< Return to Talk
12.11.12, 18:32 PM General Topics
46 replies
At what point do you cut your losses and give up on th city and move to the burbs? We have a HHI close to 400k, kids in public but i am so sick of living like a student with no storage, a crappy tiny kitchen and tiny bathrooms. This should not be the state of my home with this income. I loe being being in the city, having a short commute, walking everywhere but Ina,mo's over hating my home. There is nothing I like in my zone to buy or rent that isn't astronomically expensive (and we are in Brooklyn, not manhattan) . It is so depressing [ Reply | Watch | Flag ]
General Topics 12.11.12, 06:32 PM Flag
»
sounds as if you're there. why can't you live somewhere a little nicer on that salary? (not trying to be obnoxious) [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 12.11.12, 06:33 PM Flag
»
I am in the same boat except paying for private. I want to pack it in and move to the suburbs but worry about the commute. It's a no win situation here. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 12.11.12, 06:35 PM Flag
»
If your DC are already enrolled, aren't your free to move out of the zone? [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 12.11.12, 06:36 PM Flag
»
If you are renting, then on that income you should be able to afford better. If you own, then make a plan to improve your "crappy" kitchen. As far as space goes, in the past 40 years, it's really become something families expect - people used to live in much smaller spaces. But if that's something you want, then you need to leave. Personally, I think the reason people need so much space these days is bc we all have too much crap. If we stopped accummulating crap, our homes would seem larger and we'd have more $ too! [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 12.11.12, 06:36 PM Flag
»
We rent, want to buy but see nothing, other rentals are more $ and still suck, things are tight in our zone and prices just keep going up. Have one kid in school, one not and am scared to leave zone before second one starts k. I have no issue with a smaller home but I am sick of having to make so many compromises. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 12.11.12, 06:40 PM Flag
»
or: if all you see are compromises, then maybe the time has come to move. at that income, i would think you could afford a better rental. but not familiar w your zone or brooklyn. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 12.11.12, 07:08 PM Flag
»
Sounds like you're more than ready! [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 12.11.12, 06:37 PM Flag
»
you could afford something in scarsdale and the commute is not too long. not much walking. greenwich is better for that but about 15 minutes further out. bronxville is ideal but more $$$. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 12.11.12, 06:38 PM Flag
»
DH works way downtown so this is our other issue. I hate this city, so few options between awful commute and walkable,urban neighborhood that isn't totally unaffordable. Even moving to other neighborhoods in Brooklyn is a compromise, can get better place but commute gets bad really fast [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 12.11.12, 06:43 PM Flag
»
Hoboken? [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 12.11.12, 06:45 PM Flag
»
could hoboken work? not sure about schools but prob have privates there. there are good pub schools in other suburbs but don't know about commute. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 12.11.12, 06:45 PM Flag
»
OP, I think I will put Hoboken on my list of options. I guess we could rent there and see how it goes, we have friends there so it would work and we are open to catholic school [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 12.11.12, 06:50 PM Flag
»
np: there are parts of Jersey City that would work too adn might be a touch less $$$ than Hoboken. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 12.11.12, 07:09 PM Flag
»
The taxes there are genormous! [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 12.11.12, 06:46 PM Flag
»
if you have a very nice house. but you can buy something modest. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 12.11.12, 06:49 PM Flag
»
Nope, even the small houses have huge tax issues. Westchester has the highest taxes in the country. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 12.11.12, 07:15 PM Flag
»
We're in the same boat (slightly lower HHI). The problem is New York. Anywhere else, that is an astronomical sum of money, and you can have the short commute and space and good schools. Not here. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 12.11.12, 06:40 PM Flag
»
Agree with poster above. It's NY. Move to the suburbs and add $20K+ in taxes, plus commuting cost (time and $), gas for cars, etc and you're not that much better off $$. You just have more space so you can fill with more stuff. We have been tossing around the idea of moving OOS for the reasons listed. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 12.11.12, 06:49 PM Flag
»
but you also pay less city taxes, so that helps some, too. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 12.11.12, 06:50 PM Flag
»
Right, exactly. NY suburbs are not appreciably better. They're like the crappiest version of the American suburb imaginable. Bad commutes. Incredible taxes. Not much cheaper than the city. If we're going to live in the burbs, we're packing up and heading somewhere else. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 12.11.12, 06:50 PM Flag
»
but you cuold buy something fiarly modest in scarsdale and pay only $15K a year in RE taxes. then you also have lower city taxes. it doesn't seem so unreasonable. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 12.11.12, 06:52 PM Flag
»
Yes, NY burbs really are the worst. I am from London and long to move back because the line between city and burb is much less severe, lots of suburbanish urban areas with good pt, no need to drive and plenty of green space. I hate that NY is pretty much total city or full on burb with nothing in between (except for forest hills gardens!) [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 12.11.12, 06:58 PM Flag
»
And what's astonishing is that there is just no good answer, no matter what. We thought about the burbs. But an hour commute was untenable for me (DH). We ended up in brownstone brooklyn. It's beautiful, but $$$, and taxes and lack of space wear you down. Not to mention the hyena like competition for basic resources (try going to the Atlantic Ave. trader joe's). It's a total no-win. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 12.11.12, 07:06 PM Flag
