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NYC suburbs for families?
Hi ladies,
I am hoping to get some advice from some locals 
I am considering accepting a position in NYC and have no where to start as far as a good place to live! I would be working around 1st ave and 71st. I have 2 kids, 1 in KDG and a 2 yo. I would like a house with a small yard that is a 1 hr commute at most. Schools are of course very important! Our housing budget is ~750k.
Any advice?
Thanks so much!
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Re: NYC suburbs for families?
I'm from FL and we decided to live in Long Beach (Long Island) to be near the beach, something I was never actually able to do in Central Florida!
My commute is around an hour. I can't speak for the schools, as I'm just now pregnant with my first. We rent the 2nd floor of a nice home and it is $1750/mo.
I lived in Manhattan for 25 years and just moved to the suburbs in Westchester 4 months ago. I did a lot of research but there is no right or wrong- it is what works best for you.
First, the commute. If you drive, I would only suggest Long Island or Westchester. Moving to the NJ suburbs would be a nightmare because you would have to cross from West to East across the city and that can take forever.
If you plan on commuting by train, then I would suggest Westchester. The train goes directly to Grand Central at 42nd on the East Side. The trains to Long Island and NJ both go to Penn Station which is on the west side. Did I mention going across town is hard? LOL.
The taxes are very high on Long Island. Westchester is a little better but not much. NJ you can get more for the money and the taxes are a little lower overall. Taxes are something to seriously add in to the price of your house. If you're moving from outside NY, it is the thing that people complain most about.
The top schools in Westchester (based on SAT scores) are Scarsdale, Armonk, Chappaqua, Edgemont and some others I can't think of. Bronxville also - Bedford oh and Blind Brook school system (part of Rye Brook) hmmm.. there are a lot of great schools. Of course, those are also the most expensive areas in Westchester. 750 is a good budget but you will be shocked at how little you can get compared to other areas outside NY. My dh keeps asking if we can move to Texas - we could get a mansion compared to what you can get here!
I took a train map, compared it to the school system rankings and that is how I chose the area we wanted to be in (plus some friends in the area). My commute is long- 1 1/2 hours, but I've gotten used to it already. It's very hard to get a 1 hour commute in the real suburbs but not impossible. You might also consider Brooklyn- it's not technically the suburbs but if you want a townhome and a small yard, there are many areas where you can get that in Brooklyn.
You might also consider renting for a year to figure out what area you want to live in. There are a lot of options and you'll get a lot of opinions!
IUI- BFN IVF #1 -BFP! Allie is our 2nd IVF baby. Born at 36 1/2 weeks after pre-e again