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So, I'll be working in a Biglaw firm in NYC this fall. I'll be moving there with my wife and four-year-old son. I'm having trouble deciding where I should live. My office is just north of Times Square. Living in Manhattan would be preferable, even if it were for just a year so that we could get settled and spend a year trying to find a good school district/private school either in or outside of the city. I'm wondering if living in Manhattan is financially possible for us on my Biglaw salary, considering that we're going to need a second bedroom and an elevator (for my son). If not, does anyone have any recommendations? I would like to keep my commute as short as possible, but that definitely comes second to safety.

You said Manhattan, but how about Forest Hills in Queens?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forest_Hills,_Queens

Commute isn't too bad, around 30 or 45 minutes to Midtown. The area has some of the highest rated public elementary schools in NYC. Two bedrooms are cheaper and more plentiful than Manhattan.

malibustacy wrote:You said Manhattan, but how about Forest Hills in Queens?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forest_Hills,_Queens

Commute isn't too bad, around 30 or 45 minutes to Midtown. The area has some of the highest rated public elementary schools in NYC. Two bedrooms are cheaper and more plentiful than Manhattan.

I grew up in Forest Hills, it's gotten much nicer and it was already one of the more family friendly areas in Queens back then. Not a bad place to live for a little while. I'd also suggest looking at Park Slope in Brooklyn (about a 40 min commute) and the Upper West Side if you're willing to spend more $$$.

What's your loan situation? Target rent budget? 2BR or 3BR?

It's absolutely doable even with loans north of $200k, especially if your wife will be working.

West Village, Chelsea, and Hell's Kitchen are all good options in close proximity to where you'll be working.

1styearlateral wrote:It's absolutely doable even with loans north of $200k, especially if your wife will be working.

West Village, Chelsea, and Hell's Kitchen are all good options in close proximity to where you'll be working.

Idk west village and Chelsea are WILDLY expensive. Upper west side may work w/ Times Square location.

1styearlateral wrote:It's absolutely doable even with loans north of $200k, especially if your wife will be working.

West Village, Chelsea, and Hell's Kitchen are all good options in close proximity to where you'll be working.

I highly doubt OP wants to pay $4500+/month for a reasonably sized 2BR in WV If OP has 200k+ in loans. OP, you need to provide more info, but this seems like really bad advice.

If looking at Manhattan for mid-town, I would suggest looking at the UWS (not as bad as people think in terms of price); Morningside Heights, West Harlem; Hells Kitchen and then also areas in Queens. Brooklyn is a commute people do as well but im not as familiar.

RaceJudicata wrote:

1styearlateral wrote:It's absolutely doable even with loans north of $200k, especially if your wife will be working.

West Village, Chelsea, and Hell's Kitchen are all good options in close proximity to where you'll be working.

Idk west village and Chelsea are WILDLY expensive. Upper west side may work w/ Times Square location.

UWS can be just as expensive. Idk I have clients that rent in WV/Chelsea and the prices aren't that bad. With biglaw, it's definitely doable; but if OP wants to rub nickels together then yeah those places aren't ideal.

1styearlateral wrote:

RaceJudicata wrote:

1styearlateral wrote:It's absolutely doable even with loans north of $200k, especially if your wife will be working.

West Village, Chelsea, and Hell's Kitchen are all good options in close proximity to where you'll be working.

Idk west village and Chelsea are WILDLY expensive. Upper west side may work w/ Times Square location.

UWS can be just as expensive. Idk I have clients that rent in WV/Chelsea and the prices aren't that bad. With biglaw, it's definitely doable; but if OP wants to rub nickels together then yeah those places aren't ideal.

Lol... rubbing nickels together? A decent 2br in either neighborhood is gonna be $3000+, so I don't think anyone is being "cheap." That said, you are going to get way more bang for your buck in UWS than west freakin village.

RaceJudicata wrote:

1styearlateral wrote:

RaceJudicata wrote:

1styearlateral wrote:It's absolutely doable even with loans north of $200k, especially if your wife will be working.

West Village, Chelsea, and Hell's Kitchen are all good options in close proximity to where you'll be working.

Idk west village and Chelsea are WILDLY expensive. Upper west side may work w/ Times Square location.

