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Forum -> Inquiries & Offers -> Moving/ Relocating

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levial

Tue, Aug 19 2008, 4:02 pm

My family and I are relocating to NY. I will have a limited (3 months) time to either fly back and forth or have a corporate apartment, then I need to be moved. I grew up in Cleveland, and we relocated to a small Jewish community. While we are overjoyed to be returning to all the amenities..we are overwhelmed.

I have started to do as much research as I can on the internet. Here are my thoughts on what's important to us. Can you advise places I may have overlooked? My intention is to spend as many shabbatot as I can at a focused number so we can find the right place for us.

Important things:
1.) I'll be in midtown - close to Grand Central. No more than 1 hour commute.
2.) Warm synagogue. I'd describe our style as modern orthodox. (I cover my hair with a shaytel) My husband is Yemenite, so he'd enjoy a Yemenite shul, but we're open to Sephardic or Ashkenaz - the important thing as other posters have said- we're looking for a warm and friendly place
3.) "Close" to amenities. I have a 3 year old- so we'd like to not live 45 minutes drive from schools, restaurants, kosher stores.
4.) I grew up in Beachwood, OH. Lots of trees, private houses, privacy. I'm worried we might be culturally shocked by say, Brooklyn. (financially shocked too)
5.) What am I not considering?

So far I'm interested in / short list is -
New Rochelle (so we'll be the poorest family there..)
White plains (but concerned about proximity to amenities)
Hollis Hills, Queens (we have friends there)

I have no ideas about New Jersey, so please give an opinion. I really appreciate your help.

mummiedearest

Tue, Aug 19 2008, 4:06 pm

are you looking for an apartment or a house?

do you know how much you are willing to spend per month on rent/mortgage?

I only know brooklyn, so I guess my advice wouldn't help you.
you can contact the shuls in the areas you look into for info, they often have websites.

Mimisinger

Tue, Aug 19 2008, 4:10 pm

We love kew Gardens Hills. Every amenity you will ever need - 37 shuls in the community with every hashkafa, group, etc. From MO to chassidish, ashkenaz, bucharian, sepharic, israeli, and then some. Schools abound. Housing is expensive, but so is everywhere else in NY. It's a great community

Tamiri

Tue, Aug 19 2008, 4:18 pm

New Jersey is very nice. Very. Compared to living in the city. You have lovely communities with decent sized homes, nice yards, friendly people and a suburban feel, even though you are 25 minutes from NYC (without traffic, of course). You can check out:
Passaic
Teaneck/Bergenfield/Englewood
West Orange/Livingston
Elizabeth and surrounding area

You may be pleasantly surprised, especially coming from out of town.

levial

Tue, Aug 19 2008, 4:30 pm

We would prefer a house. I'm guessing 400- 600K. I'd rent for a while if I have to...

If you can, tell me how far the commute is to Manhattan from the places you recommend.

mummiedearest

Tue, Aug 19 2008, 4:37 pm

you can get a house in marine park for that amount. about an hour by train commute (depending on exact location. it may be a bit more.)
somewhat cheaper than "flatbush, flatbush" but close enough to have all the perks.

Tamiri

Tue, Aug 19 2008, 5:03 pm

levial wrote:

We would prefer a house. I'm guessing 400- 600K. I'd rent for a while if I have to...

If you can, tell me how far the commute is to Manhattan from the places you recommend.

Commutes from NJ depend on a lot of things. Since I never did it myself, I can't respond. However, on a Sunday morning with no traffic, you can get from West Orange to Midtown in 25 minutes. Elizabeth, Passaic, and the Teaneck areas may be an easier commute, but I am not sure.
Why don't you look up the shul lists for these communities, and just ask whatever you want?
Go to www.yahoogroups.com and do a search for Teaneck shuls, Fairlawn shuls, West Orange shuls etc. Sign up for the groups and ask away!

amother

Tue, Aug 19 2008, 6:21 pm

I second kew gardens hills. Tons of shuls, a good mix of sefardim and ashkenazim, and not a lot of pressure to keep up with the Jonses. Plus its a half hour to 45 min. commute to midtown by train or express bus.

Mimisinger

Tue, Aug 19 2008, 7:41 pm

only prob. with KGH is you're not getting a detached house for $400-600. But you can get a big row house for that.

smalka

Tue, Aug 19 2008, 9:36 pm

How about Connecticut? Stamford or Fairfield are two areas you might want to look into. Stamford is closer to Grand Central, but more expensive than Fairfield. If you PM me I can give you more info.

octopus

Tue, Aug 19 2008, 9:46 pm

Did you ever think of greatneck? I don't know how commute-wise how that would work.

levial

Wed, Aug 20 2008, 7:20 pm

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'm trying to figure out the places I might be missing, too, so be more specific if you can or PM me if you'd prefer - picture little me doing internet searches, coming up with hundreds of shuls...then mapquesting, trying to figure commute (which is not reality) or doing hopstop.com to figure trains out - then looking on zillow.com to see the cost of houses for sale around shuls, and in the end, missing a good neighborhood. . . or not understanding how close a city is or isn't...

