing 30-40miles out is the farthest we'd live (but may make exception for CT). Transit is no problem, it's gotta be better than MARTA (Atlanta's transit). So as long as the rail lines are fairly safe then she should be okay with commuting to NYC from a good distance away. Oh yeah. Taxes, Tolls, and any other hidden stuff. Rider: I figured CT would be what you said. But the more liberty a state has the better I like it. Plus can you buy beer on Sunday or 24hours (NY,NJ,CT)? Thanks for the help peoples |
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LMK is let me know Some parts of nassau and suffolk are uber expensive but many are normal suburban areas. Not sure on current rental prices but we had a 2br with driveway that started out at 1450 amonth, so decent rentals can be found and making 50 to 80k you can live comfortably. Good question on the beer, I know it used to be you couldnt buy beer from 4am to noon on sundays but I think thats changed. If you guys rent you wont be hit with many taxes, also if you live in NYC you have to pay city tax, and there are a fair amount of tolls here and theyre NOT cheap however you can get into NYC for free over the 59th st bridge and a few other bridges. |
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Its a totally different story once you leave the tourist traps. If you are not going to be here for to long. Queens and Brooklyn offer a lot of relatively inexpensive rentals and plenty of spots you do not need a car. Best way to get around is by foot or train. Cabs are usually a waste...unless its party time. |
Look into Westchester. Its about a 25-30 minute commute depending on where you live. I'm originally from New Rochelle. Very nice city, the southern part of the city is cheaper to live in than the northern part. Another nice city there is Eastchester...Stay away from Mt. Vernon and Yonkers. White Plains is a nice area too...very metropolitan area, not too far from the train and decent roads about 30min to an hour north.
And i'm not sure if they still do it...maybe Tommy can chime in on this...but on Sundays from like late March to early November they close a streach of the Bronx River Pkwy so bicycles can run up and down it. |
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You can prolly catch metro north back down to the city, similar to the LIRR in long island. I just hate being a slave to the trains/busses. Tom |
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I hate it. I hate hate hate it. LIRR and I are buddies we go back a few years now. Get yourself a nice quiet car on an express train and yer golden. Metro North is for dirty Connect-a-Cunts, upstate jackholes and pedophiles. the trains are old, dirty and only assholes ride a train with the wire over head. I agree on the Busses. They are pretty convenient though. |
Update:
She got the job offer but she really does not want to take it. They offered her 46k with a 7500 sign up bonus. She's excited as hell that she got a job offer but she did an interview for a job in Atlanta that she said she did excellent in. She's hoping to get that one. She did a 2nd round interview with a Chicago company and is waiting to hear back from them on wether she makes the 3rd interview. Chicago and Atlanta are our preffered choices. But we are still keeping NYC on the table so later on today I'll probably look into the taxes of NJ, NY, NYC along with trying to figure out cost of living and crap like that. Thanks for the help guys. |
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IMO if you work in Manhattan but live in some generic NJ suburb, you'll end up kicking yourself later in life for not living on Manhattan. Sure, maybe you'll need roomates but who cares, it's only 1-2 years. |
Oh yeh, leave the guns at home, if you wanna live in the city, you wont be able to get them legal within 1-2 years. Look in brooklyn, easy to get into the city from, probably more affordable than NJ or LI (if you add in taxes, commuting, car costs and all the other junk).
If you live in NYC dont get a car, its really more hastle than its worth unless you need to use it on a daily basis, the mass transit system is pretty good. If you are gonna keep the bike, leave it registered wherever you are, and buy a lojack for it. Housing is gonna be expensive, figure $2k per month anywhere you go, including utilities. And you better get a job too, you wont be able to afford to like on 40k. |
I grew up in NJ so I can do the best I can to help you there. I love Jersey. People talk trash, but I'm from central NJ where most things are normal. A lot of people commute to NYC from central jersey but it would be a bit longer. There are trains obviously that will cut it down, but by car, she's be looking at about 40-45 min commute. A 2 bedroom apartment will run you anywhere between $1000-$1800 depending on where and what you're looking for.