UWS can be just as expensive. Idk I have clients that rent in WV/Chelsea and the prices aren't that bad. With biglaw, it's definitely doable; but if OP wants to rub nickels together then yeah those places aren't ideal.

Lol... rubbing nickels together? A decent 2br in either neighborhood is gonna be $3000+, so I don't think anyone is being "cheap." That said, you are going to get way more bang for your buck in UWS than west freakin village.

Way more than 3k.

sublime wrote:

RaceJudicata wrote:

1styearlateral wrote:

RaceJudicata wrote:

1styearlateral wrote:It's absolutely doable even with loans north of $200k, especially if your wife will be working.

West Village, Chelsea, and Hell's Kitchen are all good options in close proximity to where you'll be working.

Idk west village and Chelsea are WILDLY expensive. Upper west side may work w/ Times Square location.

UWS can be just as expensive. Idk I have clients that rent in WV/Chelsea and the prices aren't that bad. With biglaw, it's definitely doable; but if OP wants to rub nickels together then yeah those places aren't ideal.

Lol... rubbing nickels together? A decent 2br in either neighborhood is gonna be $3000+, so I don't think anyone is being "cheap." That said, you are going to get way more bang for your buck in UWS than west freakin village.

Way more than 3k.

Ya, true. 3k the floor (for what is likely to be a dumpy walk up).

With a kid, I'd look at UWS or brownstone Brooklyn (Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill, Boerum Hill, Fort Greene, Park Slope, Prospect Heights). West Village, Chelsea, Hells Kitchen are all better options for the single or childless who want to be near a ton of nightlife, with a kid you'll be paying a premium for less space to live in a busy, loud neighborhood.

ETA: And actually there are a ton of new buildings going up in downtown Brooklyn and also Long Island City that might be worth checking out... they will all have elevators and should guarantee a certain degree of cleanliness and upkeep, which seems important if you have a kid and is always hit or miss in older buildings.

RaceJudicata wrote:

1styearlateral wrote:

RaceJudicata wrote:

1styearlateral wrote:It's absolutely doable even with loans north of $200k, especially if your wife will be working.

West Village, Chelsea, and Hell's Kitchen are all good options in close proximity to where you'll be working.

Idk west village and Chelsea are WILDLY expensive. Upper west side may work w/ Times Square location.

UWS can be just as expensive. Idk I have clients that rent in WV/Chelsea and the prices aren't that bad. With biglaw, it's definitely doable; but if OP wants to rub nickels together then yeah those places aren't ideal.

Lol... rubbing nickels together? A decent 2br in either neighborhood is gonna be $3000+, so I don't think anyone is being "cheap." That said, you are going to get way more bang for your buck in UWS than west freakin village.

I agree with you, BUT: It's all relative. I don't think there even are any 2 bedrooms in Manhattan worth mentioning that are less than $3k. OP could spend $10k/mo. on a 2 bedroom. $3k is the bottom dollar... and I'm saying that there are definitely 2br $3k apts in the WV and surrounding area, you just have to get lucky and know where to look. People who live in those apts don't just give them up.

IMO, I'd be looking at JC/Hoboken/Weehawken. Way better bang for your buck; more space. My neighbors have kids, people in my building have kids. I'm paying sub-$3k with all amenities, and I got to work this morning in 30 min. door-to-door (I hit the morning commute lottery today).

1styearlateral wrote:

RaceJudicata wrote:

1styearlateral wrote:

RaceJudicata wrote:

1styearlateral wrote:It's absolutely doable even with loans north of $200k, especially if your wife will be working.

West Village, Chelsea, and Hell's Kitchen are all good options in close proximity to where you'll be working.

Idk west village and Chelsea are WILDLY expensive. Upper west side may work w/ Times Square location.

UWS can be just as expensive. Idk I have clients that rent in WV/Chelsea and the prices aren't that bad. With biglaw, it's definitely doable; but if OP wants to rub nickels together then yeah those places aren't ideal.

Lol... rubbing nickels together? A decent 2br in either neighborhood is gonna be $3000+, so I don't think anyone is being "cheap." That said, you are going to get way more bang for your buck in UWS than west freakin village.

I agree with you, BUT: It's all relative. I don't think there even are any 2 bedrooms in Manhattan worth mentioning that are less than $3k. OP could spend $10k/mo. on a 2 bedroom. $3k is the bottom dollar... and I'm saying that there are definitely 2br $3k apts in the WV and surrounding area, you just have to get lucky and know where to look. People who live in those apts don't just give them up.

