Updated: Moving to NYC/Rent Thread

[Deleted]

Sept 17, 2012 16:32:55 GMT -5 rdgove said:

To answer a few questions:
We estimate that with two kids, we will be using taxis a decent amount rather than the subways since I get uncomfortable bringing them on the subways alone sometimes and taxis make it really easy. Of course, this will depend on where we end up living in the city, but again, I wanted to be conservative and not underestimate.

I'm always curious about this. Do you use a car seat in the taxi?

[fbf2006]

I think you can afford the $5,000 rent you proposed. I like Roosevelt Island and yes, the area around Columbia is pretty decent too. Where will you both be commuting to though?

[fbf2006]

Sept 17, 2012 16:36:30 GMT -5 dbsk8dance said:

Sept 17, 2012 16:32:55 GMT -5 rdgove said:

To answer a few questions:
We estimate that with two kids, we will be using taxis a decent amount rather than the subways since I get uncomfortable bringing them on the subways alone sometimes and taxis make it really easy. Of course, this will depend on where we end up living in the city, but again, I wanted to be conservative and not underestimate.

I'm always curious about this. Do you use a car seat in the taxi?

No, I don't think the people I know use car seats in taxis.

[SJ]

I think you can afford to pay $5,000 in rent and I am glad you have some locations in mind.

It sounds like this move would be great for your family and 50% tuition discount is enormous.

[Deleted]

I would hate NJ 7 miles from the Lincoln Tunnel too.

[GailGoldie]

Sept 17, 2012 16:43:07 GMT -5 @iheartcosmos said:

I would hate NJ 7 miles from the Lincoln Tunnel too.

me, too. I live in NJ, about 30 miles from the lincoln tunnel and love it... 7 miles? not so much.

it seems like you know everythign about where you want to go- so i'm not sure why you are asking questions on here.

[fbf2006]

I think she was asking if they could afford $5,000 for rent, not where they could find rentals for that amount.

[Deleted]

I feel sad that you were put in a position where you felt that you had to defend yourself. Grr to that.

I hope that you guys will be able to find a place you love

[Deleted]

Sept 17, 2012 16:46:12 GMT -5 GailGoldie said:

Sept 17, 2012 16:43:07 GMT -5 @iheartcosmos said:

I would hate NJ 7 miles from the Lincoln Tunnel too.

me, too. I live in NJ, about 30 miles from the lincoln tunnel and love it... 7 miles? not so much.

it seems like you know everythign about where you want to go- so i'm not sure why you are asking questions on here.

Basically this.

Also, I think its hilarious that I live much further away and my commute is 1:15. It's all about the express bus.

[Deleted]

Sept 17, 2012 16:44:08 GMT -5 carrotsmakemefat said:

Did someone flame you for low charitable contributions? Am I missing something?

Several people did!!!

[kershnic]

I would hate living where you live now too (I probably live about 6 miles from you.) Roosevelt Island or Harlem would be great. I think the suggestions of Park Slope/Brooklyn Heights/Jersey City are also good depending on where your two jobs are. If your H works downtown, BK or JC (at Grove Street is a nice area) are shorter commutes than where you mentioned. And yes, you can afford 5k/month, but it seems like you already know that, so maybe that's why we're chatting about other things...

[Deleted]

I like that people are talking about Roosevelt Island like it's a real place and not an urban legend/elaborate hoax

[Deleted]

Sept 17, 2012 17:27:43 GMT -5 jenny1980 said:

If you can find places you like within a budget that works for you, that sounds awesome.

I swear I am not trying to be snarky, but I guess I am now puzzled as to what the original question was.

We all are.

[LoveTrains]

I was concerned about the daycare/private school item, but I'm not now that you explained it. That is great they offer such a nice discount to teachers.

[dexteroni]

I understood what the original question was - "how much of $5k should we spend on rent?" And my answer, as well as many others, was "more than $5k." If you had specific prices and neighborhoods, it would have been helpful to mention both of those things rather than the generic "a very family friendly area" so we knew where you were coming from. From your OP it honestly didn't sound like you had a good idea of what the market was like.

But why even ask an open ended question like "how much of $5k should we spend?" when you know apartments are $4k - $5k. A better question would have been "we have $5k left over, and based on the apartments we've been finding, we would need spend at least $4k if not all $5k on rent. Do you think that's ok given the rest of our budget?" Being vague and not asking your actual question gets you answers like the ones you got.

