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New York City: The name needs practically no introduction. With more than eight million inhabitants, it is the largest city in the United States. A global center of business, finance, media, fashion, and culture, this vibrant metropolis has stirred the imaginations of people around the world. Multinational corporations have made it the hub of their global operations. Immigrants have journeyed for thousands of miles to start a new life on its shores. Tourists flock to see its famous sights. Artists have immortalized it in photographs, film, literature, and music.
While New York is one of the U.S.’s most forward-looking cities, it also has an illustrious past. In its 400-year history, it has provided the backdrop for events that have shaped the entire nation. Few people know that it was the country’s first capital, before Washington, D.C. U.S. industrialization began here in the 1830s. As industry grew so did the city itself, spurring the country’s earliest urban expansion. With the invention of the skyscraper in the 1880s, the dramatic architecture that today forms New York’s unforgettable skyline began to spring up, setting a model for urban planning in the United States. Even today, with the skyline so radically altered by the loss of the World Trade Towers in September 2001, the city’s panorama remains unique in the world. And its extraordinary energy and resilience are as evident today as they’ve ever been.
New York is also a thriving international city. For more than 100 years, it has been the gateway to America for people looking to start a new life on its shores. Between 1892 and 1954, more than 12 million people entered the country through Ellis Island and the Port of New York, with hundreds of thousands of them settling permanently in the New York area. The establishment of the United Nations headquarters in New York in 1949 placed the city prominently on the map of international diplomacy. Currently, nearly every country in the world maintains diplomatic offices in New York. The flow of foreigners into the city continues into the twenty-first century: Today more than a third of New York’s residents have been born abroad and nearly 180 languages are spoken in its streets.
Over the years, a dense network of suburbs has grown up in the vicinity of New York City. The Tri-State area is where three states—Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey—meet in a vast semi-circle around the metropolis. With its quaint communities, convenient shopping, good schools, and excellent commuter railway system, the Tri-State area can be a wonderful location for people who want a slower pace of life or are raising a family, yet who desire easy access to the city’s action.
Yet though less hectic than New York City itself, the Tri-State area is still one of the most densely inhabited metropolitan regions in the United States, with a very cosmopolitan feel. Anyone considering living here shouldn’t underestimate either its size—nearly 62,000 square miles (161,000 square kilometers)—or its population density. Millions of New York City commuters call the area home, and in recent decades, industry has grown significantly in central New Jersey, southern New York State, and southern Connecticut as well. In total, nearly 20 million people live and work in the Tri-State area.
Still, many parts of the region retain their visual appeal and unhurried mood. Just a short drive from most of the area’s cities brings you to its many rustic beauties: gently rolling countryside, white-fenced horse farms, well-tended gardens, historic landmarks, miles of beaches, and wooded areas with excellent trails. Lovely weekend getaways abound, and outdoor enthusiasts delight in the area’s plentiful recreational opportunities.
Looking at maps is a good way of familiarizing yourself with the area you’re going to be moving to. New York City sits on the Atlantic coast of the United States, with Boston about 210 miles (338 kilometers) to the north and Washington DC about 240 miles (387 kilometers) to the south. New York State borders the city on the north and east, and New Jersey flanks it on the west. Connecticut is located northeast of the city, sharing a border with New York State. The New York Metropolitan Area, also referred to as the Tri-State Area, is where three states—Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey—meet in a vast semi-circle around the metropolis.
When many people think of New York City, they think of Manhattan—skyscrapers, Central Park, Broadway, and Times Square. But actually, Manhattan is one of five boroughs—or administrative divisions—that make up New York City. Manhattan is built on a narrow island, with the Hudson River running along the west side and the East River along the east. The boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens lie just across the East River from Manhattan. Staten Island is to the southwest, and the Bronx spreads out to the north.
Being the nation’s publishing and media capital, New York has enough newspapers and magazines to keep even the most voracious reader busy. These publications are a great way to learn about the city.
Dailies. Once you get to New York, you can pick up the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, New York Post, and New York Daily News every day at your local newsstand. Or read them on-line.