Princeton is a really nice town but very pricey. Right outside of Princeton is where I grew up, a township called South Brunswick, which is very close to Rutgers. Really anywhere in central jersey would be good (Counties: Middlesex, Mercer, and Monmouth). North jersey is where the guidos are. South jersey is all Philly fans, and I would say too far for a daily commute. What is expensive in NJ is property tax, so if you'll only be there for 2 years or so, it would be a good place to be since you won't be buying. Surviving on 80K, very possible. My mom recently bought a new construction home on that salary (she's single..it is a small house though). My dad probably has double that salary and has a bigger house on about an acre, my step mom doesn't work, and they have a 5 year old. So I think you guys would be fine on that salary, just hope its more than 50k, that would be a little tight for 2 people. |
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Vehicle is very necesarry. I have a small side pressure washing business here and if I do move to New York/Jersey I plan to do work up there with it as I go to school. I'll need a truck to pull my trailer. Plus I do a lot of mountain biking, triathlons, etc so I need to travel from the city a bunch. Firefighting is on the table for me when it comes to a job. It was the route I was going to go before I started school. I looked into the taxes. New York I believe was 6.85% for her taxable income. Federal should be 25% but I think more realistically 17% since I think Federal works off of a piecewise formula. I didn't look into the city tax. We'd really like to just rent a room and if we go to NY we'll look into that more But as I said it's very unlikely that we'll move to New York. The only reason we would is if she for some reason didn't get an offer on the other 2 jobs that she would much prefer. |
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I know I sound negative, but thats the reality. Once you get past all the negatives, NYC is probably one of the coolest places in the world to live |
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I know the negativity of NY. It's why leaving Georgia isn't my favorite idea. I'm just trying to get somewhat of an idea of what it would be like there. |
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Brooklyn and Queens are upper middle class now? First I've heard. |
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Tom |
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This song right here about Cabbagetown is the shining example... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcgMDj52prI |
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Out by me, its mostly volunteer. Quote:
What makes you say that? |
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Even crown heights which in the early 90s was one of the worst areas in the city with riots and gang battles, has been on an upward move for the past decade, still not a top notch neigborhood, but definately upper middle class. As far as being a firefighter, good luck. in NJ if you wanna be a FF then you need to spend a few year as a volunteer firefighter first, get all your NJ state certs before they will even look at you, unless you want to work in newark or jersey city which are fairly bad areas. I can't speak with certainty about the process on LI, but I'm pretty sure its close to NYC, from the time you sign up for the test, until you get hired can be a few years. A friend of mine just recieved word that he passed the Jan 07 suffolk county test and will be going to school next summer. I am sure taht nassau county will be similar |
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Long Island has 2.9 Million people on 1,401 square miles. While a city like LA can have miles upon miles of shitsville. An NYC "ghetto" could be a couple of blocks...surrounded by areas most couldn't afford to live in. |
As far as affordability goes in NYC, you can get a 2 bedroom for about $1200 in a decent area in Queens are Brooklyn. I personally prefer queens since I grew up there...Forest Hills, Rego Park, Kew Gardens are the only places in Queens were I would live, but thats my personal choice. They are all close to mass transit and have good shopping. Established neighborhoods so they are not up and coming like Astoria or Williamburg which is the new "it" place to be. It will take about 1 hr to commute down to the financial district though. Another thing to keep in mind is that with rentals in NYC there usually are broker fees. My apartment in Forest Hills- the upfront deposits where, 1st and last months rent, and month and a half broker fee (negotiable).
