Relocating to NYC area with small children...where to live if commuting to Midtown??

divakat

We are relocating to NY from Chicago suburbs, and are clueless about where to live. My office is right next to Grand Central. I am the sole income earner right now, so we need to stay under $2,500 per month for a 2 br. You guys have been so helpful in the past about various things, so I thought I get some advice.  Can you recommend areas to live? I'd like to be able to walk to and from the train, so it needs to be a very safe neighborhood. Don't mind any of the burbs as long as they fall within our criteria of safety, an area with a walkable, vibrant downtown, and short commute time for me of 1 hr or less door-to-door. We have 2 toddlers so something that is family friendly would be best. TIA!

Temp663997437501443

The subway lines that reach Grand Central are the 4, 5, 6, and 7 lines.  We used to live in Sunnyside and it was about a 15-20 min commute on the 7 to GC from our home.  (The north side of Queens Blvd in Sunnyside has a cute little area of garden-style homes and apartments.) You can definitely find some nice 2BR apartments in and around those Queens neighborhoods: Long Island City, Sunnyside, Woodside. Try researching neighborhoods that are connected from those lines.  The Metro-North lines to the suburbs are also an option for you if you don't want to live in the city.

firedancer22

i'm going to go with an easy one and say park slope, brooklyn.  the trains there are the F, G, and R.  (and the R connects to the 4 and 5 for an easy commute.)

we lived there for many many years in a 2 br, far below that budget.  there are a million and one things to do in the slope, and it is phenomenally safe.  it's also a very desirable school district (district 15), for when your kids get to that point.

some tips:  beware of the ever-shifting neighborhood boundaries.  real estate types like to use them to up the budget limits a bit.  some of the adjacent neighborhoods are also desirable--boerum hill in specific would be an easy commute for you, and is the next neighborhood north west-ish of park slope.  here are some boundaries for what IMO, is the best part of the neighborhood(s) for a new-to-the city young family:   

in park slope:  from pacific street on the north, to 9th street on the south...and from prospect park west to 5th ave.  it's a pretty broad swath of real estate, and it is VERY desirable.

in boerum hill:  from pacific street on the north to bergen on the south...and from nevins street on the east to smith street on the west.  this is a more narrow strip of loveliness, but as i said, it's IMO the best of the best.

 

musiscout

I live in Bayside, Queens if you still want to live in the suburbs. It's within the city limits, which means less real estate taxes than Long Island. You'd have to take the LIRR to Penn Station though unless you took an express bus or a bus to the 7 train. My friend got a 1 br for $1400. The are is very family friendly. You kind of need a car though to go grocery shopping and get around the neighborhood.

joleine

We live in Park Slope and love it.  However, we're south of 9th street and it's still VERY desirable.  We're close to the F G & R and 2 blocks from Prospect Park and within walking distance to everything we need.  The commute to Grand Central isn't bad either, I always take the F to Bryant Park and walk the 3 blocks to GC instead of transferring to the 7 (From Bryant Park), which you can do and it'll take you to GC station.

MrsKocal

musiscout:

I live in Bayside, Queens if you still want to live in the suburbs. It's within the city limits, which means less real estate taxes than Long Island. You'd have to take the LIRR to Penn Station though unless you took an express bus or a bus to the 7 train. My friend got a 1 br for $1400. The are is very family friendly. You kind of need a car though to go grocery shopping and get around the neighborhood.

Another vote for Bayside here!  District 26 is one of the best (maybe THE best? not sure) in the city.  The LIRR will get you to Penn Station in 25 minutes.  But I do agree about needing a car - many thing are walkable but the public transportation is bus-only unless you are trying to get to Manhattan, so you'll need a car for lots of every day stuff.

firedancer22

joleine:

We live in Park Slope and love it.  However, we're south of 9th street and it's still VERY desirable.  

no lack of love for south slope, joleine!  we lived there for a good long time, and absolutely loved it.  still go religiously to harbor fitness on 15th and 4th.  my thoughts were just those of people new to the city--in my experience new ny'ers often aren't as smitten with south slope as i am! 

 

joleine

firedancer22:

joleine:

We live in Park Slope and love it.  However, we're south of 9th street and it's still VERY desirable.  

no lack of love for south slope, joleine!  we lived there for a good long time, and absolutely loved it.  still go religiously to harbor fitness on 15th and 4th.  my thoughts were just those of people new to the city--in my experience new ny'ers often aren't as smitten with south slope as i am! 

 

I actually like South Slope more than north & center.. It's not as busy and the moms I've met in SS are more my type than the moms from N/C.. Our area (7th/16th) reminds me a LOT of Portland (Oregon) which helped with the transition quite a bit  

Rachiemoo

brooklyn heights or cobble hill, close to the 4 and 5 train and extremely family friendly. i like it better than park slope personally, but the slope is nice too!