Weeklies. New York Magazine, The New Yorker, The Village Voice, New York Resident and New York Observer come out every week. Those interested in local business can check out Crain’s New York Business for the top New York business stories. The New York Blade News is the leading media outlet for the city’s gay and lesbian community.
Your Full Circle consultant can tell you more about these publications so that you can decide which ones you might most enjoy.
New York has an excellent public transportation system. An extensive network of subway lines and buses carry more than six million passengers around the city every day. Traveling in New York is easy once you learn how the system works.
New York’s subway system is the oldest in the United States, with the first line having opened in 1904. It is a great way of getting people around, operating 24 hours a day, with stops on just about every corner! The system uses two types of trains: Local trains stop at every station on a line, while the faster express trains make only limited stops. Before you get on a train, make sure to check whether it’s local or express, or else you might find yourself speeding by your stop with no way to get off until you’re far past where you want to be. You’ll soon learn the savvy New Yorkers’ trick of taking an express train to the stop closest to your destination and then crossing the platform to catch the local for the rest of your trip.
Buses work in conjunction with the subways, transporting people above ground to every part of the city. To get around successfully in Manhattan, you need to understand how the routes for the two forms of transport are laid out. Remember that Manhattan is a narrow island stretching from north to south. In general, Manhattan’s subway lines run north and south along the length of the island—in other words, uptown and downtown. Bus routes, however, run both north to south and east to west. If you want to go across town in Manhattan—in other words, east to west—you’ll usually have to get on a bus.
Your Full Circle consultant will help you learn the details of the system, including how to use a MetroCard to pay your fare and make transfers between the subway and the bus.
Many people also use taxis to get around New York. A classic New York sight is someone standing in the street, arm outstretched, flagging down one of Manhattan’s famous yellow cabs. If you decide to take taxis or drive your own car in the city, the Department of Transportation’s website provides lots of useful information about taxi stands, parking, and traffic.
New York City is very well connected to cities and towns in the Tri-State area. Commuter and private railways, ferries, and buses—most of which are directly connected to the New York subway and bus system—all make it easy for people to get where they need to go.
Commuter trains The Metro-North Railroad, America’s second largest commuter railway system, serves southern New York State, southern Connecticut, and the northwestern tip of New Jersey. PATH trains serve the cities of Newark and Hoboken in northwestern New Jersey, just across the Hudson River from Manhattan. New Jersey Transit operates MidTOWN DIRECT trains that run west from Hoboken throughout northern NJ. For commuters traveling between New York City and Long Island, the Long Island Railroad stretches nearly 120 miles to the east, transporting nearly 300,000 people every weekday.
Private railways Many commuters use Amtrak, whose frequent trains make stops in Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York State.
Ferries A number of ferries shuttle commuters across the East and Hudson Rivers to Manhattan daily. New York’s Department of Transportation operates the famous Staten Island Ferry and a service between Manhattan and Brooklyn. Private ferries operate between Manhattan and numerous points in northeastern New Jersey along the Hudson River. Ferries also run on special occasions, particularly for large sporting events.
Buses The Long Island Bus serves nearly 100 communities on Long Island, running into eastern Queens and connecting with 47 Long Island Rail Road stations.
The New York metropolitan area is home to three major airports. New York’s John F. Kennedy International and New Jersey’s Newark International handle both domestic and international flights. New York’s LaGuardia handles only domestic traffic.
Most people relocating to New York City choose to live in Manhattan or Brooklyn. Life in “The Big Apple,” as people often call it, is full of action—fast-paced and exciting. Brooklyn is just across the East River—a quick commute to anywhere in Manhattan, yet with a somewhat slower pace and slightly less expensive housing. Although you can find some lovely neighborhoods in the other three boroughs, Staten Island, Queens, and the Bronx, the trip into Manhattan can be quite time-consuming. Given the choice, most transferees who want to live outside of Manhattan prefer New York State, New Jersey, or Connecticut—areas much better served by commuter rail lines.
