need a good salary comparator and NYC locations

I just got a call about what seems to be a good job NYC that pays about $125K per year, which is a good $50K per year more than I make now in the Hartford, CT area. However, I know NYC is quite a bit more expensive, as is Southwestern Connecticut.

Also, where is a good location to live in the NYC area?

Thanks

..I live in Queens, been living here for 4 years now. Astoria is good, reasonable prices. I live in Far Rockaway, neighborhood is so-so, near JFK airport.

If you have a family, if you don't mind a little commute, if you need more space than a 400 sq. ft. studio.

I've lived in Park Slope in Brooklyn, the East Village, Chelsea and the Upper East Side at different times of my life in NY. All were wonderful.

I have a wife & a 20 month old daughter, and room for my in-laws when they come for extended visits.

My current house is almost brand new & 2500 sq feet, not including basement. We moved because we felt crowded in our old 1200 sq foot house.

However, just did a bit of research on the company and they are located in White Plains, I think... or was it Mamoroneck?

They're in Westchester County, right next to each other - Mamaroneck is right on the CT state line. Also, Mamaroneck Ave. in White Plains is a pretty busy office/commercial district, with several corporate HQs located on that strip - was that what you saw?

If you live in a new 2500 sqft house, be prepared for "sticker shock" when you see the prices of comparable properties in that area. Westchester is SERIOUSLY expensive.

My house in the Hartford area is probably something I could get $400K for... but, I told my wife if we moved to lower Fairfield County in CT, it would be a million dollar home at least (did a quick search on realtor.com in some towns and saw 50 year old ranches going for $599,000)

You may be able to find a reasonable Co-op in Hartsdale or Ossining but for a house you may want to look in the Northern End of Westchester County or even in Rockland County. You'll need a sizeable down-payment to have what I would think to be a reasonable mortgage. It's a beautiful area though.

Downtown White Plains is a little Pitsy --

www.realtor.com they have a salary calculator.

On the left
http://move.realtor.com/move/default.asp?lnksrc=ts10&poe=realtor&gate=realtor

I put in the closest town in CT to me, and some towns in SW Connecticut and just over the border in NY, and I would need to make $150,000 per year.

For salary comparisons, I've found the one on http://www.homefair.com to be the best.

As far as neighborhoods, I grew up in NYC and have been considering the possibility of moving back. As far as "a good location to live", there isn't one - that's not a piece of advice you can get from a stranger. It all depends on how YOU like to live.

Personally, I've found that I'm more of the quiet suburban type, meaning that my old neighborhood in the Bronx was out of the question for me. I'm mostly interested in the towns along the Hudson in Westchester - Sleepy Hollow, Tarrytown, etc - they were more my speed.

The New York Times has a "So you're thinking of living in:" column in the Sunday Real Estate section - you might want to poke around their archives for some ideas.

Good luck on the move!

about an hour and a half trip to grand central.

rent in new york is expensive, it makes $125k look like chump change.

from research on the internets it looks like a decent space in manhattan will run around $2800 a month = $33,600 a year.

you might consider astoria, queens. they have half price rent and an easy subway connection.

So, I could actually move to the New Haven area & take the train...

Some towns with good schools around there (my daughter is almost 2 and my wife wants a town with top public schools...)