IMO, I'd be looking at JC/Hoboken/Weehawken. Way better bang for your buck; more space. My neighbors have kids, people in my building have kids. I'm paying sub-$3k with all amenities, and I got to work this morning in 30 min. door-to-door (I hit the morning commute lottery today).

Lol if by "know where to look" you mean fraudulently take over someone's rent controlled apt, maybe. 3k in the WV maybe buys you a 500 sq ft 1br. These are some trump-esque lies--check out padmapper/zillow/streeteasy for real quotes. Anyway, done derailing this thread in re: WV real estate, but based on this I'd probably disregard anything this joker has to say.

OP here. So, just to provide some more info. My loans are going to be around $160k. I need two bedrooms. Wife won't be working much, at least in the beginning (right now she does event planning in Florida). In terms of budget, I was hoping to stay under $3,500. Also, what is UWS?

v5junior wrote:

1styearlateral wrote:

RaceJudicata wrote:

1styearlateral wrote:

RaceJudicata wrote:

1styearlateral wrote:It's absolutely doable even with loans north of $200k, especially if your wife will be working.

West Village, Chelsea, and Hell's Kitchen are all good options in close proximity to where you'll be working.

Idk west village and Chelsea are WILDLY expensive. Upper west side may work w/ Times Square location.

UWS can be just as expensive. Idk I have clients that rent in WV/Chelsea and the prices aren't that bad. With biglaw, it's definitely doable; but if OP wants to rub nickels together then yeah those places aren't ideal.

Lol... rubbing nickels together? A decent 2br in either neighborhood is gonna be $3000+, so I don't think anyone is being "cheap." That said, you are going to get way more bang for your buck in UWS than west freakin village.

I agree with you, BUT: It's all relative. I don't think there even are any 2 bedrooms in Manhattan worth mentioning that are less than $3k. OP could spend $10k/mo. on a 2 bedroom. $3k is the bottom dollar... and I'm saying that there are definitely 2br $3k apts in the WV and surrounding area, you just have to get lucky and know where to look. People who live in those apts don't just give them up.

IMO, I'd be looking at JC/Hoboken/Weehawken. Way better bang for your buck; more space. My neighbors have kids, people in my building have kids. I'm paying sub-$3k with all amenities, and I got to work this morning in 30 min. door-to-door (I hit the morning commute lottery today).

Lol if by "know where to look" you mean fraudulently take over someone's rent controlled apt, maybe. 3k in the WV maybe buys you a 500 sq ft 1br. These are some trump-esque lies--check out padmapper/zillow/streeteasy for real quotes. Anyway, done derailing this thread in re: WV real estate, but based on this I'd probably disregard anything this joker has to say.

lol please. No one is talking about breaking the law. I have a client that just last year rented a 3-br in the WV to three incoming first-year attorneys at $9,300/mo. Do the math. You don't need to live in a high-rise apt or Tribeca. OP said he wanted 2 bedrooms. No one specified how large. If he wants 1,200 sqft then he's probably SOL.

But what do I know.

Harvard_Naw wrote:OP here. So, just to provide some more info. My loans are going to be around $160k. I need two bedrooms. Wife won't be working much, at least in the beginning (right now she does event planning in Florida). In terms of budget, I was hoping to stay under $3,500. Also, what is UWS?

Upper West Side.

Harvard_Naw wrote:OP here. So, just to provide some more info. My loans are going to be around $160k. I need two bedrooms. Wife won't be working much, at least in the beginning (right now she does event planning in Florida). In terms of budget, I was hoping to stay under $3,500. Also, what is UWS?

Consider Hoboken/Jersey City, will be much more budget friendly, not an awful awful commute, and a WAY better place to have a young kid (Hoboken being better than JC in that regard).

What are other affordable and quiet neighborhoods in Manhattan like the UWS? Do you basically have to just keep going north of UWS?

Harvard_Naw wrote:OP here. So, just to provide some more info. My loans are going to be around $160k. I need two bedrooms. Wife won't be working much, at least in the beginning (right now she does event planning in Florida). In terms of budget, I was hoping to stay under $3,500. Also, what is UWS?