Manhattan is a city of neighborhoods, each with its own character and style. From Chinatown to the Upper East Side, Greenwich Village to the Financial District, SoHo to Harlem, the incredible diversity of Manhattan is nowhere more evident than in its many unique communities. New Yorkers generally think of the city in three parts: You’ll often hear natives talking about lower, midtown, and upper Manhattan. Lower Manhattan is the southernmost part of the island, generally considered the area below (i.e., south of) 14th Street. Midtown extends between 14th and 59th Streets. Upper Manhattan includes the neighborhoods above (i.e., north of) 59th Street. In the midst of this intensely urban landscape, the magnificent Central Park spreads out for more than 50 blocks, covering 843 acres (340 hectares).
Both singles and families are drawn to Manhattan’s cosmopolitan lifestyle and myriad attractions. Among families with children, the Upper East Side is a very popular neighborhood, followed closely by the Upper West Side. In addition to being right next door to some of Manhattan’s most famous landmarks, both of these areas offer easy access to Central Park and have excellent private schools. Single people and couples without children live all over Manhattan. For people who like to go out a lot, the most trendy area is around Union Square and the East Village in lower Manhattan. Anyone working in outlying areas usually likes to live in midtown because of its proximity to the two main railway terminals, Grand Central and Penn Station.
Manhattan is a very densely populated city, where practically everyone lives in apartments or condominiums. Transferees who have moved to Manhattan in the past have been surprised at how small an average apartment is—and how much you have to pay for the space you get. Yet the city is such an exciting place to live, with so many incredible things to offer, that most people see the sacrifice as a manageable one.
Your Full Circle consultant can provide you with more information about the pace and mood of Manhattan’s neighborhoods, the kind of rental accommodation available, the cost of living, and the selection and quality of schools.
If you’re eager to learn about Manhattan on your own, you can take advantage of many excellent resources. For those of you who are parents, there is the New York Family Guide. New York Magazine is the city’s leading lifestyle publication. New York Resident is another choice. The Villager is a weekly paper providing local news and information to residents of the neighborhoods of Greenwich Village, Chelsea, TriBeCa, SoHo, and the Lower East Side. About.com maintains sites on New York City for Visitors and Manhattan.
Brooklyn is an enormous borough, with a population of nearly two and a half million. Its neighborhoods range from historical districts to beach communities. It is connected to Manhattan not only by subway, but also a famous trio of bridges—the Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Williamsburg bridges. From the Brooklyn shoreline just south of Manhattan, you can look across New York Harbor for a stunning view of the famous skyline. Though less well-known than its vibrant neighbor, Brooklyn has much of its own to offer—lush parks, stately architecture, botanic gardens, museums, beaches, and one of the world’s oldest amusement parks, Coney Island.
Brooklyn provides a way to be close to Manhattan’s action, without actually living there. The pace of life is a little less frenetic and the scale of the buildings is smaller. In certain areas, trees line the streets and people have small yards with gardens. The charming neighborhoods of Brooklyn Heights and Park Slope appeal particularly to transferees who decide to live in Brooklyn. From Brooklyn Heights, lower Manhattan is only a fifteen-minute commute by subway; from Park Slope, you need about twenty-five minutes. Families with children often prefer Park Slope because of its proximity to Prospect Park. Yet its artsy feel and fashionable cafes attract many singles and couples without children as well.
Apartments in Brooklyn offer tenants a little more space than Manhattan apartments do, but are still relatively small. With a generous housing budget, you might be able to find a floor or two of a townhouse. But in general, living in New York City means adapting to a smaller space than you might be used to in your home country.
Again, your Full Circle consultant will be happy to provide you with more information about Brooklyn’s neighborhoods, the kind of rental accommodation available, the cost of living, and the selection and quality of schools.
If you want to find out more about Brooklyn on your own, you can check out several good resources on the Internet. Brooklyn On Line is a web guide providing neighborhood news and lots of practical information to Brooklyn residents. It maintains special sections on Brooklyn Heights and Park Slope, as well as Brooklyn’s other neighborhoods. About.com’s Brooklyn website is another excellent source of information on lifestyle and culture.
