NY cycling

[R3awak3n]

well, it depends on what you want to prioritize. You said you wanted good cycling and for that you have to live outside the city or like I said you going to be doing the same 9w palisades ride every weekend.

depends where your office is but if you close to grand central, you can live "upstate" and have a 30-40 min commute, by train.

[flydhest]

Thanks R3awak3n. It would be on 51st Street. Have a friend who is a cyclist who lives in Larchmont and his office is very close to where mine will/would be. He feels like he has largely given up cycling because of the commute. He has the same job (but with another firm) that I would have and has four kids roughly the same age as my two.

[R3awak3n]

Originally Posted by flydhest

Thanks R3awak3n. It would be on 51st Street. Have a friend who is a cyclist who lives in Larchmont and his office is very close to where mine will/would be. He feels like he has largely given up cycling because of the commute. He has the same job (but with another firm) that I would have and has four kids roughly the same age as my two.

yeah, I totally understand. The farther you live the more time you will be in the train. On the weekends you will have better cycling but during the week you will suffer. Someone said that NYC sucks for cycling and the parks are terrible. That is not true, prospect and central are great parks and great for training laps so that is a +1 for the city where you can wake up early and go for an hour or so of laps and get some exercise before work and then literally come home, shower and ride to work and you can be there btw 10 and 20 mintues.

I do that ALL the time. I ride to the park (prospect), then ride, come home and then ride to soho (20 mintues), its great. However on the weekend I always do the same ride everyone does, till now but we just bought a place upstate (catskills) so weekends we go up there ad the ridding is incredible

[echappist]

Originally Posted by fuzzalow

Yeah, I know. You caught me sugarcoating it on the proviso that some smart aleck thinks he can find 2-BR for less - well sure you can but you wouldn't wanna live there or in it. So yeah, 2BR try $5,000 and up.

While transitioning from Nassau County burbs to NYC we went through a lot of options to rent. Among them was a rental building called the Camargue on the UES which was not great and quite expensive. For an idea, this is the Camargue's rental company for what they offer in the NY Metro area: New York City Apartments. Bring money.

This town runs on money, in fact the entire Metro NYC area runs on money - it's just a question of how much and how fast you burn it. I know only a little about Washington D.C. as pertaining to towns like Bethesda, Chevy Chase and Georgetown. And those are nice towns much like Nassau County NY towns. But NYC compared to NW D.C. is a whole 'nother ball game. I love this town but I raised a family out in the 'burbs - LIRR is great on the Port Washington line.

Good luck to the OP but be sure to look before you leap. NYC is a great city but know what you are up against.

A million dollars buys you some extremely nice properties in the DC area in Bethesda, Potomac, Chevy Chase, and Great Falls (on the VA side). The only drawback is that public transit stinks in DC, and vehicular commute stinks even more, and given the dipalidated state of the Metro, the nominal 30 min ride to downtown from Chevy Chase may take much longer. However, a million still goes a long way. The amount is also more than enough to buy a relatively new two bedroom condominium in the more desirable areas within the district or along the metro lines.

I believe one million is slightly more than what is required to purchase a "fixer-upper" in Scarsdale. Summit and Livingston may be better in this aspect, but not by much.

Originally Posted by flydhest

So ... cycling is not the driving force for moving. I have great riding here. It is a combination of career opportunity with my wife wanting an opportunity to live in NY. One important aspect of the conversations so far (both with my wife and with the potential employer) is quality of life and family time. For the latter, i don't want a fairly standard 45 minute to hour+ commute. Just would stay here in DC, make less money, but be happier. So, they have to make the life I want affordable.

The pay raise ought to be quite significant for you to replicate quality of life in DC.

I did 4 years of grad school at Columbia, then moved to Pentagon City, so I would think i have a good general grasp of both places. People in the DC area may (rightfully) kvetch about increasing housing prices, but those pales in comparison the the prices in Silicon Valley or NYC.

Last December, when I needed to defend my thesis, i shelled out $35 to park on 120th street. In comparison, had i overstayed the meter on 120th (i've done this a week earlier), i would have gotten a $40 fine. It won't be just housing prices that go up, as the cost of every other minute detail would also increase.

[crownjewelwl]

Yes...39 min is transit time only. So prob an hour door to door to be conservative...

But at least with metro North there is a reasonably reliable schedule. Commuting by subway is more of a crap shoot.

And I can walk out of my door and ride.

Originally Posted by flydhest

Just to make sure I am thinking of this right, though, you have a 40 minute train ride plus what ever time it takes to get to the train station and park plus whatever time it takes to get from GCT to work. Even if both are fast, say 10 minutes including waiting on the platform, isn't that an hour?

Sorry if I am being thick. I know I can't replicate what I have here, but my tough commuting choice is 10-minute bike ride versus a 22 minute walk, literally door to door.

[htwoopup]

Living in Manhattan and having a kid in school in Manhattan is great for being with the kid. Basically, you never miss an after school activity/game because it is so easy and convenient.

