Moving from London to New York- HELP PLEASE

[Newjobformoremoney]

Hi all,
In a bit of a whirlwind week it seems highly likely that we are relocating to New York for 6 months. Its all a bit overwhelming.
We have a dog that we'd take with us, has anyone done that and can recommend a service? Schooling? How do we manage that? We have a 5 year old and ideally I would cut my hours to PT (visa depending).
Apartment would be sorted by the company I think, but they have a few so does anyone recommend a good family friendly area?
What else should I be thinking about? What should I be thinking about? Any advice? Any good links?
They'd like us to move in January.... which feels very soon!
Any words of wisdom?

@Newjobformoremoney Around $8k per month would be fine - not somewhere crazy expensive like Tribeca/West Village/Greenwich Village, but you could get a nice 3 bed or a 2 bed with a home office which is pet friendly in most of Manhattan. You'll get more bang for your buck if you don't want a doorman and loads of amenities like a pool or a gym.

Have a look at the Upper East and Upper West sides and Battery Park City. Loads of families in all those areas - you'd fit in and make friends with no problems.

Thank you @allfurcoatnoknickers!

I've just come back to this thread.

$7,500-8k/mo is a nice chunk of money, you might get a furnished 2-bed somewhere like Midtown for that amount. Query how nice it would be though, especially if you bring the dog (think of it from the landlord's perspective). Furnished rentals aren't a thing here. For 6 months you'll be coming with your clothes, not furniture etc so you'll have to live with what you get. Midtown isn't great but it's not awful. Look on Streeteasy. Also look on corporate lettings' websites (probably better for 6 months; most rentals will be a minimum of a year, Airbnb isn't allowed here). I'm surprised your DH's employer doesn't have these ready to send you. Don't underestimate the legwork involved: credit-building is a nightmare here, renting when you don't even have a local credit card or bank account is extremely difficult. You really want to push as much of the burden onto the employer as possible eg get them to pay rent directly, so you don't have to enter into a lease.

What did they say about visas?

For your 5yo, don't bother with a local school (whichever PS you'd be zoned for). It's not worth it, the school year is under way, she won't get the attention she needs, she'll miss out on a lot. Look at a private nursery or pre-school. Did you say somewhere that you're French? There are a handful of maternelles dotted around, which tend to be decent quality. Start with those, and look for a rental around there.

Which neighborhood will your DH be working in? The subway is disgusting but it's the best and cheapest and fastest way around town.

@Suemademedoit makes an excellent point.
You will have no credit rating so renting as individuals will be almost impossible.
Get the company to sign the lease etc.

WAIT, you'd be paying for your own rental? Forget it, absolutely not. Dig your heels in and hold firm on the company covering it, and whatever you do, do NOT schlep your furniture over here for 6 months.

If they want a 6 month secondment somewhere with a property market as bonkers as NYC, then they could be covering the costs.

@Suemademedoit Air BnB is legal over 30 days. I only know that because I had to sublet a previous apartment though. Under 30 days are illegal.

Good to know!

I think the employer is offering them
around 8k on top of salary for a furnished rental. And on re-reading are also saying they’ll enter into the lease so no need for credit scores. Which is very helpful, both for credit scores and furnishings!

When I first moved here we stayed in a gorgeous 2-bed furnished corporate apartment for 6 weeks. It was 10k/month and this was almost 15 years ago! Suffice to say our own place wasn’t anywhere near as nice 😂. But 8k will get something fine for a 6 month secondment. It’s the dog that will be the issue.

We used Tailwings to ship a large breed dog from London - the East Coast of the USA last year and it cost just over £4k. I think you may have a sticking point on the time of year though - dogs can’t fly under a certain temperature. We needed to have the dog there in January but had to ship him at the start of November and board him the other end because otherwise it would have been too cold. We used British Airways and had a person at Tailwings sort all the paperwork with us. I haven’t read the full thread so might have been mentioned already - dogs also need a rabies vaccine a certain amount of time before travel.

