Moving from Sydney Australia to NYC

[hutais]

Ok it a nutshell my husband and I have decided if he gets a good offer we will move to NYC for about 2 years. This all started when a company called "The PGC Group" emailed him and told him his skills are hot at the moment in the IT industry and are willing to "help" us with the job, relocaltion etc. Now the money is compariable to here in sydney however its the tax breaks they have said we would get is what makes it a very attractive offer. We would be doing it for the experience and the wonderful opportunity as we are both in our 40's now and really still young enough to do it. We have two kids a 2 year old and a 7 year old. I would not work even though the visa we get allows me to do so but I want to take care of my girls.

Now we are prepared to live in an apartment in manhattan if we can afford it however I have been looking at different areas and really would love advice from fellow Aussies living in NYC what their thoughts are?

I recently returned from LA as I went to visit a friend who has been living there for 3 years and had a ball. She lives in Irvine OC which was nice but very "truman show" for me so I dont want to live out of NYC if I can.

This is happening VERY FAST but I want to hear as much of the good and bad stuff before with actually sign on the dotted line.

I have been looking a rents in Manhattan on NY Times and there seems to be ALOT available in the hell's kitchen, midtown west district? Why is that?


Thanks is advance to whoever reads this

[USC]

Originally Posted by hutais

Ok it a nutshell my husband and I have decided if he gets a good offer we will move to NYC for about 2 years. This all started when a company called "The PGC Group" emailed him and told him his skills are hot at the moment in the IT industry and are willing to "help" us with the job, relocaltion etc. Now the money is compariable to here in sydney however its the tax breaks they have said we would get is what makes it a very attractive offer. We would be doing it for the experience and the wonderful opportunity as we are both in our 40's now and really still young enough to do it. We have two kids a 2 year old and a 7 year old. I would not work even though the visa we get allows me to do so but I want to take care of my girls.

Now we are prepared to live in an apartment in manhattan if we can afford it however I have been looking at different areas and really would love advice from fellow Aussies living in NYC what their thoughts are?

I recently returned from LA as I went to visit a friend who has been living there for 3 years and had a ball. She lives in Irvine OC which was nice but very "truman show" for me so I dont want to live out of NYC if I can.

This is happening VERY FAST but I want to hear as much of the good and bad stuff before with actually sign on the dotted line.

I have been looking a rents in Manhattan on NY Times and there seems to be ALOT available in the hell's kitchen, midtown west district? Why is that?


Thanks is advance to whoever reads this

You need to do some due diligence on PGC before you give them any money (which I suspect they wil soonl ask you for).

I took a look at their website:

Contact thePGCgroup

Red flags:

(a) They are not listed in any phone book and are using a 917 number for their NYC office, which 90% of the time is reserved for cell phones.

(b) A WHOIS on their domain reveals that they are registered out of Chile which is extremely unusual for a US company:

"Registrant:
Ripoll Garrido, Daniel Alberto
PGC Global Cosulting Ltda.
Avenida Pocuro 2639
Depto 11
Santiago, RM 7510787
CL"

(c) A google on their Seattle number reveals that this number is also associated with their related company CXC Global, the website of which no longer exists.

(d) None of the phone numbers in the other cities seem to be listed which suggests that they might be using cell phones and virtual offices.

(e) The Vancouver number is listed in an online directory (but again not listed in the phone company directory) and they describe their line of work thus:

"Cxc Canada +1 604 800 0409
Vancouver, BC

…and/or work permit facilitation, salary packaging, contract management, tax compliance and insurances, thus making their professional lives more …

Tax Compliance - Payroll Services"

[hutais]

um will have to look more into it. We do however have 2 friends that have used them and are currently living in NYC.

Thanks so much for doing that!!

[USC]

Originally Posted by hutais

um will have to look more into it. We do however have 2 friends that have used them and are currently living in NYC.

Thanks so much for doing that!!

