It was Frank Sinatra who famously sang the now immortal words, “New York, New York, I want to wake up in a city that never sleeps, and find I’m a number one, top of the list, King of the hill, a number one.” It’s no big secret that most parents want their child to become that “number one”, to become that “King (or Queen) of the hill”. It’s also not a huge secret that New York is a city that affords a wealth of opportunities when it comes to schooling and college, jobs post-college, and generally with the experience that comes in living in one of the brightest, most cosmopolitan cities on the globe.
Described by many as the world’s largest cultural “melting pot”, New York is the kind of city that has something for everyone. And this includes parents of teenagers and young adults. The schools in New York are top-class, whether one looks at well-known prep schools such as Collegiate, Chapin, and Spence, or public schools such as Stuyvesant High or even The High School for Math, Science & Engineering, which caters to kids who lean towards STEM subjects. Once school ends, colleges in New York are an eclectic mix of renowned institutions. Many have said that going to college in New York is actually two separate experiences- the experience of attending college, and the experience of being in New York City. It’s perhaps during college that your children would most get to experience first-hand the vibrancy of the “city that never sleeps”; from the art galleries like the MET to the street art, from the high-end lounges to the dive bars, and from Broadway to avant-garde performances in Washington Square Park. There are hordes of world-renowned universities in the city: Columbia, NYU and Barnard, to name just three. Apart from the universities in the City itself, New York provides a central and solid base for families if their college-bound kids are going almost anywhere on the east coast, whether it might be University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Tufts or Harvard or Boston University in Boston, Georgetown in Washington DC, or any of the wonderful liberal arts schools in upstate New York like Vassar, Hamilton or Sarah Lawrence.
Some may view New York City as a “tough” place to grow up, and a “tougher” place once one gets a job. This might all be true in some ways, but in others, having to struggle may be crucial to a young adult’s growth. Not being handed a cushy job on a silver platter is perhaps part and parcel of trying to secure work in New York City, but in all likelihood, it’ll make your child all the more stronger once they do find that opportunity. The same people that view job-hunting and working in New York as difficult will also likely concede that once you’ve made it in New York City, you can probably make it anywhere, and that’s also very valuable in today’s more global job market. And once your child has found that job, living and working in New York can be extremely fun and rewarding in its own way. There may be late nights at the office, but it could be followed up by a visit to a late-night taqueria. There could be client events on a Monday night, but those might be at Madison Square Garden to take in a Knicks game. For every eccentric customer at the bookstore, your child has a part-time job at, there’ll be five customers that your child will take away life lessons from. New York City is unpredictable in a lot of ways, but your child will likely never grow as much anywhere else.
When it comes to where to live in New York City, many will obviously immediately jump towards Manhattan. It’s the version of New York we’ve all grown up within our heads, seen on TV shows like Friends and Seinfeld, and read about. However, there are four other boroughs of New York City, and one of those four is perhaps an even more attractive (and affordable in some cases) option than Manhattan. Brooklyn has been up and coming for the last couple of decades. It’s a part of the city with a strong sense of community, where everyone wants to see their neighborhood at its best. The borough has amazing restaurants, bars and open-air food markets such as Smorgasbord. Brooklyn has its own extremely vibrant art scene, with galleries and graffiti/street art collections next to each other, such as in Bushwick. In many ways, Brooklyn is also a more comfortable locale for families with younger children as well, as parts are less cramped than Manhattan and the borough has its own share of public parks, such as Prospect Park and Park Slope. It’s also quieter and less crowded than downtown Manhattan, with many more secluded neighborhoods. Living in Brooklyn allows you to obtain all the benefits of Manhattan, without some of the costs of living there.
For many, the idea of buying a house in New York City could be quite intimidating and overwhelming. It’s not a small decision to make. However, it’s the kind of decision that could provide you and your family with a number of happy memories and opportunities for your children- from school to college to jobs and settling down. Investing in New York City will prove to be wholly beneficial for you and your children’s future.
Get in touch with us to learn more about investing in a home in New York or check out our stunning listed property- 550 Vanderbilt, located in the heart of Brooklyn, New York.