These apartments don't have anywhere for you to park your stuff and they are getting increasingly difficult with pets though some do still accept them. How big are your dogs? You can find street parking though but it will be tough to park a truck since its parallel parking on the street. There are also alternate side parking regulations for street cleaning. Parking your bike on the street is also a bad idea since it will most likely get stolen. You might want to look into parking your stuff in a garage but that will cost a few hundred dollars a month. Honestly having guns isn't a must like a lot of places outside of the city. People break in when you aren't home, not when you are there and they will scope out your schedule first before they attempt. And unless you are being a jackass no one will go and mess with you (which is a moot point anyway since you won't be able to carry) Parking and animals may be different in LI or CT (but i have no insight on that) but I am just speaking for Queens and BK. You won't be able to afford to live in anywhere decent in Manhattan on $46k, and be able to park your truck with bike and all. Take home on $45k is about $2400 a month. My brother is paying $2200 a month for a one bedroom in midtown. If you plan on taking EMT classes John Jay has a course. Its in the 50's and 10th ave. (around there anyway) Actually Inwood in the Northern most tip of Manhattan may be running about the same rent. But you would still have to get some kind of secure parking in a garage a few blocks away. The men are a bit creepy there though which may bother your GF when she is walking alone (as it did me) when they leer, catcall, follow and try to grab her to talk to her. |
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Heck even Harlem is being gentrified now with million dollar brownstones! |
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Automatically think its a ghetto. |
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In Forest Hills, I was paying 1100 for a one bedroom with ample street parking and it was really nice too. But now I am paying $750 for my larger 1 bedroom with an attached garage and its brand new, load of amenities. Granted its Vegas vs NY, so its apples and oranges...but I do miss NYC! I just don't know if I want to live there again... Hey why is it we never hung out before?? I think you are the only goon in NY that I haven't met on the forum. |
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hes antisocial :lol: you missed a funnight at croxleys too sat night. jimmy, donna, ray and levi all came out. Tom |
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Is Jimmy and Donna married yet? Whats MK and Dave up to these days? |
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Davis is well and MK is acros in the main ER right now (were at work) |
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What I really mean by the negativity is that everyone seems to say "Taxes suck, traffic sucks, cost of living sucks, parking sucks, government sucks, job prospects suck, Mets suck but hey we have the Yankees". But we talked about it some more and the only reason we'll go to NY is if she doesn't get her Atlanta or Chicago job. She should know by this week if she will get the Atlanta job. If so NY is off the list. Hopefully she will get the Atlanta job. It'd make everything so much easier. |
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Feel free to call Brownsville, East NY, or Bed Stuy quality places to live, but I wouldn't. Now granted, Camden and Paterson are worse, but that's NJ. |
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Brownsville :The total land area is one square mile, East NY: 2 sq miles Bed Stuy: What part of Bed Stuy? The gentrified part or the non gentrified parts? |
So now ghettos have to be a certain size to qualify?
And FWIW, one square mile contains a lot of people in a place like that.... |
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Not all are automatically criminals and bad people. |
Okay. Looked around at some apartments in NJ and found some around 800 a month is what we were hoping for. Middlesex county seems to be the most in our price range. And it has NJ transit that goes to NYC. Then found some apartments in Morristown/Morris Plains from the 600s-700s which seemed like nice places. NJ transit goes through here too.
Are those okay areas? I'm not expecting nice $200,000 a year business execs or jobless "friends" who live in nice Manhatten lofts but somewhere where I don't feel I should leave with a kevlar and an AK47. I'm kind of looking off of this... http://www.njtransit.com/pdf/rail/Rail_System_Map.pdf |
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I'm trying to knock down the whole "NYC" is filled with ghetto nonsense F'n emergency workers and their jaded outlook. Might as well ask NYPD for their opinion. |
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Tom |
Figured I'd give an update. She got the job in Atlanta and she's taking that one. It pays more, in an area we know, and she likes the job better.
Thanks for the help though. This helped us prepare for what seemed like a good possibility of NYC. |
NYC rocks. if you can afford to live there, you should. Period.
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