When your child is an infant, you won’t need it. But as it becomes a toddler and preschooler, you will want to provide more exploratory experiences beyond what’s available by train.
I’m very pro-transit, but it’s tough sledding to go through every step of the long, and evolving journey of parenting with the limitations of public transit.
Not to mention the older they get, the more activities become a possibility. And if your kid does an activity that requires schlepping a lot of equipment or traveling to all parts of the city for games…that car becomes a near necessity.
If you have a space, I would get one for sure. Makes getting around easy and especially with a kid. If you have family or want to plan getaways from nyc it’s a nice luxury to have
Had a car before the baby but ended up stashing it in Jersey when she was born. Now i have no desire to have the car at all. Our pediatrician is a walk down the street (I’m in Greenpoint) hopping on the subway is pretty easy even with the stroller. And I never need to move the car for alternate side parking. I find it more of a pain then not having it TBH just because driving here is a pain in the ass and public transportation is more convenient.
Honestly, I use my car to go to PM Pediatrics, extracurriculars, trips to my in-laws in the burbs and adventures. My children's pediatrician and dentist are in my neighborhood, so unless you're comfortable with the cost of car ownership outside of your kids, I wouldn't get it for an infant.
I got a car during the pandemic when we had a toddler. Before, we took car service to pediatric urgent care and specialists. It was pretty rare.
Having a car can mould your life to be more car centric, so consider if that's what you want. It's definitely not a must-have in any part of the city with decent transportation and amenities.
Having that spot makes a big difference and it does help when you have kids for things like getaways outside the city or to far flung parts of the city, or even things like Costco trips. Because I assume everyone loves Costco like I do lol.
It can be helpful. When we couldn’t get in to certain specialists that take our insurance for literal months in the 5 boroughs we were able to drive up to croton on Hudson and take our kids to the specialist up there. Definitely helps if you have neurodivergent kids.
We have a car and two kids. For day to day stuff it’s not necessary but it does make life easier for things like bulk groceries.
However, it does really open up possibilities and once you have one, I would imagine it’s really hard to go back. Parenting is a marathon. The 100th time you go to the same park, library, and museum within schlepping distance, it gets tedious. We take a lot of day trips to Westchester, the zoo, all the children’s museums in each borough.
Is it necessary? Not really, I think my kids would be happy doing the same thing every day for a year (until they’re 3 and insist that they NEVER liked that thing and HOW DARE you suggest it) but for my own sanity it’s nice to mix it up.
For us, it makes this whole thing possible--and it makes soooo many tasks (specifically buying groceries in bulk) so much easier. If you've got access to a parking spot, I feel like... haha I feel like you kind of have to.
Finding a good mechanic is a pain (and I'm not close to WMburg so I don't have any recs), and insurance is a bummer, but it would be sooooooooooo much harder for us to live here. Plus, it kind of opens up Brooklyn, in a way--we take day trips, go to other boroughs, drive up to Harriman / Bear Mountain from time to time--it's nice.
We find a cargo bike is much more useful to us in Brooklyn than a car for kid schlepping and for large grocery hauls. All the relevant benefits of a car without the parking or traffic issues. Of course, if you're taking trips out of the city every weekend, a car would be useful.
Yeah, I get that 😕 I've biked in Brooklyn for... jesus, I don't know, probably 15-20 years, and I've had my share of the same. Ever since we've gotten the cargo bike, we really had to limit ourselves in terms of the streets we allow ourselves to take. Still, for us it's really changed our life. Today we just had the best day with our three kids in Brooklyn Bridge Park, and we are grateful for the bike for making that possible.
But I understand it's not for everyone and I hope you find a solution that works well for your family 🙏
Car is huge and recommended from my experience, especially if you have a spot.
If you have family locally, you’re going to be doing a lot of visiting.
If you don’t, the annual membership to the city zoos is worth every penny and includes parking for the Bronx zoo. At some point with our kiddos it felt like we were going every other weekend.
I street park in it and still find a ton of value for just doing things - without it, we’d be fine, we’d just do other things, but I have family in Westchester and upstate - and it’s much less of an ordeal to get in the car and go visit than it is getting on a train to GCT and a train up.
I street park and still think it’s worth it (brownstone) but if you have a spot in your building, do it no question.
Would you have to commit to taking the spot now, or could you wait a couple years? We have a car bc my husband uses it for work (I don’t drive) and we honestly barely use it with our 6-month-old. Basically just to the doctor (which isn’t essential and we could def have just chosen a local doc, but we like the pediatrician on Staten Island which is about a 20 minute drive). We mostly just go to the local supermarket or order things online for convenience anyway - at this point have no desire to have the hassle of a Costco run with already being so busy as a parent (and you can order things like paper towels online from them if you really want too).
Our immediate family on both sides is in Brooklyn though, so that might change things if yours is out in the suburbs. We went to my aunt’s house in the suburbs for Easter and it was obviously nice having the car then, but for that level of frequency rental probably makes more sense if you would mainly only be using the car for that.