That said, be careful on commuting time calculations vs say Larchmont...East 51st is really convenient to GCT. Yes, with the 10 minutes to and the wait etc it is really an hour. But if you are going from E 51st and say Thrid to Manhattan Valley or the Far UWS like some of the newer developments off West End (better pricing but inconvenient for food and getting to subway) you have to figure you are looking at 30 minutes minimum probably 45 in real world. So, not that big a time savings vs the burbs but a much higher cost of living. Trains to suburbia and subways both run on schedules. But trains are maybe every half hour and subways are like every 6 minutes.

On the other hand, living in Manhattan is something special that is what most people think of when they are coming from outside of NYC and just isn't the same as what you experience elsewhere in the metro area. Not necessarily better, just different than what I think people are referring to when they imagine the NYC experience.

[flydhest]

Thanks again everyone. I think I have a handle on some of the cost differential. A friend and possible future colleague just rented a 3-bedroom in Union Square for $8.5K a month. I am factoring in somewhat more than that as part of the discussion with the firm. So, yeah, different world than D.C. My neighbor here just sold a two-story rowhouse for $1.6 mill here on U street, which now seems cute compared to Manhattan.

People wonder about how far apart this country can be politically and culturally and these sorts of conversations always make me realize how there really are such different realities people face.

Anyway, so much appreciation to everyone for their insights.

This is a good problem to have, to be sure.

[happycampyer]

While the real estate in Bronxville is pricey, the train ride is pretty quick. You could look in that vicinity, again just for comparison purposes. There's nothing like living in the city, but as other have noted, the cost to maintain a decent standard of living is very high.

If you are visiting the area and want to go for a ride in the suburbs, send me a pm. If you can ride a ~56, I should have something that works.

[Climb01742]

Originally Posted by R3awak3n

Someone said that NYC sucks for cycling and the parks are terrible. That is not true, prospect and central are great parks and great for training laps so that is a +1 for the city where you can wake up early and go for an hour or so of laps and get some exercise before work and then literally come home, shower and ride to work and you can be there btw 10 and 20 mintues.

I concur wholeheartedly. Laps in CP may not be cycling heaven, but they aren't hell either. You can be darn fit and especially in spring/summer, doing dawn laps is actually kinda cool. The park's great strength is its accessibility. As stated, get in, get out, and be at work or with family. I'm biased, but living in Manhattan has so many positives and world-best experiences, that riding in the park is a small price to pay.

[flydhest]

Thanks, Happycamper, but I ride a 59 or 60. Of course, if we go this route, anyone who rides a 59 or 60 or who rides Campy and/or tubulars should watch the classifieds. Almost surely would have to downsize the stable.

[crownjewelwl]

i would just say there is no free lunch...bunch of finance dudes keep the market efficient...there is always a trade off

[echappist]

Originally Posted by flydhest

Thanks again everyone. I think I have a handle on some of the cost differential. A friend and possible future colleague just rented a 3-bedroom in Union Square for $8.5K a month. I am factoring in somewhat more than that as part of the discussion with the firm. So, yeah, different world than D.C. My neighbor here just sold a two-story rowhouse for $1.6 mill here on U street, which now seems cute compared to Manhattan.

People wonder about how far apart this country can be politically and culturally and these sorts of conversations always make me realize how there really are such different realities people face.

Anyway, so much appreciation to everyone for their insights.

This is a good problem to have, to be sure.

this would probably render moot most of the previous concerns raised.

Originally Posted by Climb01742

I concur wholeheartedly. Laps in CP may not be cycling heaven, but they aren't hell either. You can be darn fit and especially in spring/summer, doing dawn laps is actually kinda cool. The park's great strength is its accessibility. As stated, get in, get out, and be at work or with family. I'm biased, but living in Manhattan has so many positives and world-best experiences, that riding in the park is a small price to pay.

i would literally pay for the privilege of riding in a place like Central Park. In DC, there was Hains Point: 3.1 miles and 3 stop signs, but even that still made for really good place for training. CP is an order of magnitude better. Legion were the days when i'd head out at 8:30pm and basically have no one else i'd need to worry about. All the training that one could ever want to do.

Now i live in the NJ countryside, and the roads here are horrible. Furthermore, i'd need to be cognizant of high traffic hours and times when there's high glare in order to mitigate dangers on the road. Night riding and early morning riding are out of the question.

[thegunner]

Originally Posted by echappist

i would literally pay for the privilege of riding in a place like Central Park

want to join me for a century in the park later this year?

[flydhest]

Originally Posted by thegunner

want to join me for a century in the park later this year?

So wrong and yet so right. If I move to NY, can I join?

[thegunner]

Originally Posted by flydhest

So wrong and yet so right. If I move to NY, can I join?

100% in fact, anyone who wants to can

for the past 2 years, i've done a few 95~ mile rides in the park / ducked out right before i hit 100. i've been keeping it as a goal of mine, but i think i should probably knock it out this year.

sorry for derailing thread! but to the OP, doesn't this sound like a good reason to move to NYC?