A 2br in Manhattan on one income with those loans is going to be a stretch. I'd be thinking Jersey or Queens. Jersey has the added huge benefit of no NYC income tax, but some places like Bro-boken and JC are just as expensive as NYC. It sounds like you know next to nothing about the city though, so I'd recommend spending some time here and checking out neighborhoods to get an idea of where you want to live and what you can afford.

.

Harvard_Naw wrote:OP here. So, just to provide some more info. My loans are going to be around $160k. I need two bedrooms. Wife won't be working much, at least in the beginning (right now she does event planning in Florida). In terms of budget, I was hoping to stay under $3,500. Also, what is UWS?

Yeah if you are committed to staying in Manhattan you'll basically have to go north of 120th Street on the west side or into Harlem to get a 2 BR for under $3500. Inwood is really pretty and quickly becoming a cool place for young families, but commute-wise you might as well move to Jersey and save yourself the city tax. You could also try and get a place around Columbia University (110th-125th), but the school owns a lot of the apartments in that area so supply for non-students/professors isn't great.

ClubberLang wrote:

Harvard_Naw wrote:OP here. So, just to provide some more info. My loans are going to be around $160k. I need two bedrooms. Wife won't be working much, at least in the beginning (right now she does event planning in Florida). In terms of budget, I was hoping to stay under $3,500. Also, what is UWS?

A 2br in Manhattan on one income with those loans is going to be a stretch. I'd be thinking Jersey or Queens. Jersey has the added huge benefit of no NYC income tax, but some places like Bro-boken and JC are just as expensive as NYC. It sounds like you know next to nothing about the city though, so I'd recommend spending some time here and checking out neighborhoods to get an idea of where you want to live and what you can afford.

Well, I know a little about the city. I lived there last summer and was able to get a feel for the different neighborhoods. I liked UWS and Brooklyn, and I would be willing to live in Hell's Kitchen if I could afford it. I didn't really care for Chelsea, at least for my family. Last summer I lived in midtown east and it was fine. The thing is, I lived in a second-floor walkup for $1,500 per month. So, I really have no idea what pricing is like for the apartments that include the features I need (2 bedroom, elevator). I've called a few realtors and it's hard to know whether they're being truthful or looking to make a buck. Additionally, I really know next to nothing about anywhere outside of the city. At this point, it might be best to take a trip to NYC and take a look at the types of apartments that are in my price range both in and outside of the city.

Harvard_Naw wrote:

ClubberLang wrote:

Harvard_Naw wrote:OP here. So, just to provide some more info. My loans are going to be around $160k. I need two bedrooms. Wife won't be working much, at least in the beginning (right now she does event planning in Florida). In terms of budget, I was hoping to stay under $3,500. Also, what is UWS?

A 2br in Manhattan on one income with those loans is going to be a stretch. I'd be thinking Jersey or Queens. Jersey has the added huge benefit of no NYC income tax, but some places like Bro-boken and JC are just as expensive as NYC. It sounds like you know next to nothing about the city though, so I'd recommend spending some time here and checking out neighborhoods to get an idea of where you want to live and what you can afford.

Well, I know a little about the city. I lived there last summer and was able to get a feel for the different neighborhoods. I liked UWS and Brooklyn, and I would be willing to live in Hell's Kitchen if I could afford it. I didn't really care for Chelsea, at least for my family. Last summer I lived in midtown east and it was fine. The thing is, I lived in a second-floor walkup for $1,500 per month. So, I really have no idea what pricing is like for the apartments that include the features I need (2 bedroom, elevator). I've called a few realtors and it's hard to know whether they're being truthful or looking to make a buck. Additionally, I really know next to nothing about anywhere outside of the city. At this point, it might be best to take a trip to NYC and take a look at the types of apartments that are in my price range both in and outside of the city.

I think thats a very good idea. In addition to manhattan neighborhoods (probably unattainable for what you want -- or at least, a gem in the rough), check out Hoboken... it has a ton of young families. Can get expensive, but will certainly get more for your money there. commute can get hairy, but commute will suck from different boroughs as well (depending on proximity to train, etc.).

As a datapoint for you, I pay $2950 for a nicer 5th floor one bedroom walk up in north Hell's Kitchen. A two bedroom elevator building for 3500 is going to be tough in manhattan. And lol at the west village for that.