For those in Kew Gardens - a row house - do you feel it is noisy- or close proximity equals nosy neighbors...I can't tell if it is just my imagination that it would be like livingi n an apartment where you can hear everyone's comings and goings...or if the type of people who live there, plus the construction means that it's minimal or same as a regular detached house. Also, is it street parking, then in KGH?

Ok, now I feel like a complete Rube (spelling?) and will stop type-babbling.

mummiedearest

Wed, Aug 20 2008, 7:28 pm

propertyshark.com is a great site, btw.

mir

Wed, Aug 20 2008, 7:35 pm

I strongly reccomend you look into waterbury,ct. I think it includes everything you are looking for in a community, shul, schools, kosher amenities ,etc. I know that firsthand. Check out the website for the new up-and-coming community there- its www.blueridgewaterbury.com. Good Luck!

Mimisinger

Wed, Aug 20 2008, 7:35 pm

levial wrote:

Ok, firstly it's Kew Garden Hills I was talking about. Kew Gardens has Jews, but is not the same community-wise at all. If you're looking for the HUGE community and accomodations, KGH is where it's at. As for a row house. We lived in one and had quiet neighbors. One we never heard, ever, the other, we only heard if they were having a family get together in the back yard, which rarely happened. Neighbors in this community tend to get along. I think a lot of noise from neighbors comes when they're above or below you, esp. above. So in a row house, there's no one there and the walls are thick, so you don't really hear anything. Row houses always come with a driveway, either in back of the house or in front and there is street parking as well. Not really any construction, plus it depends on the street you are on. We were on a busy street so during the day home with ds, there was a lot of noise because we were a half a block away from a supermarket so all the trucks kept dropping stuff off all day. If you're on the next block over, there's no traffic and no noise. It depends.

amother

Wed, Aug 20 2008, 11:40 pm

levial wrote:

We would prefer a house. I'm guessing 400- 600K. I'd rent for a while if I have to...

If you can, tell me how far the commute is to Manhattan from the places you recommend.

You could get a house in New Rochelle or White Plains for that money. Both have warm MO shuls, but the emphasis here is on Modern; unless there's a shul I'm not thinking of, you're not going to find a lot of sheitl-wearers. Most women I know in both communities don't cover their hair (or don't cover it fully), and wear pants.

NR has a lot more in the way of amenities than WP -- kosher stores and restaurants. WP has nothing. Of course, this is NY; you can find most kosher foods that you need in the regular supermarkets.

In terms of schools, I'm sure both have nursery schools. Beyond that, Schechter is in White Plains (through 5th grade; the middle and high schools are in Hartsdale, which is nearby). Other than that, most people send their kids to Westchester-Fairfield in Connecticut, Westchester Day in Mamaroneck or SAR in Riverdale. Less modern, you're going to have to go to Breuers in Washington Heights or Yeshiva Ketana in Manhattan, or I guess the other direction to Monsey. None of these schools are all that close, but there are dozens upon dozens of kids from those areas in the MO schools I mentioned; NR pays for busing.

The commute is really going to depend upon how far you live from the train station. Metro North runs express from White Plains to Grand Central, making it a really easy commute. I'm not sure about the trains from NR, but Metro North is usually an easy ride.

Anonymous, because I prefer that people not know where I live.

nylon

Mon, Aug 25 2008, 10:20 pm

Are you sure that budget will be enough anywhere in Westchester? It would be VERY tough on LI (there are several nice modern communities here but most are more expensive than that).

Have you factored in taxes? I don't know NJ but New York (outside the city) has high property tax. Parts of Nassau are $12K a year on a $500K house.

levial

Fri, Aug 29 2008, 2:04 pm

Ok, thank you for the considerations- the taxes are close to what we have in current location, and I appreciate the thoughts about community/ level of observance. Not being FFB, I'm fairly tolerant...

What about New Jersey area? There is a possibility of job not being in manhattan now - but in Florham Park.

ShakleeMom

Fri, Aug 29 2008, 4:48 pm

Teaneck/Bergenfield/Englewood is a very warm community and very diverse. It would be easy to commute, easy to find a school, shul, etc. and they're all online!

shabri

Sat, Aug 30 2008, 3:08 pm

Have you thought about West Hempstead on LI? Its a really nice community, abt a 45 minute train ride to Manhattan. I always thought of it as an out of own community in town. There are shuls (3 of them), schools and eateries and its also close to the 5 towns with tons of kosher things

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