Any mumsnetters in NYC???

[stickybean]

Hi, I'm old to mumsnet but new to New York, we've just moved here for work reasons. So far I am totally overwhelmed by it althiGhs bigh things are sorted, somewhere to live, schools etc. I just need to make some friends now, this seems like the hard part!
Anyone in the same boat? Looking to hear from people that have come out the other side!

I have lived in NYC, but don't know - where abouts are you? If you live downtown, see if HRP mamas still exists - an amazing forum!

We moved to NYC last March and spent three months in Manhattan. We moved to Long Island about a year ago and are still loving being here. My dh commutes into the city everyday and I try and get in every other week or so with my ds, who is nearly 3. I still think it's the most exciting place to be! PM me if you have any questions.

I've just seen these replies, i have yet to work out my new phone!

We are on the UWS but that site looks great.
We considered long island but decided to have the manhattan experience!

We are moving to the UES in August, am very excited, yet sad to be leaving London at the same time.

May I ask if any of you have any experience applying for private schools in Manhattan? Our DT's will be going into Kindergarten in 2012, and i've heard the system is horribly competitive for Kindergarten entry (getting them into a preschool past the admissions deadline was a mission enough!!)

BAMBIANDTHUMPER yes I do have a little experience of this. We also applied past the deadline, a lot of the places we phoned basically laughed at us for calling so late.
From what I have gathered it involves a lot of ego massaging and a bit of who you know. If you know another parent in the school who can recommend you etc

My husbands firm put us in touch with an agency that talk you through the process and help you write the letters etc. Google the Abacus Guide. We spoke to a lady called Emily who was very 'New York' but helped us understand what to do.
My eldest is going into Pre K ( I think ) in September. I still haven't got used to the names of all the classes.
Being English will help. You need to tell them why your kids have to to to this school / it's the best school in the world etc.

Have you found a place to live yet?

Yes, we are renting an apartment, DH is moving in in August, the DC's (DTS and DTD - 4 and DD2 - 1) and I are joining him the last week of the month.

After much stress on my behalf, I got in touch with the Parents League of NY, who helped us secure preschool places for the DT's, but i've heard that Kindergarten admissions are horrendous and I thought getting them into a central London prep was bad....

I'm taking it your already in NY? How are you finding it? We heard that the city generally vacates in the summer, and so we decided to postpone our move till the end of it, as we thought it might become fairly unbearable with the DC's.

You're right to avoid NY in August, its sweltering. Most people vacate the city and those that can afford it vacate the city on the weekends or every other weekend between Memorial Day (end of May) and Labour Day, (end of Sept) for a house in the Hamptons, Fire Island or a Lake House upstate.

The forum on www.urbanbaby.com can be very useful for specific questions, just bear in mind there are some nutjobs on there who love to troll because they are anonymous. But you want to know family-friendly restaurants in your area, or playgrounds that are good, you will get specific local knowledge from other mums. Well done on getting school places though, its the public school system thats super crazy, in particular getting your kids into the G&T streamed classes in the public schools but thats all over now, places were announced last week. (G&T = Gifted and Talented.)

You will love NY, I lived there for 6 yrs pre-kids. My Dh's cousin moved there with her DH last August, and she teaches children's yoga if you're interested (UWS) - she's British - lovely, lovely person, fantastic with children.

look at mommypoppins.com and timeout (kids, new york) web sites for things to do in the area. and consider Hoboken (where I live - I am a US mom moving to London in August, but many folks here are from UK/Europe). our moms groups is Hoboken Moms on Yahoo.

Hi stickybean, I lived on the UWS for 2yrs, just left last month. My advice for meeting other UK Mums is hang out in the play parks and listen for British accents. I used to spend at least 2 hrs a day in the park with my kids, so there are other Mums like you there, you just have to find them! I preferred Riverside Park (Hippo playground @91st & Riverside Drive is nice & shady, Riverrun @82nd has a great fountain & sandbox, Elephant @75th is good for smaller kids). 'Super Soccer Stars' runs great drop in soccer classes for kids in Central Park at 86th - lots of Europeans & Aussies, for kids aged 2 and up. Good Luck, things get much easier in Sep when school starts, hang in there.