[vmars]

Can you try and live in NJ until your kids are out of day care? That would free up a lot of money to rent a nicer place. Also, are your planning to buy in the city? That would influence my decision as well. I'd maybe rent a cheaper place for a while so I could save for a house down payment later.

[315bride]

I can't even believe that someone would question your charitable contributions.

Did the OP get deleted? I am trying to see what info I am forgetting here.

I guess I was one of the ones who didn't understand your original intent. If you already know of apartments in your price range, that's awesome. Roosevelt Island is really cool. Those Manhattan-facing apartments do have great views.

[cilantro]

First, I'm sorry you're getting judged so much. People have a lot of balls to tell you what you should and shouldn't be contributing to charity.

Second, I am curious to hear how much savings you have. Honestly, saving $700 out of $17000 would make me nauseous. If you have so much in savings that this doesn't bother you, could you buy a place?

Also, as someone who has lived in inconvenient Jersey, super convenient Jersey (Hoboken), Manhattan, Queens and Roosevelt Island, I totally understand wanting to leave inconvenient Jersey. However, you'd really want to go to Rosie again? There's a reason people didn't even come up with that as an option when you talked about moving to the city -- it's so barren, it barely crosses people's minds. And it's not exactly super convenient to real Manhattan. Does it even have more than that diner and Chinese place yet?

[fbf2006]

Roosevelt Island is not that barren. When were you there last?

[cilantro]

Sept 17, 2012 19:04:47 GMT -5 fbf2006 said:

Roosevelt Island is not that barren. When were you there last?

I confess, probably 2004 - 2005?

[cricketwife]

Sept 17, 2012 17:48:13 GMT -5 @iheartcosmos said:

Sept 17, 2012 17:27:43 GMT -5 jenny1980 said:

If you can find places you like within a budget that works for you, that sounds awesome.

I swear I am not trying to be snarky, but I guess I am now puzzled as to what the original question was.

We all are.

I'm having trouble understanding exactly what you're asking as well.

But I want to come in as the one who started the whole charitable contributions thing and apologize that it led to something that seems to have made you feel attacked (if I'm interrupting your posts correctly.) I also want to say that I saw a potential budget, with multiple line items and the only question in the post was "What say you MM?" I apparently misconstrued the purpose of your post.

With the information you provided, your ~ 1/2% charitable giving did seem low to me.

I also want to point out that I started with a suggestion on how to get what you wanted, with the income that you listed.

So even though I feel like my post was justified, I truly apologize that I started something that ended up as a big thing that turned ugly.

[spankswife]

not sure if this was mentioned - but I wouldn't want to rent my whole life and then have no asset when I retire, like you mentioned in previous post. Paying off the mortgage is part of many people's retirement plans, so they have a home to live in or a nest egg to downsize with. Especially not on your budget, you are easily throwing $1M+ out the window.... I can't emphasize this enough.

[Deleted]

Sept 17, 2012 20:32:25 GMT -5 spankswife said:

not sure if this was mentioned - but I wouldn't want to rent my whole life and then have no asset when I retire, like you mentioned in previous post. Paying off the mortgage is part of many people's retirement plans, so they have a home to live in or a nest egg to downsize with. Especially not on your budget, you are easily throwing $1M+ out the window.... I can't emphasize this enough.

I heartily disagree.

[Deleted]

Sept 17, 2012 20:32:25 GMT -5 spankswife said:

not sure if this was mentioned - but I wouldn't want to rent my whole life and then have no asset when I retire, like you mentioned in previous post. Paying off the mortgage is part of many people's retirement plans, so they have a home to live in or a nest egg to downsize with. Especially not on your budget, you are easily throwing $1M+ out the window.... I can't emphasize this enough.

And all those people who foreclosed on their homes over the past few years? (and even more who are tens or hundreds of thousands underwater but can afford payments) ...I'm thinking their home ownership cost them a ton more than renting would have.

[chia]

Sept 17, 2012 19:06:14 GMT -5 cilantro said:

Sept 17, 2012 19:04:47 GMT -5 fbf2006 said:

Roosevelt Island is not that barren. When were you there last?

I confess, probably 2004 - 2005?

I visited a friend there around that time, and it was so creepy!

