Question for New York, Connecticut, New York people

[Smittie61984]

*EDIT* I mean NEW JERSEY too.

My girlfriend is about to graduate college and has 3 potential jobs. 1 is in Atlanta, one in Chicago and one in New York. I'll be moving with her if she goes to Chicago or New York but I know little about the cities. She is from Chicago so I'm covered there. New York is the one I'm curious about.

She'll be working in the Financial Disctrict in south NYC. She recently was flown up to NYC for her 2nd round job interview so there is a good chance she'll get the job. I'm not sure how much she'll make but I'm guessing roughly $50-80k (though I'm not sure how different cost of living is than ATL and how it affects pay). We'd also only be there for 1.5-2years before moving to Chicago. I'll be continuing school full time for another year and a half so I'll bring in little income.

Okay so that's the basic info. Here are my questions/issues/curiosities
- What are good areas to live (in NY, NJ, CT)
- We've considered CT but would be in Stamford area. Is that area just too expensive of an area and how hard would it be for her to get to work
- Does NJ really suck that much worse than NY?
- Is NYC easily accessed from New Jersey
- I'll have guns
- Dog friendly areas?
- any good mountain (street motorcycle and off-road bicycle) riding nearbye?
- What are the areas to avoid at all costs
- Good suburban areas
- avg cost of 2bed apt rental
- I'll have a truck and motorcycle along iwth her having a car

I'm sure I'll think of more later. Appreciate any info

[tommymac]

I live on long island and work in brooklyn and the bronx.

Living in the burbs isnt bad but is a lil pricey in some places, plus youre a slave to mass transit to get to downtown manhattan, although thats the same with jersey.

As for the guns, make sure the paperwork is all legit, not many have concealed carry permits here and they are not easy to get. if yo uhave vehicles stay out of manhattan since parking is a nightmare, the outer boros are a little better, but is still a major PITA and you will PAY if you want private parking.

If you look into LI LMK since I can tell ya what areas/towns to avoid

Tom

[Smittie61984]

Originally Posted by tommymac

If you look into LI LMK since I can tell ya what areas/towns to avoid

Tom

LI = Long Island?
LMK = ?

We'd consider Long Island but normally when I hear "Island" I think expensive. It'd only be for 2 years so I could "suffer" for 2 years before we move to Chicago (burbs). We both aren't excited to move to NY. Infact she pretty much had her fill staying in Times Square for 1 day. We're hoping for Chicago or Atlanta but want to be prepared way ahead of time if she takes the job.

I'm guessing 30-40miles out is the farthest we'd live (but may make exception for CT). Transit is no problem, it's gotta be better than MARTA (Atlanta's transit). So as long as the rail lines are fairly safe then she should be okay with commuting to NYC from a good distance away.

Oh yeah. Taxes, Tolls, and any other hidden stuff.

Rider: I figured CT would be what you said. But the more liberty a state has the better I like it.

Plus can you buy beer on Sunday or 24hours (NY,NJ,CT)?

Thanks for the help peoples

[tommymac]

Originally Posted by Smittie61984

LI = Long Island?
LMK = ?

We'd consider Long Island but normally when I hear "Island" I think expensive. It'd only be for 2 years so I could "suffer" for 2 years before we move to Chicago (burbs). We both aren't excited to move to NY. Infact she pretty much had her fill staying in Times Square for 1 day. We're hoping for Chicago or Atlanta but want to be prepared way ahead of time if she takes the job.

I'm guessing 30-40miles out is the farthest we'd live (but may make exception for CT). Transit is no problem, it's gotta be better than MARTA (Atlanta's transit). So as long as the rail lines are fairly safe then she should be okay with commuting to NYC from a good distance away.

Oh yeah. Taxes, Tolls, and any other hidden stuff.

Rider: I figured CT would be what you said. But the more liberty a state has the better I like it.

Plus can you buy beer on Sunday or 24hours (NY,NJ,CT)?

Thanks for the help peoples

LI is long island

LMK is let me know

Some parts of nassau and suffolk are uber expensive but many are normal suburban areas. Not sure on current rental prices but we had a 2br with driveway that started out at 1450 amonth, so decent rentals can be found and making 50 to 80k you can live comfortably.

Good question on the beer, I know it used to be you couldnt buy beer from 4am to noon on sundays but I think thats changed.

If you guys rent you wont be hit with many taxes, also if you live in NYC you have to pay city tax, and there are a fair amount of tolls here and theyre NOT cheap however you can get into NYC for free over the 59th st bridge and a few other bridges.

[pauldun170]

Originally Posted by Smittie61984

LI = Long Island?
LMK = ?

