With more than 500 towns within commuting distance of New York City, expat city dwellers are spoiled for choice. But using criteria familiar to dating websites, two-year-old real estate brokerage Suburban Jungle has identified three of suburbia’s best offerings.
Suburban Jungle, founded by Westchester resident Alison Bernstein in 2012 to guide departing city dwellers through their defections, points to Westchester County’s Irvington, North Bronx towns Pelham and Pelham Manor and New Jersey’s Glen Ridge and Montclair as the best destinations for urban expats. The firm comes up with the matches by reviewing home seekers’ most requested traits in a new hometown, such as short commutes, tasty dining options and attractiveness — much as dating sites evaluate users’ most sought-after characteristics in a potential mate.
New Yorkers, of course, must eat — and eat well. For that reason Suburban Jungle pointed to Irvington as a hot foodie destination, with New York culinary star Michael Psilakis’ MP Taverna located steps from the town’s Metro North station. Median home sale prices hover around $1.1 million — up from median $748,000 in 2012, and the commute to Grand Central clocks in at around 50 minutes.
Pelham and Pelham Manor, meanwhile, have outposts such as Wolf’s Lane Delicatessen, which can help ease the culture shock. The real estate bite is relatively gentle as well, with median home prices around $607,000 in Pelham and $729,500 for Pelham Manor. And the area also boasts a sprawling New York Athletic Club with a yacht club, tennis courts and private island on its 30 acres — all just a 31 commute from Midtown, the New York Post reported.
Over in New Jersey, Glen Ridge was plucked as a prime destination, with architectural riches including buildings designed by Stanford White, John Russell Pope and Frank Lloyd Wright. Though “bare in terms of stuff to do,” as the Post put it, the town does have clothing boutiques and a median real estate price of $840,000 as of January. The commute clocks in at just under 50 minutes. [NYP] — Julie Strickland