London to New York Move

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It looks like we will be moving to NY in August just in time for the new school year. As you can imagine, am now trying to work out things like where to live, schools etc etc having only been in London for 18 months. So if anyone has done this or has moved from NY to London, I need your help!!!
Where to live - We are in two minds (as I think most are....in Manhattan or outside). We are leaning towards out of Manhattan and really like the sound of Greenwich CT. Any other advice. I really want a safe place that has great private schools.
Schools - Kind of linked to the above. I really want a Co-ed school so not only the kids can go to the same school but because my son really gets on with both sexes and tends to gel with the girls easier. This is my biggest stress as I want to ensure a safe environment for them at school that provides a loving and very focused pastoral care. The school they are in here in London is wonderful and amazingly friendly.

Thanks all. Any advice is truly appreciated as I start the journey of research.

Anyone?

How old are your children?

Would you like a public (state) or private school?

We live in Brooklyn, my DH works in the Financial District so it's a quick commute for him by bike or subway. We chose to live here because of space and because we are close to Prospect Park. It's a safe friendly neighbourhood. There are good public and private schools here. You have to be careful that you rent in a zone which has a good school. If you go private that obviously doesn't matter as much. Most schools are co-ed.

We moved to the edge of Queens/Long Island (have moved on subsequently) having also tried out New Jersey, which we liked (very white picket fence) but the commute was too long for dh. I have family who are very happy in Brooklyn (also by Prospect Park). As upsidewide says for school you have to be in the right zone. If you are you get in pretty much automatically, but it can seriously affect rental/house prices, so be prepared to pay (hopefully you are getting a good package).

I'd imagine the OP's kids' school fees will be paid as it's a relocation.

Does your DH's company not have a relocation agency who can advise?

When we relocated we got bugger all!

Guess it depends on the company. DH's company always bought our existing houses at market rate, and if they eventually sold for more, they paid us the extra; if less, they absorbed the loss. They also paid all expenses even down to new school uniforms, plumbing in new dishwashers, allowances for new curtains, help for me getting a new job.

Certainly an international relocation would usually cover accomodation at the new place for six months, private school fees etc.

Thanks everyone. We will get a relocation agency if he decides to proceed but I thought i would get a jumpstart on decisions early so then when they get assigned we will know areas and what we want to do so the focus can be on the best available rather than the where. DH will be in midtown (I think that's where it is 47th street?) so am trying to get something that doesn't mean an hour commute but is also really safe for the kids. They are 8, 5 and 4 months. A number of people have told us Conneticut but it seems quite far for DH.

We moved last year to Greenwich CT and it is an easy enough commute to the city from here. The children all go to Whitby, international school which follows the IB and I highly recommend it. There is a good selection of private schools here and the public education is also very good. Rents are very expensive so I would find out asap what your package will cover. Let me know if you want any more specific information.

Sounds like your dh's company treated you very well mumblechum. It must have taken a great deal of the stress out of your move(s). My dh's company were very grudging about everything, as they claimed that as dh wanted to move he should pay for it (in retrospect we should have stayed in the UK, but he did very much want to live in the States and intracompany transfers are one of the very few ways to get in)

Good luck with your move items, my only advice would be to make sure you get everything written down in the contract, including repatriation costs if things go belly up. I didn't feel that New York was any less safe than London. It was a pretty child friendly place too I thought.

Hi Items, we moved to NYC a year ago and decided after a lot of thought to come to Manhattan. Lots of reasons behind the decision but mainly for the city experience. We figured we could always go to the suburbs if we didn't like it but were unlikely to move the other way.

My husband also works in midtown and we live on the upper west side which I extremely family friendly. He has a 15 min commute to work which is wonderful. He sees our kids every day, when we were in the UK he only saw them on weekends as he left for work before they woke up and was home when they were in bed.

Some things to consider...
Make sure your company pay for a realtor to make apartment / house hunting easier.
If you decide to live in the city I can recommend a great one.

Push for the firm to pay your school fees or contribute towards them if you decide to go down the private route.

I am happy to answer any questions you have at all.
It took me a good 4-5 months to settle but I love it here now, it's the best thing we could have done.

We moved from London to NYC 4 years ago, we live in Battery Park City which we love. It's very family-friendly, quieter than most of the city, great parks and playgrounds. When you're thinking about where to live, how do you see yourself living? Have you spent much time in NY before? Pretty much all of Manhattan is very urban - it is a full on city, much more so than London. In Manhattan you are very unlikely to have a house with a garden, unless you are squillionaires. But a lot of apartment buildings have great facilities (children's playrooms, swimming pools and gyms, bowling alleys...) The range of activities available is huge, it's a very rich cultural experience, we have loved it. And I always feel safe in Manhattan.

Greenwich CT is nothing like that, it's a very nice town, maybe compares with Cheltenham. And your dh would have a train journey but it shouldn't be too bad, especially if he's working in midtown - he would come in to Grand Central Station which is at 42nd St.