We'd consider Long Island but normally when I hear "Island" I think expensive. It'd only be for 2 years so I could "suffer" for 2 years before we move to Chicago (burbs). We both aren't excited to move to NY. Infact she pretty much had her fill staying in Times Square for 1 day. We're hoping for Chicago or Atlanta but want to be prepared way ahead of time if she takes the job.

I'm guessing 30-40miles out is the farthest we'd live (but may make exception for CT). Transit is no problem, it's gotta be better than MARTA (Atlanta's transit). So as long as the rail lines are fairly safe then she should be okay with commuting to NYC from a good distance away.

Oh yeah. Taxes, Tolls, and any other hidden stuff.

Rider: I figured CT would be what you said. But the more liberty a state has the better I like it.

Plus can you buy beer on Sunday or 24hours (NY,NJ,CT)?

Thanks for the help peoples

Times Square is a crap. Anywhere where tourists congregate is crap.
Its a totally different story once you leave the tourist traps.

If you are not going to be here for to long. Queens and Brooklyn offer a lot of relatively inexpensive rentals and plenty of spots you do not need a car. Best way to get around is by foot or train. Cabs are usually a waste...unless its party time.

[Homeslice]

Originally Posted by Smittie61984

We'd consider Long Island but normally when I hear "Island" I think expensive.

Well, Queens and Brooklyn are on the Island as well, and a lot of that is ghetto.

IMO if you work in Manhattan but live in some generic NJ suburb, you'll end up kicking yourself later in life for not living on Manhattan. Sure, maybe you'll need roomates but who cares, it's only 1-2 years.

[derf]

Oh yeh, leave the guns at home, if you wanna live in the city, you wont be able to get them legal within 1-2 years. Look in brooklyn, easy to get into the city from, probably more affordable than NJ or LI (if you add in taxes, commuting, car costs and all the other junk).

If you live in NYC dont get a car, its really more hastle than its worth unless you need to use it on a daily basis, the mass transit system is pretty good. If you are gonna keep the bike, leave it registered wherever you are, and buy a lojack for it.

Housing is gonna be expensive, figure $2k per month anywhere you go, including utilities.

And you better get a job too, you wont be able to afford to like on 40k.

[vickibocc]

I grew up in NJ so I can do the best I can to help you there. I love Jersey. People talk trash, but I'm from central NJ where most things are normal. A lot of people commute to NYC from central jersey but it would be a bit longer. There are trains obviously that will cut it down, but by car, she's be looking at about 40-45 min commute. A 2 bedroom apartment will run you anywhere between $1000-$1800 depending on where and what you're looking for.

Princeton is a really nice town but very pricey. Right outside of Princeton is where I grew up, a township called South Brunswick, which is very close to Rutgers. Really anywhere in central jersey would be good (Counties: Middlesex, Mercer, and Monmouth). North jersey is where the guidos are. South jersey is all Philly fans, and I would say too far for a daily commute.

What is expensive in NJ is property tax, so if you'll only be there for 2 years or so, it would be a good place to be since you won't be buying.

Surviving on 80K, very possible. My mom recently bought a new construction home on that salary (she's single..it is a small house though). My dad probably has double that salary and has a bigger house on about an acre, my step mom doesn't work, and they have a 5 year old. So I think you guys would be fine on that salary, just hope its more than 50k, that would be a little tight for 2 people.

[Smittie61984]

Originally Posted by derf

Oh yeh, leave the guns at home, if you wanna live in the city, you wont be able to get them legal within 1-2 years.

NYC can just suck that one. The only time NYC will know about my guns is if I need to use them. At that point I won't really give a crap if I have to spend some time in jail to save my or my gf's life. Anyways I'll probably put my place of residence at my parents home in Georgia so no need for emissions and bullshit like that. I'll keep my GA tags.

Vehicle is very necesarry. I have a small side pressure washing business here and if I do move to New York/Jersey I plan to do work up there with it as I go to school. I'll need a truck to pull my trailer. Plus I do a lot of mountain biking, triathlons, etc so I need to travel from the city a bunch.

Firefighting is on the table for me when it comes to a job. It was the route I was going to go before I started school.

I looked into the taxes. New York I believe was 6.85% for her taxable income. Federal should be 25% but I think more realistically 17% since I think Federal works off of a piecewise formula. I didn't look into the city tax.

We'd really like to just rent a room and if we go to NY we'll look into that more

But as I said it's very unlikely that we'll move to New York. The only reason we would is if she for some reason didn't get an offer on the other 2 jobs that she would much prefer.

[pauldun170]

Originally Posted by Homeslice

Well, Queens and Brooklyn are on the Island as well, and a lot of that is ghetto.

Um....that would be a big no.

Originally Posted by Homeslice

IMO if you work in Manhattan but live in some generic NJ suburb, you'll end up kicking yourself later in life for not living on Manhattan. Sure, maybe you'll need roomates but who cares, it's only 1-2 years.

Agreed...especially with rents still low