New York (Manhattan)

[physics]

Hi
I am going to be working more in new york. I am thinking of working it so that much of my time there is during school holidays, so I can take my kids (5 and 8) with me.

For this to work I think I need a good holiday club/clubs they can attend and an apartment I can regularly rent.

I will be working down town.

Any knowledge or ideas would be hugely appreciated.

Thanks

Manhattan school holidays won't coincide with English school holidays except in summer when no-one really keeps their DC in Manhattan because of the heat.

There is quite a bit of cross over summer, Christmas,easter, Feb half term. Not so much October as it more geared to thanksgiving. I am not sure about may half term... unless I am looking at the wrong websites.... if not Manhattan perhaps there are breezier options in new jersey... ? Thanks again...

I doubt NJ school terms will be more in sync with England than Manhattan terms. IMO this is the big problem with your proposed plan. Do your DC have a nanny in England? If so, you could take her with you and she could take your DC out and about in Manhattan. This might require quite a lot of forward planning but could be a fantastic opportunity for your nanny as well as your DC.

What I meant was perhaps there will be more options of clubs camps etc. outside the city...

Dates are important but don't have to be totally aligned. Their dad can come with us sometimes and sometimes they can stay home....

The nanny idea is a possibility. I have never had one as they have always gone to day care/ after school clubs...

Thanks!!

Good luck! My DD goes to a school in Paris with a lot of international families who go back to their home countries during French school holidays and a recurring issue is whether holidays coincide between countries. DC can get very bored if there are no camps or cousins available.

If you are looking for a holiday club, search for "camp". They use this for day clubs and residential camps.

You might run into an immunisation problem.

My DD has been to camp in the US twice (residential) and I don't recall her needing any extra immunisations. Though the paperwork was quite horrendous!

Thank you and the camp suggestion has yielded much better search results... There are a couple of good options in the downtown area x

For immunizations you can do an exemption based on religious grounds but honestly its better to just get them.

I would also consider downtown Jersey City and Hoboken as there is a lot more available for children aged 5 and 8. During term time everyone is in school but some of the private schools are willing to accommodate short term students. I know Stevens Coop has done in the past. There are a lot more temporary apartments which are bigger than what you would get in Battery Park and the commute to downtown is great.

During summer there are some fabulous camps available. Start looking in April as they get booked up quickly. I know from Hoboken there are some fabulous camps in central Jersey that run a bus service. These camps are about $1000 a week but well worth it. They are professionally run the activities offered as well as the facilities are amazing. There are also plenty of camps available in the $500 range too but they are not going to be doing as much sports and are normally run out of schools, the YMCA or a religious institution (local temple here and the JCC in West Orange offer fabulous camps for kids that are open to children of all faiths).

During the rest of the year there isn't as much available but a lot of the daycares (check out bright horizon) offer structured care for kids up to age 8 all year around.

Be wary of hiring a nanny here. I prefer to hire someone who is studying in the evening as there are no professional nanny certifications here in the US. You can do a course via community college but the caliber is shockingly low. During the summer I look to hire teachers. They are excellent. Going rate here in Hoboken for a teacher (ie someone qualified) is $20/hr with a recent grad or student rate being $15/hr. Look on sitter city or care.com or join one of the facebook sites that babysitters use to find jobs.

What exactly do you mean by "regularly"? Would you consider renting a pied-a-terre, for instance? And if you're with a large company, have you asked if they have a corporate apartment?