I graduated from college in the spring and I just got a job in midtown Manhattan. A friend of mine from high school is looking for a roommate in williamsburg brooklyn, but that would mean about a 50 minute commute to work (where I’ll have to get in by 7 am). It also costs $1250 a month. I’d definitely prefer to live with him, but not there and for that much.
Any advice on finding a place in NYC? I can probably spend about that much, but if I’m spending that much I’d rather be much closer to my job. What’s a good place to live, and how much will it cost?
Check craigslist daily, myspace/facebook as well if you have it, and check the times and the post as well. Finding an apartment in such a big city is VERY hard, you really just have to get lucky. At your price range, you could definitely find a place in manhattan, but the landlord is gonna want you to make at least 40 times the monthly rent. So if rent is $1000 a month, you have to have a job that pays you $40,000 a year.
I used a broker to find my apartment, if you have the money, that’s a pretty good option. They don’t get paid until they find you a place, no matter how many apartments they show you. I had a really great broker, pm me if you’d like me to give you his info. Good luck…
How familiar are you with NYC? You might do best to find short-term accomodations, say for the first few months, while you get your bearings. By then you’ll have met people and gotten a feel for the various neighborhoods.
Manhattan is a lot more expensive than the outer boroughs. There are some reasonably priced places but they get snapped up very quickly.
If you’re working in midtown, Queens offers shorter commutes than Brooklyn and has lots of great neighborhoods. In fact if you live in western Queens you could easily have a shorter commute to midtown than from many parts of Manhattan. I live in Queens and my only complaint is not having a legitimate reason to adopt a tough-guy Brooklyn accent.
Hit craigslist every day, and you’ll get a feel for prices in various areas. Also, don’t ignore the “sublets” section; I got my last two apartments that way (moved in on a sublet arrangement because the current occupants needed to move before their lease was up, then later renewed in my own name).
2-MUCH larger apartments -lol, I have 2 dogs, and my 1BR is about 900 sq ft with hardwood floors, eat in kitchen, HUGE living room, and 11ft ceilings. For what I pay, I’d have a small closet in manhattan.
if i was u i would move to westchester, white plains has a lot of condos and places to rent that are brand new and walking distance to the train station. its about a 30 min ride on the express and about a 50 min ride on the local to grand central.
Finding an apt in Manhattan sux! Go on craigslist and see what you can find. Just be prepard to pay a broker fee b/c all the “no fee” listings are either BS or the appartments are shitholes (hence no fee). Also the fee is not a months rent but they usually ask for 15% of the annual rent although you can talk them down to about 10%. If your price range is only $1250 you are going to need to find roomates or look outside Manhattan. I had a very small studio that was about 250 square feet on 31st and paid $1500.
Astoria in Queens might be a good option. Also check out Hoboken in NJ. Vey short commute into the city and it is a great town for someone your age but once again for $1250 it might be touugh.
Thanks for the advice guys. I’ve actually decided to just live with my friend in Brooklyn at least for a few months to get my bearings on the city. My job needs me to start ASAP, so I figured there’s no way for me to find something better in the meantime.
I’ll be working a finance job, so pretty soon, I’m sure, my biggest consideration will be the commute time, as price will get less relevant with increasing sleep deprivation. It’s good to have some info now, though, so I can start considering my options.