Between the two you have some lovely neighbourhoods in Brooklyn, which are I'd say more comparable with the zone 3-type areas of London - lots of terraced houses with smallish gardens, nice communities.

Private schools in the city tend to be competitive, and the official admissions process for September has already finished. That doesn't mean you won't be able to find a place, but I'd suggest trying to start this process as quickly as possible. If your dh's relocation package includes a schools consultant they will help you research options. This is my dcs' school, we have been very very happy there.

Good luck! It's really overwhelming planning a move but it will all work out fine for you. I'm really happy with the choices we made. But I'm also quite sure that we could have made radically different choices and still ended up just as contented.

If youre looking at Greenwich, also look at Summit, Short Hills (both in NJ),Bronxville, Scarsdale and Chappaqua. hell, everyone else does

Private schools in Manhattan will cost about $40k per child. I grew up for many years in Greenwich Ct and there are some of the best schools in the country there (both private AND public). There is the beach and it is just lovely. Plenty of expats / newcomer clubs etc. And a short commute to Manhattan. I would go for that hands down, if I had to do it again.

We moved to the US from London 15 months ago. I am happy to have a convocation with you about my family's experience of schools and housing in both Conecticut and NYC.
WHERE TO LIVE? We have an 8 yr old Wetried to decide between living in Manhattan vs Connecticut. We chose Connecticut and regret it because we miss the NY experience and if you only plan to live here for a few years you should consider this. In the end it came down to he fact that for $8000 a month we got a 5 bedroom house with a pool in Greenwich vs a small 3 bedroomed flat on the Upper West Side. We were seduced by the pool and the space. Greenwich is nice - a bit snooty - I find it very lonely and I have been unable to find a job so while m husband is at work and the kids are in school, I get bored.. We now plan to move to Manhattan.

SCHOOLS: the are 3 types: 1)Public (State) schools - not really an option for you. 2)Parochial (church) schools - cheaper than Private schools at approx $5000 per year and class sizes of between 20 and 30. 3)Private - $30,000 a year - thisis a minefield... Every school blatantly sells itself and promises the world but rarely delvers. The very best in Greenwich are Greenwich Academy (all girls) and Brunswick (boys).
It will be difficult to get into schools in NYC for Sept entry but you can try. I'm afraid it's a question of googling private elementary schools Manhattan NY.

FOR HOUSING - try www.Zillow.com. And www.Raveis.com. They have rental and Sale sections. I recommend renting first.

Finally... You will have no credit status when you move to the US so my advice is to open a premier bank account with an International bank like HSBC before you go and they will set you up with a US bank account and provide you with credit cards straight away.

Yes yes to the HSBC premier account. Great advice.

We went with Citibank, and again had a very good experience. Well worth exploring I agree.

All,
You have provided some wonderful things to think about. I am very appreciative of those offers to chat about it and in the next 2 weeks or so we will know if its a move forward and by then I am sure to have hundreds more questions. The city vs suburb question is there. I am more about city so DH can have a short commute. DH, although not wanting the commute, is more for Greenwich areas not only for the living but the schools for the kids. Wasn't aware of the NJ areas so great tip to explore!!!
We will def negotiate schooling and housing into the package else it wont be worth going. Thanks for the tip on HSBC or Citibank.

The schooling part does concern given it will be the start of the school year and I know how competitive it can be.

You could also consider RYE, NY or Larchmont where they have great parochial (catholic schools) and only 40 mins train or car ride from Manhattan

I've just moved to NYC (this week!) with dh and kids following in June (my employer wouldn't wait and dh has a contract).

I work in midtown east (44th st) and we've decided to live in the Forest Hills area of Queens. It's a 40 minute commute by subway to midtown east (20 min train ride as it's express - like the Metropolitan line). There's also the Long Island Railroad which gets you into Penn Station in 15 minutes. There are some good private schools in the area but also good public ones (PS 101 in Forest Hills Gardens is supposed to be excellent). My kids will be going private because my employer pays 75% of fees. All in all, seems like a good mixture of suburb and city and the neighbourhood seems very nice.

And great advice about bank accounts. I'm lucky that my employer had a credit union so joined that but otherwise no-one has wanted to touch me, even HSBC because i'm not 'premier' so if you can get a premier account, do so.

Elaine, Welcome to NY!!

schools seem to have a reputation for being mental in Manhattan (I could be talking out of my bum seeing as I'm the other side of the country) but that is the word on the street.

Thank you Cat :) Enjoying it so far...

Hopandaskip - not only are they totally bonkers, but they charge you nearly $40,000 per child per year for the privilege. I kid you not. And yet parents are queuing up to open their check books. Insanity!

The advice is so useful, thank you. Husband is going to NY next week for final meetings so will know soon after that. Will ask lots more then i bet!!