NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — A real estate company is tracking a growing trend — more people moving into New York City at a more mature age.
Some are even deciding to retire here.
CBS2’s Raegan Medgie spoke with one woman who decided to leave the suburbs for life in Manhattan.
Robyn Eckhaus moved into the Upper West Side in August from the suburbs of Westchester County, and she hasn’t looked back since.
“To me, the most important connection in my life, among others, are my two daughters — I have two girls, Samantha and Alexa, 27 and 25,” she said. “And they both live in Manhattan.”
Eckhaus said she recently got divorced and realized, “you know, having worked full time raising my family, I feel like this is a little bit of a my journey and my time to explore.”
Joan Kagan, the director of sales for Triple Mint real estate in Midtown, said Eckhaus’ move from the suburbs isn’t that rare.
“A number of years ago, I noticed a trend that a lot of my friends were calling me to refer their parents to me,” she said. “You have to make sure the snow is shoveled, you have to make sure the grass is mowed, and guess what? When you live in the an apartment in the city, you’re not responsible for any of that.”
Eckhaus is in her early 50s, but said living in the city is like the fountain of youth.
“There’s so much entertainment here, there’s so much culture,” she said. “The symphony, the off-Broadway shows, I mean there’s anything that anybody could want. It’s limitless.”
One big factor to keep in mind when looking for a place in the city is space, or lack of it.
“You have people who — if you have a basement and lots closets, you just won’t have that here,” Kagan said.
Kagan said many people sell their homes and have that money, but real estate is very expensive in the city.
“A lot of financial planners advise retirees to rent instead of buy, because once they sell their homes, they have a lot of liquidity, and it’s good to have that liquidity in retirement,” she said.
Ekhaus is renting and enjoying all the Big Apple has to offer.
“I think it’s a great place for me to be, right here, right now,” she said.
For those looking to live in a co-op, experts say co-ops can be really strict with financing and want to see a 25 percent debt-to-income ratio. Renters are also held to similar standards. Often they’re advised to pay the first year’s rent up front.
