Any New Yorkers out there? Need advice please!

[mslulukat]

Apologies in advance for the longish post, but here's the situation:

I am due to start a new post based in NYC on 1 August, initially for one year. The original pre-COVID plan was to move there with my 8-year-old over the summer, find suitable accommodation and settle before school starts. We also already had a place for him at a school of our choice.

All the above has obviously been delayed, and now I have the option to start the new post on 1 August but working remotely from home in Europe, at least for three months to start with, and until things go back to some kind of normalcy over there, offices re-open etc. Alternatively, I could still up and go now, just in time for the new school year (and assuming my visa comes through in the meantime...)

I understand that the most sensible thing is to move now, so my DS starts the school year at his new school (although we know that at best this will only be 50% on campus, the rest remotely) and in the hope that the situation will improve in the next few months, like it has in most of Europe.

At the same time I am worried that if I move to NY with a young child right now my life would be difficult/miserable at least for the first few months. Although I know a couple of people there, I don't have an extensive network, and with all the homeworking/homeschooling situation it will be difficult for us to meet new people. Also, I understand that most things that make New York exciting and vibrant (at least for me) are currently closed or semi-closed: theatres, museums, restaurants, bars, activities, gatherings and happenings and events of all kinds, for kids and adults... I'm worried I will be stuck all day in a flat in a semi-deserted city with an 8-year-old doing zoom classes, reliving a bit the lockdown we went through earlier this year.

My question is therefore mostly to those of you currently in the city: what is life like now over there? Is it almost normal? Half-way normal? Are people optimistic about the way things are going and do you think it's going to get better in the next few months?

Thank you so much for any information/advice you can share, I will need to decide either way in the next few days!

What’s your visa situation? Foreign nationals who have been in UK or Europe in the last 14 days cannot enter the US. The usual work visas like H1 and L1 aren’t being processed at all this year. We’re not in NY but are planning to move home because our visas expire in Feb and we aren’t willing to live with uncertainty of not knowing whether or not we can renew. Sorry if this is totally irrelevant because you’re sorted but if you haven’t already then I’d consult a good immigration lawyer.

We have a lot of NY based friends and their lockdown experiences in small apartments sound horrendous but most seem to be having great summers by getting out of the city and I’m seeing lots of photos of beachside vacation rentals! I’ve heard, albeit second hand, that NYC public schools won’t be going back full time with as little as 1 day a week being offered to some children and masks being mandatory for all ages so that’s something to consider unless you’re going private and have been told otherwise by the school.

Good luck with your move at what must be a stressful time, I hope it happens for you!

My PIL live in Brooklyn and they were having such a terrible time that they’ve driven nine hours to go and stay with one of their adult dc. It sounds absolutely horrific and they are far from optimistic.

However some of that stems from the BLM situation and Trump and the feeling of oppression that is coming from that.

I'm in Manhattan - I only have a toddler, but people are flooding back into the city now. The playgrounds are open, there's outdoor dining, some cultural things (Central Park Zoo, the Highline) are starting to reopen and generally things are a lot better than they were even 2-3 weeks ago.

Happy to talk more of you have questions! Honestly it was really, really grim, but things have improved no end. If I weren't trying to work from home and also wrangle a toddler I'd even be enjoying this weird summer

Thank you all for your posts. We have decided to stay here for the time being and see how it goes later in the year. The way things are opening also in Europe I don't foresee things going back to any sort of normal before early next year.

I think waiting is a good idea. If your son is 8 then it's fine to do some more UK school, and move into the US system later. I think it's as easy to move to a new school mid-year as it is at the start of the academic year.

I'm not in NYC - I'm in New England - but I'm in a state that is doing similarly at this point in terms of Covid levels and reopenings.

Even though we have one of the best Covid rates in the country, it's still hit and miss whether school will be fully open, partly online or totally online. There are hardly any camps for kids to do. Things are reopening, but it's slow and careful - which is good from a Covid perspective, but tough if you're new to the country and wanting to have fun.

In terms of the BLM situation, things are much much calmer than they were.