Moving to NYC with a toddler

Jun 2, 2020 32 Comments

I have a potential job offer from Bloomberg and considering a move to NYC from Midwest. While I know it's a good decision for my career, I am not sure about family. In my early 30's and have a toddler. My main concern is decrease in quality of life due to the rants I read online about how busy NYC is and bad for families.
Could anyone share thoughts or experiences? Also which places around NYC would be ideal for living for families. I don't mind upto 1 hr of commute.
#tech
#NYC

Current TC : 130-135K
Have not got offer yet. So no numbers to share.

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TOP 32 Comments
  • Midwest is strongly rooted in community. You have space for kids to play and be isolated from craziness of the world. NY on the other hand is this fast paced, space constrained world where you’re always hustling. You should do a COL comparison for eg. 150k in Atlanta is 250k in NY..

    As someone who has lived at both places. I’d pick Midwest over NY any day - specially in my 30s. NY is great when you’re 21 and want to live it up.
    Jun 2, 2020 0
  • Data Foundry / Sales
    salesstrat

    Go to company page Data Foundry Sales

    salesstrat
    Without more detail it's hard to weigh in. If you want an hour or less commute, TC will need to be around $250k, that will afford you a middle class life in a near by suburb (near by defined as 1hour). If you want a great school district, then up the TC to $500k. Most of those neighborhoods are $1mm home prices and above. You can obviously find outliers.
    Jun 2, 2020 3
    • Current TC is around 135k. What would be the rent estimate of for a 2 bhk in family neighbourhood areas.
      Jun 2, 2020
    • Data Foundry / Sales
      salesstrat

      Go to company page Data Foundry Sales

      salesstrat
      That varies greatly from area to area, proximity to the city, schools, amenities. A two bedroom apartment will most likely range $3-4k. A house probably more. I saw someone else mention this, avoid fee brokers. Most buildings you can rent directly from.
      Jun 2, 2020
  • If you get an offer, I bet HR can put you in contact with someone to talk to who has kids. Right now the offices are closed and no word on when they will reopen. You could live outside the city. Look at MTA North that goes from Grand Central or the PATH train in nj. It would also be good to know the exact office. Oneis right outside Grand Central. The others two are within a mile north. There is also a princton office in NJ and data centers somewhere.
    Jun 2, 2020 8
  • Covid has made things tough, but otherwise I think NYC is one of the best places to raise a family. There are tons of enrichment opportunities - museums, after school activities, classes etc. If you have young kids, there are tons of playgrounds with a wide variety of equipment. And people complain about the schools, but honestly even the "bad" schools have more resources and funding than most towns in flyover country (I grew up in one). People project their anxieties; see for yourself and make your own decisions.
    Jun 2, 2020 4
    • Depending on TC, upper east side would be the obvious choice for convenience and family friendliness, with access to central park. I will caution that the cheaper properties are ~15-20 min walk from the park, which is enough discentive that you won't go a ton. For other places in Manhattan, you'd probably want to stay on the east side. Crossing town west to east is annoyingly difficult.

      If you're working at Bbg, most places in Queens would be pretty convenient. Forest Hills is very family friendly. Or as others mentioned, you can take the metro north and commute easily from Westchester or Connecticut. You'll pay a lot in property tax and commute, so YMMV
      Jun 2, 2020
    • AMD
      RpPv60

      Go to company page AMD

      RpPv60
      Yeah but did your dad make 130k? I would never live in NYC past 28 without being very wealthy.
      Jun 2, 2020
  • Google
    gwTm37

    Go to company page Google

    gwTm37
    You'd need to make roughly $400k to keep similar quality of life at $135k in midwest. Let us know what the offer is.
    Jun 3, 2020 5