Okay, to answer your question on Hell's Kitchen (which is 34 to 57 Streets and 8th to 12th Avenues). The neighborhood still has a lot of warehouses and is home to a lot of the garment district crowd. Many of the apartment buildings are older. So, you will get a good deal on the rent especially with the recession, over which has driven down rents all over Manhattan.

If you decide to pick Hell's Kitchen you might have to send your kids to private schools as the Public Schools in this neighborhood are not up to snuff.

[hutais]

Wow that is great info as we have a 7 year old that would need to go to a school locally. One of our friends lives in Lincon Square which he said was great and very kid friendly. He also suggested the UWS if we wanted cheaper rent. I am happy to live in an apartment. I just want to find a place where it's kid friendly as I Also have a 2 year old and I won't be working. This is why I don't want to move out. How is Brooklyn? I have heard some parts are ok like park slope ?

[USC]

Originally Posted by hutais

Wow that is great info as we have a 7 year old that would need to go to a school locally. One of our friends lives in Lincon Square which he said was great and very kid friendly. He also suggested the UWS if we wanted cheaper rent. I am happy to live in an apartment. I just want to find a place where it's kid friendly as I Also have a 2 year old and I won't be working. This is why I don't want to move out. How is Brooklyn? I have heard some parts are ok like park slope ?

Lincoln Square is good. UWS is very good provided you stay between 60 and 96 Street and CPW and Amsterdam. Brooklyn (lots of Aussies but they are younger in their 20s) in general not so good except for pockets like Park Slope (which is excellent but expensive), Sheepshead Bay, etc. In a nutshell, 15% of Brooklyn is really good and 85% really bad (don't take me too literally on the percentages but you get my drift).

If you don't mind moving out you might want to consider Long Island/Westchester. They have some of the best Public Schools in the country. They outdo even the Private Schools. However, you won't get the glamour of Manhattan and in all probability you will end up in a house rather than an apartment (you can rent an apartment if you like but most people go the house route).

[hutais]

[=USC;328217]Lincoln Square is good. UWS is very good provided you stay between 60 and 96 Street and CPW and Amsterdam. Brooklyn (lots of Aussies but they are younger in their 20s) in general not so good except for pockets like Park Slope (which is excellent but expensive), Sheepshead Bay, etc. In a nutshell, 15% of Brooklyn is really good and 85% really bad (don't take me too literally on the percentages but you get my drift).

If you don't mind moving out you might want to consider Long Island/Westchester. They have some of the best Public Schools in the country. They outdo even the Private Schools. However, you won't get the glamour of Manhattan and in all probability you will end up in a house rather than an apartment (you can rent an apartment if you like but most people go the house route).[/QUOTE]

Yes see I want to stay away from moving out as I live 10pm from the CBD of Sydney here so not moving to NYC to live in the suburbs. I will feel so isolated therefore that is why I would rather live closer and in an apartment. It's just different when you have kids so that is why location is so I
Important.

[hutais]

Sorry I was replying from my iphone and the typing is so much harder!

On my laptop now

Now what I was trying to say is that here in Sydney I live about 10kms form the CBD so I really dont want to move out the the suburbs over there. The whole idea is to experience the city but doing it in an are where the kids are also catered for. I do want my daughter to go to a public school however one that is ok.
We need to now work out how much rent we want to pay as we also want to do as much travelling around the US as we can while we are there. I suppose when we get there we will be in a hotel till we organise a place but at least i sort of know where I want to be.

[hutais]

Originally Posted by Redwood BM

Tell your husband we can offer him a better deal than PCG.... Same deal but better...

Let me know if you are interested?

Sure we will listen to all options

Email him on removed email address

We are still keeping our options all open

[twostep]

Originally Posted by hutais

Sure we will listen to all options

Email him on removed email address in quoted post.

We are still keeping our options all open

Assuming he is your husband - posting his resume in a one-liner on a public forum? ???