Alstoy

I agree with Kosmo-give Dallas a shot. I live here and it's a large city without the parking issues. BTW-the tollway is refered to by the locals as the Autobhan.

go-C4S-injune

Man, I dont know why everyone's gotta put nyc down about traffic and vandalism. Granted I live in the 'burbs, but I work in midtown, drive everywhere in the city and park on the streets. No problems thus far (and this extends back more than a decade in my previous Acura TL, Lexus Coupe, Audi S4 and BMW 335i Convertible.) Yeah, it's costs a bit more than what it cost me in towns like Chicago and Minneapolis, but you also have the opportunity to make a much better living than in those cities, on average, and certainly none of them can hold candle to NYC in terms of restaurants, culture, diversity and sheer energy. Ahem, and let's just say, there are more ladies who recognize and appreciate Porsches in this city...

LlBr

Human brains are built to notice and remember dangers and risks more than pleasures and joys. Thinking logically there's no doubt NYC is THE fantastic USA city! Now, if they could just pave the streets more like race tracks.

LagunaDallas

Dallas is great! I'd probably consider keeping the car if you're commuting into a big city from the suburbs, but if you're going to live in NYC or DC, I'd sell it. I took over the lease on a BMW via Swapalease.com from a guy in NYC at Gramercy Park who was paying $600/month just to park and insure the car on top of the payment. He started the lease when he lived in Westchester County and commuted into Manhattan, but after moving into the city, he said he put 1000 miles on it in 6 months for occasional weekend trips out of the city and could no longer justify $1400/month leaving his pocket for the luxury of having this car sit in the garage.

go-C4S-injune

Mr Laguna is right: it takes many coins to keep a car in NYC. My monthly parking in the city, granted it's right off of Park Ave, is $650. I stress again that it is reflective of higher incomes in NYC, in my view, recent political uproar notwithstanding. I do hear from friends who live down there that Texas as a state is a great place to own and drive fast cars. But aside from hulking steaks, cheap strip joints and a fancy football stadium, what else is there to do in any major city in the state of lonely stars?

JH11932

Garages are garages wherever you go, and NYC (my home) is no worse than anywhere else. In DC a valet backed my car into a wall smashing both brake lights; in San Francisco my car was returned with the entire left side scratched from front to back. In New York I've lost a passenger side mirror, had my car returned with transmission fluid on the windshield, and once — no kidding — found that the garage gave my car to someone else, who drove it 46 miles before "she noticed" (i.e. I called her cellphone.)

Some garages are better than others, and it pays to both ask around and even call the management companies. We switched from one dismal ICON garage to a much better one around the corner, after some executive at the company mentioned that the manager of this branch was more responsible. (He is: we have never had a problem with this place.) It helps to duke the help come Christmastime and tip like a Rockefeller throughout the year, and to make friends with the manager and the day staff who can give you a primo spot.

One option worth considering is renting a space from a homeowner. We've been parking our car for the past couple of years at an apartment building up the street, and so far so good. While I live in fear of some building contractor backing his pickup into my front fender, I at least rest assured that every car is driven by an owner, and owners are always more careful than valets. I imagine that Craig's List might be helpful finding such a spot, but asking around is probably good too. Expect to pay $400/month or more, depending on the neighborhood.

Hope this helps!

go-C4S-injune

I will answer my own question with a question, in case anyone is taking it too seriously: does a man need anything else?

brendo

1. would the OP consider not moving to NYC because of the difficulty parking a 911 ? move to a burb and take the train in....
2. are we really debating NYC v. Dallas? i mean, come on. Dallas is nice, and Texas residency delivers all the Texans as neighbors free of charge (plus good public schools, good cost of living, etc), but i'm sorry to say, it's not new york city
3. DC? i could see annapolis, and there's lots of gov't $$ flying around, but that's a place i like to visit. consider it my low tolerance for constant political banter.

then again, the cowboys do win a playoff game about every 13 years

LagunaDallas

I'm laughing! Sounds like you've been to Houston a time or two... Dallas has been very good to me with business, friends, and a low cost of living for a high quality of life. There's plenty to do, particularly if I drive 30 minutes from my house to DFW airport and catch a non-stop American flight to just about anywhere in the world. But it's obviously not NYC, and I spend summers in Laguna Beach to get out of the miserable Texas heat and humidity. There are always compromises no matter where you live.

MJPereira

Your other option, and I'm not sure why no one has mentioned this in previous posts unless I missed something, if you're going to work in NYC you don't have to live in NYC. Public Transportation options from New Jersey into NYC are great. You can easily get a house with a garage within a 30min train ride into the city. Now NJ housing prices are expensive but not in comparison to NYC prices.

And don't believe everything you see on TV, NJ has some really amazing towns. It's not for nothing that we have the highest income per capita and the most millionaires per capita in the nation. There are some really great towns.

If you can afford it, Westfield is a fantastic city and only a 30min train ride into the city. My friend lives there and commutes to the NYSE everyday.

And as mentioned before, NYC can't be beat for dining, culture, arts and entertainment. The city has at least 2 sports teams in every sport in it's metro area.

Alstoy

It appears that we like where we live. I can only compare living in the UK and Dallas. I prefer Dallas for the open spaces, nice weather, and friendly people. It takes a bit to get used to strangers waving and smiling at you. I don't miss the "culture" in the UK along with the cold. To each his own I suppose. To the OP-you might already have what you seek.

Cheers

geof

I can tell you about DC but not about many other places. I assume you mean DC proper, not the suburbs, where you will have no trouble with your car.

Currently I live in a detached single family home in NW DC, not to far from the Maryland border (Cleveland Park / Chevy Chase). All of the houses here either have a driveway or a garage, often in the back of the house and accessible via an alley. My car lives inside the garage. There are also a number of high rise apartment buildings there. I don't know the rent for parking, but I would imagine it to be in the $200 to $300 range, and I don't think they vary the charge based on the model.

If you wish to live closer to the city center, e.g. Dupont Circle, it may be a bit more difficult but it really depends where you want to rent or buy. Parking spaces cost about $50k or so to buy, plus or minus, and a similar $200 to $300/mo to rent. Generally they are deeded as part of a property so given a $500k condo without a space a similar one with a space would be about $550k. There are also a lot of garages downtown where you can rent a spot and park it there yourself. As for safety- as long as your car is off the street it should be fine. I've seen lots of Porsches and other similar category cars in those alleys so I assume their owners are satisfied.

If you are considering Georgetown- no worries lots of Porsches there, though if you can afford to live in Georgetown and if you can afford to buy a Porsche then you can easily afford to park it.

I would not park it on the street in Georgetown or Dupont Circle for more than short periods of time. Not due to theft, but dings caused by careless idiots.

Long story short- if you come to DC then I don't see any problems.