»
Flip the scenario and pretend you live in burbs. Your post would read: Hhi close to 400k, kids in public but I'm so sick of living my life at mall and in the car. I am exhausted from busting my ass to make the 6:05 metro north/lirr/no transit so I can drive to 3 different soccer fields, stop at Applebee's and collapse in bed. Oh yeah, this weekend I get to shovel snow/rake leaves and my big income is going to fixing my roof! [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 12.11.12, 06:55 PM Flag
»
np: FWIW, I don't think I've been to the mall in the past year, and I've eaten at Applebee's all of once in my life (back when I was in colleg) [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 12.11.12, 07:06 PM Flag
»
Love this post. Suburban living has so many self-imposed hassles -- lawns, leaves, huge distances between everything. And god help you if you cant drive a car. OP, just stay in the city. If you move to the burbs, you'll be regretting it in a year or so. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 12.11.12, 07:15 PM Flag
»
You will love the suburbs. Because you've finally gotten to the point that, in my experience, many (most?) urban city dwellers get to when they start to have children and grow up a little bit - you're sick of fighting for everything. Fighting for a decent home. Fighting for a spot in a good school and in an afterschool activity that you know in your heart really isn't that great but if it's not that it's nothing. Fighting for a tiny bit of recreational space, fighting for not getting run over by buses and cabs, and most important fighting for just a semblance of security and a feeling that you don't have to chart a perfect path through all of that in order for your kids to be happy and secure. None of those things can be had living in urban NYC but they can and are available in the suburbs in great supply. That's the best benefit of living in the burbs, to me - there's none of the jockeying for limited resources. ALL of our kids go to great schools and we ALL have great houses that fit our general needs very well. And we save money every month so we're not always scared of going broke. Trust me: those factors make people much chiller out here. Oh, and P.S. - there are lots of very walkable suburbs around. It's not all McMansions on old farmland. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 12.11.12, 06:57 PM Flag
»
But the commute??? [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 12.11.12, 07:03 PM Flag
»
The commute from one of the towns I'm thinking of is 45 minutes to midtown, probably 60 to downtown, give or take. What's your commute now? It's got to be at least a half hour - hell, I know people who commute an hour from upper manhattan to downtown. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 12.11.12, 07:08 PM Flag
»
if you felt the need to fight for so much in the city, the problem lies with you. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 12.11.12, 07:06 PM Flag
»
OR: This is demonstrably untrue. The city has finite resources that are in demand by MANY more people that can be accommodated. As such, there will be intense competition for those resources. In areas where resources are abundant the competition is naturally less. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 12.11.12, 07:11 PM Flag
»
If you're child is reasonably smart with no issues, s/he will be fine in a decent school and a loving family. making yourself crazy for everything else is the parent;s issue [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 12.11.12, 07:16 PM Flag
»
grow up? [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 12.11.12, 07:05 PM Flag
»
where do you live? [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 12.11.12, 07:08 PM Flag
»
Nice try - in NJ and let's leave it at that. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 12.11.12, 07:12 PM Flag
»
I have been in NYC for 25+ yrs and don't plan on moving out, but I have to say, I agree with your description to a tee. We all fight for resources available in abundance pretty much everywhere else. It's exhausting. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 12.11.12, 09:33 PM Flag
»
you can definitely afford and find a nicer apartment. We have half the income and have a nice 3 bedroom with tons of closet space in a great school district. Its a matter of looking and not buying into Real estate agent's hype [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 12.11.12, 07:02 PM Flag
»
Where? Doorman? [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 12.11.12, 07:04 PM Flag
»
no doorman. Find a small real estate agency like Rachel Realty, who specialize in a few buildings. If you have a few months without a hard deadline that makes it easier [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 12.11.12, 07:09 PM Flag
»
How long before #2 starts K? [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 12.11.12, 07:05 PM Flag
»
3 yrs [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 12.11.12, 07:07 PM Flag
»
ITA, we are paying 7400/month in rent for the privilege of having an easy commute, whereas we could have comfortable house, furnished basement, yard in the burbs. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 12.11.12, 07:07 PM Flag
»
I don't get it. I live in FOrest Hills, HHI about $300k, and I do not think in any way I am not living a good life. ' [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 12.11.12, 07:11 PM Flag
»
Come to Forest Hills! We make slightly less than you, and are living VERY well here. It's almost like the suburbs but we have access to the subway. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 12.11.12, 07:22 PM Flag
»
When you are ready, you'll go. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 12.11.12, 07:22 PM Flag
»
We're moving back to NY after living in Europe for the past ten years. When my DH and were newly married in the late 90s we lived in the west village and loved it. Now with three kids were looking to live in westchester. The commute from park slope to midtown is not much better than the lower westchester towns. After living in appts for the last twenty years it would be nice to have some outdoor space. I also can not get my head around all the jockeying that has to been done to get in a good public school in the city. The expense of private schools for three kids is absurd. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 12.11.12, 09:17 PM Flag
Refresh » New Post »
Select Category
close [X]

close [X]

Select a Category (only 1)

category
Stages
Regions