Sorry to confirm they’ve said that the budget that we have for a rental (I was worried it was too little). They have briefed an agency to find us something and they will enter a contract- not us.

Visa still ongoing but actually more positive.

We’re still debating bringing the dog!

fly date has been pushed to February as timings were unrealistic.

@Suemademedoit do you think 8k is too little? Now is our time to negotiate so I’d appreciate guidance

@QuizzlyBears i didn’t know that about the weather. We’re on the fence about the dog (but he’s my best friend and not sure I could spend extended time away from him)

it’s a sticking point about what we do with him

This is on the Upper West Side

Browse through this website, check out your options. I found that in 20 seconds so don't take my word for this - the price sounds about right though. Make sure you look for pet-friendly options, and also for an in-unit washer-dryer. Coming from England (I'm assuming), people often aren't used to communal laundry facilities. Space is a REAL luxury in Manhattan. If you don't need 3 bedrooms, spend the money on a nicer 2 bed. You also don't want to be hosting visitors when you're only there for 6 months yourselves.

It's good they've pushed your start date out to Feb. Try to drag it out further, ideally into April (you might still need snow gear in March). Your DD can also skip the last few weeks of school (the school year here ends early-mid June).

@Suemademedoit
That apartment is fab! Makes me yearn for New York. I only spent 3 months there on an internship but loved it.

Lived on the UWS for 5 years. Amazing experience, would totally love to do it again. There are plenty of classes for your DD to attend, even if it’s not actual nursery or preschool.

I think in your position I would first speak to my vet - they have to approve pups as fit to fly and provide paperwork to that effect, so a chat with them about where the your dog can physically cope might be a good place to start. Then contact a broker like Tailwings and explore pricing, timescales and weather if the vet agrees he can fly. You need all of that info to make a decision. Ultimately dogs can fly and supposedly they are likely to forget it fairly quickly, although having put mine through 2 long haul we have said never again. It was a necessity but he was upset when he came off the plane, his crate was a disaster and I felt so guilty 😭 It’s so hard though isn’t it, dogs are everything.

Back on the thread for more advice!
so everything is still moving but I wanted advice about schools. We think we’ve found a bilingual school for her to go to (which was incredible and our current school has basically got us the space!) but the area we were looking at to live would be a 20 min walk. Is that ok to do in the morning with a 5 year old? I would pop her on a scooter and do it.

Of course it is. Twenty minutes is nothing for the right school. Or any school in fact.

Of course it's fine, but you need a really decent coat each and waterproof snow boots. It's going to get old fast.

Yes 20 minutes is a very doable walk and not unusual. Give yourselves at least half an hour to account for crossing streets and the delays you find when sharing the sidewalk with others. Walking is a lot more sensible than driving.

You'll need cold weather coats (down filled), decent beanies, gloves. DC will need snow pants/ bibs for outdoor play, and snow boots, as well as proper snow mittens.

Glad you've found a school. It will be nice for your DC to have little friends.

20 min walk is fine for a 5 year old! Hopefully in the nice weather you can go via the park on your way home.

Having lived in Chicago, I assume the weather in NYC is similar in winter. You will need proper cold weather gear and especially snow boots. My kids wore boots outdoors and then changed into trainers or whatever for school.

Scooter might not be possible when there’s snow on the ground, but they might be better at removing it than where I lived.

Chicago is much, much colder and snowier than New York. NY is a city of pedestrians; snow could never be left on side walks after a storm for any significant period of time.

You should be fine. Get good thermals and other kit and you’ll be fine.

ok good! Chicago was awful in the winter!!

I’ve been caught in a number of NYC snow storms, they clear the pavement pretty quickly but the snow piles up at the sides so crossing roads can be treacherous - def agree with everyone’s advice to have snow gear!

Thanks all. Its funny the weird things that suddenly freak you out. I lived just outside of Chicago during winter and it was freezing. I am glad New York will be slightly warmer (though still cold!)