[spankswife]

hmmm....maybe you both are right and I am blinded by the fact that I am stuck in my house. I guess my goal is to not have a housing payment once I retire. Perhaps this is more personal, didn't mean to offend. I guess I imagine if they paid $5k a month towards a mortgage, they would have a million dollar asset at the end, at a minimum they would have a roof over their head with no monthly payment. What they pay for it and how much it appreciates is a gamble, as is rental rates in 30 years...I really don't mean that snarky, I just don't have that experience to compare...

OP - if you can afford it, go for it! It sounds like you would like to and it will work for your family. If it doesn't, move back. There could be worse things.

[hocus]

I generally concur that I don't really see the question, given your follow up. Overall I think my biggest issue is that you left out private school. In your original post you mentioned family friendly Manhattan. To mean that means Manhattan (not RI) with a good school district which rules out much of Harlem. THere is nothing wrong with your budget if that is your question. It sounds like you know where you want to live and can find options there that meet your needs so good luck to you! It is important to be in a location you like.

However if you considering Harlem then I think you should consider parts of brooklyn and queens. They might have even better commutes than harlem and bigger and cheaper places. I'd basically look everywhere within a 30 min subway ride to work that has apartments in your range. You might also want to consider buying since you plan to stay long term. Our where I live you can get a really nce 3Bed/2Bath for 500K-600K and that would make your monthly payment below 5000 a month if you got a good mortgage rate.

[zacksbride]

Sept 17, 2012 21:00:09 GMT -5 spankswife said:

hmmm....maybe you both are right and I am blinded by the fact that I am stuck in my house. I guess my goal is to not have a housing payment once I retire. Perhaps this is more personal, didn't mean to offend. I guess I imagine if they paid $5k a month towards a mortgage, they would have a million dollar asset at the end, at a minimum they would have a roof over their head with no monthly payment. What they pay for it and how much it appreciates is a gamble, as is rental rates in 30 years...I really don't mean that snarky, I just don't have that experience to compare...

OP - if you can afford it, go for it! It sounds like you would like to and it will work for your family. If it doesn't, move back. There could be worse things.

that's assuming they can purchase a 3Bd/2Ba apt in Manhattan for 1 million - doubtful, IMO. I would guess 1 bedrooms go for about a million in a lot of places in Manhattan

[rdgove]

I should have phrased my original question better; I wanted to know two things, really:

1. With the budget I posted, would MM feel comfortable using all the leftover money on rent? If not, what would be a better option?

2. In the enclosed budget, did I forget something important? While I understand that some of our spending choices might be controversial, I am most worried about ignoring or overlooking something huge.

I really appreciate the comments so far.

To clarify, Roosevelt Island is awesome. The tram is a great way to get to midtown. DH works two blocks from the tram, so that would be perfect for him. I would take the subway to my school. There is daycare right there plus shopping and restaurants, and midtown is literally 15 min away. Plus, the views can not be beat.

Most people who live in Manhattan never buy property and while we may one day buy a vacation property (unlikely), it is not in our long-term plans (if we live in the city). Plus we want to have the flexibility to move back to the suburbs later if we need/want to.

Kids do not need carseats in taxis; only if you are bringing home a baby from the hospital in a cab do you absolutely need one.

We have about $25,000 in savings right now. If we choose to move to the city, we would also sell our cars and most of our big furniture in our house, so we would add another $20,000 right there. Due to our investments and the ability to easily downsize our spending, we have never seen the need to keep tons of money in low-interest savings accts.

[Deleted]

Sept 17, 2012 21:00:09 GMT -5 spankswife said:

hmmm....maybe you both are right and I am blinded by the fact that I am stuck in my house. I guess my goal is to not have a housing payment once I retire. Perhaps this is more personal, didn't mean to offend. I guess I imagine if they paid $5k a month towards a mortgage, they would have a million dollar asset at the end, at a minimum they would have a roof over their head with no monthly payment. What they pay for it and how much it appreciates is a gamble, as is rental rates in 30 years...I really don't mean that snarky, I just don't have that experience to compare...

OP - if you can afford it, go for it! It sounds like you would like to and it will work for your family. If it doesn't, move back. There could be worse things.

Buying a house still costs money. We will pay end up paying double what our mortgage loan is for, on account of interest, over the life of the loan. Renting makes more financial sense for some people.