New York is the U.S.’s third most populous state. Most of its residents live in New York City or the immediately outlying areas. New York, like each of the 50 states in the United States, is divided into administrative districts called counties. For transferees who will be working in Manhattan, Westchester County, in the southernmost part of New York State, with its proximity to the City, offers a very attractive location. Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, directly east of the City, are another alternative. Long Island, however, is not as popular among international transferees as Westchester is.
A major inter-state highway, the I-287, runs from east to west through the middle of Westchester County, dividing it into two parts, each with a different character. Northern Westchester is largely rural, dotted with horse farms and rolling fields. Southern Westchester is suburban and cosmopolitan, with many compact towns, residential developments, and shopping centers. Although southern Westchester is more densely populated and expensive than the northern part of the county, most people prefer it for its easy commute to New York City: A half-hour ride on the Metro-North Railway will put you safely and reliably in the center of Manhattan. Depending where you live, your commute could be even shorter.
White Plains is southern Westchester County’s largest city, and the only one with a commercial base. Some of the most appealing towns in the area are Scarsdale, Rye, Larchmont, Briarcliff, and Harrison—all very pretty. Towns along the Hudson River—Dobbs Ferry, Hastings-on-Hudson, Irvington and the historic towns of Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow—tend to be more artsy than those in the central area of southern Westchester.
Your Full Circle consultant can provide you with more information about the pace and mood of these towns, the kind of rental accommodation available, the cost of living, and the selection and quality of local schools.
If you’re eager to learn about Westchester County on your own, you can take advantage of two excellent publications. Westchester Magazine is a monthly lifestyle magazine devoted to life in Westchester, Fairfield & Vicinity. The JournalNews.com is an online newspaper covering Westchester and the neighboring counties of Rockland and Putnam. Also, the New York Visitor’s Network maintains a website with lots of useful information about Westchester.
Running along the northern shore of the Long Island Sound, the lovely coastal area of Fairfield County, in the southwestern corner of Connecticut, is another popular spot for transferees working in New York City. Only 30 to 40 minutes from midtown Manhattan, the majority of people who live in Fairfield use Metro-North or Amtrak trains to commute daily into the city. Most of its charming towns are known as family communities, but the area is far from sleepy. Being so close to New York, Fairfield is fast-paced and lively, with plenty to do and all the amenities.
Stamford, Norwalk, and Danbury are Fairfield County’s major cities. With their urban feel, Stamford and Danbury in particular appeal to singles and couples without children who want to be able to get to New York’s action easily, but who don’t want to live in Manhattan. Families moving into the area, though, usually find the smaller towns in the surrounding areas most attractive. Greenwich, Darien, and Fairfield are situated on the shores of the Long Island Sound. Weston, Wilton, Trumbull, and Ridgefield lie a little further inland.
For all of its appeal, people considering relocating to Fairfield County need to keep several things in mind. Though not as expensive as Manhattan, Fairfield has one of the highest costs of living in the United States. Apartments are readily available in cities such as Stamford, but finding a single family home—particularly on the water—can be very difficult and rents are extremely high.
Your Full Circle consultant can provide you with more information about the pace and mood of towns in Fairfield County, the kind of rental accommodation available, the cost of living, and the selection and quality of local schools.
If you’re eager to learn about Fairfield County on your own, there are a number of attractive life-style magazines that will give you "atmosphere" as well as useful information. Chief among them is Connecticut Magazine. But you can also check out Greenwich Magazine and Westport Magazine, print publications that cover much of coastal Fairfield County. The Coastal Fairfield County Convention and Visitors Bureau offers a useful website as well.
Northeastern New Jersey is another part of the Tri-State area with great appeal for people working in New York City. Hudson County—and the city of Hoboken in particular—attracts many transferees, as do Bergen, Essex, and Union counties. Somerset and Morris counties are another alternative, but because of the way they are linked to public transportation, they usually make better homes for people working in central New Jersey than in New York.
