Planning the Big Move to NYC...So Intimidating but Exciting!

The big move from Texas to NYC has been planned for months...but now we are really getting down to business. Don't think I'm crazy, I have reasoning behind all of this and yes, it is halfway across the country but I did my homework. I have to pass along the URLs for some of the areas I used to make my decision to move. It was a little more than difficult to settle in an area but there are several factors to consider for us. 

Well, to begin I will say there are 2 main reasons we decided to live close to NYC. (1) being the lifestyle and culture and (2) being in Marketing & PR, it's the mecca for Networking and Building Relationships in the Industry I'm in. I have to be close to the action. 

Personally it was a big decision to us to make as a couple with 2 kids. We want our kids to have opportunities that don't present themselves everywhere and NYC is opportunity capital. The culture and diversity is a plus for us as well. They have to know there is a whole world out there they haven't even begun to see yet.

In choosing a place to live we knew that Manhattan was out for at least the first few years. Jumping from Texas to Manhattan might be a bit of a jump not to mention a HUGE bite out of our bank accounts. Who knew that for a tiny apartment in the city, people could get $5,000 a month in rent. And I mean tiny...

First and foremost in our quest for location was the school system. We have a 9 year old and a 1 year old so the type of neighborhood and the school system was a must in the "has to be better than average" category. We used www.greatschools.net to research school systems in the area and determine average test scores, teacher to student ratios, in what neighborhoods the schools were closest to and of course the parent reviews. 

The second thing we looked at was Cost of Living. www.city-data.com is the best site in the world to find out key research on any city in the U.S. Very detailed information about cost to own, rent, live and it details out demographics, top industries, shopping venues...it really gives you the whole picture.

The third thing we looked at was Crime Rate, Ratio of Safe Neighboods to Not so safe ones. You can find that info out on City-Data.com as well. 

Use Wiki for inside information posted by resources for the communities. We found a lot of helpful info in Wiki for cities we are looking at. For instance a really cute town in CT we were looking at was in the same community as a State Prison. Nice, huh?

So stay tuned...I'll find more helpful info as we continue our quest to getting to NYC!