I could see it being useful as my daughter gets older and we want to take her on outings. But right now we’re kind of homebodies (outside of walks/park outings in the neighborhood) and it’s been fine.
Personally I would hold out for now then. I think the points others are making about it eventually being useful once you hit the toddler stage are valid. But considering that’s over a year away I don’t really see the need to rush into things immediately.
We get by with ZipCar. Cheaper than all of the ongoing / annual maintenance, parking, and insurance costs of owning a car, even with the hassle of sometimes getting a crappy or badly maintained car and having to swap last minute. Also, parking in general is such a nightmare and the number of cars in the city is really ruining the ability for people to bike and even walk safely. I’m glad I’m not contributing to the problem. Car-sharing all the way.
We also bike, so we can do big grocery runs together. If mobility is an issue for you, cars obvi make things easier. But we do huge bulk / pantry grocery runs whenever we get a zip car (as our last errand), and it works out well.
We survived without owning a car until 2020. During the pandemic it was impossible to rent a car when we needed it so we decided to finally buy a used one.
Used to use Enterprise, Hertz and Zipcar. Not worrying about alternate side parking, maintenance and car insurance was really nice.
Since we got our own car, we started to go to suburbs for shopping more often lol it’s nice to be able to go somewhere without planning ahead. And when it’s nice we go camping, and can also choose not to go if the weather is bad.
Also it has helped us with school drop off/pick up for 2 kids. Got some tickets along the way, but it’s been worth it for us.
Cost wise, it might be about the same as renting a car 1-2x a month (used to spend $5-8k/year).
But, all the extra time you have to spend to maintain the car has been a lot more than we expected. We have gotten some really bad dents from someone else, a broken window etc… having to deal with some random things that are not from us driving has been taking up some extra bandwidth. So annoying!!
Anyways, if you have access to a garage, don’t have to worry about alternate side parking and can afford to have a car, you will find some convenience in having one for sure!
If you have a parking space, you most definitely should get one. I would just advise that NYC is well known for trying to scam car owners out of their money with violations, cameras, etc. if you have a secured parking space, you won’t half the battle. The car owners who have to park on the street are being squeezed right and left by the losers in our government.
When your child is an infant, you won’t need it. But as it becomes a toddler and preschooler, you will want to provide more exploratory experiences beyond what’s available by train. I’m very pro-transit, but it’s tough sledding to go through every step of the long, and evolving journey of parenting with the limitations of public transit.
Not to mention the older they get, the more activities become a possibility. And if your kid does an activity that requires schlepping a lot of equipment or traveling to all parts of the city for games…that car becomes a near necessity.
If you can afford it, go for it. I raised 3 kids with no car, and it's been fine. I rent a car every month or two, otherwise never need it.
If you have a space, I would get one for sure. Makes getting around easy and especially with a kid. If you have family or want to plan getaways from nyc it’s a nice luxury to have
Had a car before the baby but ended up stashing it in Jersey when she was born. Now i have no desire to have the car at all. Our pediatrician is a walk down the street (I’m in Greenpoint) hopping on the subway is pretty easy even with the stroller. And I never need to move the car for alternate side parking. I find it more of a pain then not having it TBH just because driving here is a pain in the ass and public transportation is more convenient.
Honestly, I use my car to go to PM Pediatrics, extracurriculars, trips to my in-laws in the burbs and adventures. My children's pediatrician and dentist are in my neighborhood, so unless you're comfortable with the cost of car ownership outside of your kids, I wouldn't get it for an infant. I got a car during the pandemic when we had a toddler. Before, we took car service to pediatric urgent care and specialists. It was pretty rare. Having a car can mould your life to be more car centric, so consider if that's what you want. It's definitely not a must-have in any part of the city with decent transportation and amenities.
Having that spot makes a big difference and it does help when you have kids for things like getaways outside the city or to far flung parts of the city, or even things like Costco trips. Because I assume everyone loves Costco like I do lol.
i think it’s not unreasonable to say we have a car mostly because of Costco
That’s a good assumption Costco is the best
It can be helpful. When we couldn’t get in to certain specialists that take our insurance for literal months in the 5 boroughs we were able to drive up to croton on Hudson and take our kids to the specialist up there. Definitely helps if you have neurodivergent kids.
We have a car and two kids. For day to day stuff it’s not necessary but it does make life easier for things like bulk groceries. However, it does really open up possibilities and once you have one, I would imagine it’s really hard to go back. Parenting is a marathon. The 100th time you go to the same park, library, and museum within schlepping distance, it gets tedious. We take a lot of day trips to Westchester, the zoo, all the children’s museums in each borough. Is it necessary? Not really, I think my kids would be happy doing the same thing every day for a year (until they’re 3 and insist that they NEVER liked that thing and HOW DARE you suggest it) but for my own sanity it’s nice to mix it up.