The tiny city of Hoboken in Hudson County lies directly across the Hudson River from Manhattan. Although it covers only one square mile (2.5 square kilometers) of ground, Hoboken has a very urban feel. Over the past decade, people who have wanted to live in New York, but who haven’t wanted to pay New York prices, or who have preferred a smaller version of Manhattan, have increasingly chosen to settle in Hoboken. Its trendy main street, lined with cafes, restaurants, and stylish shops, serves as a lively meeting place for friends and neighbors. Hoboken also has a number of health clubs, good grocery stores, and even a public library.
Just one short stop on the PATH train from lower Manhattan, many people who live in Hoboken commute to work in the city every day. Most of them are young singles and couples without children who love the city’s cosmopolitan flair. Couples with a baby may also enjoy living in Hoboken, although larger families usually need more space than the city’s apartment buildings can provide.
One stop to the south on the PATH train, Jersey City neighbors Hoboken. As Hoboken gets more crowded and expensive, some young professionals are starting to live in Jersey City. Although certain parts of this town are poor and relatively unsafe, beautiful new apartment complexes are springing up in other sections, offering people a more affordable alternative to both Hoboken and Manhattan. If you’re interested in Jersey City, your Full Circle consultant can guide you to safe and attractive areas.
If you want to learn more about Hoboken, the Hoboken Reporter provides local news, a culture guide, classified ads, and a business directory. For basic factual information about Jersey City, go to the Frequently Asked Questions section of Jersey City Online’s website.
Bergen County is home to a number of communities popular among transferees. Clustered in the western part of the county are the towns of Ridgewood, Ramsey, Mahwah, Franklin Lakes, Oakland, Wyckoff, and Glen Ridge. Some of these communities are suburban developments where you need a car to get around, while others are small villages where you can easily walk into a central shopping area. With good school systems and access to commuter lines to Manhattan, these communities are well suited to families with children who want a house and garden in quiet surroundings.
New Jersey’s largest city, Newark, is located in Essex County. A business and finance center by day, downtown Newark draws people from all over the area to the internationally known New Jersey Performing Arts Center in the evening. The city’s downtown boasts a number of excellent restaurants and bars serving both businesspeople and concertgoers. Heavily industrialized, Newark and the towns that immediately surround it have little to offer most transferees, who usually prefer to settle in communities further west along the MidTOWN DIRECT commuter line. The small cities of Maplewood and Montclair, with their urban mood, are popular choices among singles and couples without children who don’t need to think about good schools and houses with yards. Milburn/Short Hills, a quaint town west of Maplewood and Montclair, has excellent public schools. West Orange is another good alternative for families with children.
Lying just south of Essex County, Union County is a little further away from New York City. But it is still very well connected to Manhattan by MidTOWN DIRECT commuter rail. With a population of around 500,000, it is less densely inhabited than the other three counties, whose populations reach as high as 850,000.Union County’s largest city is Elizabeth, yet its most appealing towns are further west along the commuter lines. Summit, New Providence, and Berkeley Heights, in the far western part of the county, are all very popular with transferees. These towns are family-oriented and suburban, with good schools, recreation centers, libraries, and seasonal sports programs for children. The most expensive of the three, Summit, has a town center with shops and businesses, while New Providence and Berkeley Heights have smaller shopping areas nearby. Transferees looking for a town where rents are slightly less expensive and the demand for housing a bit lower may be happy in Westfield, in the central part of the county. Westfield also has a nice town center and good schools.
Your Full Circle consultant can provide you with more information about the pace and mood of towns in Bergen, Essex, and Union counties, the kind of rental accommodation available, the cost of living, and the selection and quality of local schools.
If you want to learn more about these counties on your own, check out The Newark Star-Ledger, the area’s largest newspaper, where you’ll find culture and lifestyle information about northern New Jersey. You can also read the New Jersey Monthly and New Jersey Life, two lifestyle magazines filled with feature articles about living in the state.