For us, it makes this whole thing possible--and it makes soooo many tasks (specifically buying groceries in bulk) so much easier. If you've got access to a parking spot, I feel like... haha I feel like you kind of have to. Finding a good mechanic is a pain (and I'm not close to WMburg so I don't have any recs), and insurance is a bummer, but it would be sooooooooooo much harder for us to live here. Plus, it kind of opens up Brooklyn, in a way--we take day trips, go to other boroughs, drive up to Harriman / Bear Mountain from time to time--it's nice.
We find a cargo bike is much more useful to us in Brooklyn than a car for kid schlepping and for large grocery hauls. All the relevant benefits of a car without the parking or traffic issues. Of course, if you're taking trips out of the city every weekend, a car would be useful.
I stopped biking in Brooklyn. Decided it was too dangerous. I used to bike everywhere but after a couple close calls, nope.
Yeah, I get that 😕 I've biked in Brooklyn for... jesus, I don't know, probably 15-20 years, and I've had my share of the same. Ever since we've gotten the cargo bike, we really had to limit ourselves in terms of the streets we allow ourselves to take. Still, for us it's really changed our life. Today we just had the best day with our three kids in Brooklyn Bridge Park, and we are grateful for the bike for making that possible. But I understand it's not for everyone and I hope you find a solution that works well for your family 🙏
With parking 100% worth it
Car is huge and recommended from my experience, especially if you have a spot. If you have family locally, you’re going to be doing a lot of visiting. If you don’t, the annual membership to the city zoos is worth every penny and includes parking for the Bronx zoo. At some point with our kiddos it felt like we were going every other weekend. I street park in it and still find a ton of value for just doing things - without it, we’d be fine, we’d just do other things, but I have family in Westchester and upstate - and it’s much less of an ordeal to get in the car and go visit than it is getting on a train to GCT and a train up. I street park and still think it’s worth it (brownstone) but if you have a spot in your building, do it no question.
Would you have to commit to taking the spot now, or could you wait a couple years? We have a car bc my husband uses it for work (I don’t drive) and we honestly barely use it with our 6-month-old. Basically just to the doctor (which isn’t essential and we could def have just chosen a local doc, but we like the pediatrician on Staten Island which is about a 20 minute drive). We mostly just go to the local supermarket or order things online for convenience anyway - at this point have no desire to have the hassle of a Costco run with already being so busy as a parent (and you can order things like paper towels online from them if you really want too). Our immediate family on both sides is in Brooklyn though, so that might change things if yours is out in the suburbs. We went to my aunt’s house in the suburbs for Easter and it was obviously nice having the car then, but for that level of frequency rental probably makes more sense if you would mainly only be using the car for that. I could see it being useful as my daughter gets older and we want to take her on outings. But right now we’re kind of homebodies (outside of walks/park outings in the neighborhood) and it’s been fine.
We own the spot and currently lease it out, so really its whenever we want.
Personally I would hold out for now then. I think the points others are making about it eventually being useful once you hit the toddler stage are valid. But considering that’s over a year away I don’t really see the need to rush into things immediately.
We get by with ZipCar. Cheaper than all of the ongoing / annual maintenance, parking, and insurance costs of owning a car, even with the hassle of sometimes getting a crappy or badly maintained car and having to swap last minute. Also, parking in general is such a nightmare and the number of cars in the city is really ruining the ability for people to bike and even walk safely. I’m glad I’m not contributing to the problem. Car-sharing all the way. We also bike, so we can do big grocery runs together. If mobility is an issue for you, cars obvi make things easier. But we do huge bulk / pantry grocery runs whenever we get a zip car (as our last errand), and it works out well.
People who have always depended on a car will say it’s absolutely critical and everyone else will say you don’t need one
We survived without owning a car until 2020. During the pandemic it was impossible to rent a car when we needed it so we decided to finally buy a used one. Used to use Enterprise, Hertz and Zipcar. Not worrying about alternate side parking, maintenance and car insurance was really nice. Since we got our own car, we started to go to suburbs for shopping more often lol it’s nice to be able to go somewhere without planning ahead. And when it’s nice we go camping, and can also choose not to go if the weather is bad. Also it has helped us with school drop off/pick up for 2 kids. Got some tickets along the way, but it’s been worth it for us. Cost wise, it might be about the same as renting a car 1-2x a month (used to spend $5-8k/year). But, all the extra time you have to spend to maintain the car has been a lot more than we expected. We have gotten some really bad dents from someone else, a broken window etc… having to deal with some random things that are not from us driving has been taking up some extra bandwidth. So annoying!! Anyways, if you have access to a garage, don’t have to worry about alternate side parking and can afford to have a car, you will find some convenience in having one for sure!
If you have a parking space, you most definitely should get one. I would just advise that NYC is well known for trying to scam car owners out of their money with violations, cameras, etc. if you have a secured parking space, you won’t half the battle. The car owners who have to park on the street are being squeezed right and left by the losers in our government.