Find Me A Place In NYC

J6o All In · #1 05-05-2006, 04:56 AM

As I mentioned in this poorly received post , I am moving to Manhattan next year with a friend to work for a year or two. Simple question: How do we find a place?

We are both looking to pay around $1500/month (though maybe we'd pay up to 1850). I work on 45th between 6th and 7th, and he works basically on top of Grand Central.

Given these perameters, where is the best place to live? What kind of apartment should we get? Doorman building? Walkup? 1BR and build a wall?

What is the best way to find an apartment? Is a broker worth it? Is Craig's list the best way? How much time before we plan on moving in should we devote to looking?

I feel like "moving to NYC after college and making decent money" is a fairly common situation. There must be an optimal strategy.

Howard Beale · #2 05-05-2006, 05:09 AM

I moved away from the NY area 8 years ago, so I can't help you but I think you're in for a real shockeroo when you see what you get (if you get) for $1,500/mo.

dustybottoms · #3 05-05-2006, 05:14 AM

If you don't mind taking the subway to Times Square, I'd suggest looking for a place in Queens or Brooklyn. For $1500/mo, you could live in something bigger than a shoebox.

boedeker · #4 05-05-2006, 07:33 AM

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If you don't mind taking the subway to Times Square, I'd suggest looking for a place in Queens or Brooklyn. For $1500/mo, you could live in something bigger than a shoebox.

[/ QUOTE ]

Agreed. The subway ride from parkslope (north slope) Brooklyn has express trains to both times square and across the platform express service to grand central. For that amount of money you could find a really nice place. The neighborhood is great too.

waxie · #5 05-05-2006, 09:47 AM

[ QUOTE ]
If you don't mind taking the subway to Times Square, I'd suggest looking for a place in Queens or Brooklyn. For $1500/mo, you could live in something bigger than a shoebox.

[/ QUOTE ]

Astoria is very nice and has some very cool bars/ethnic food.

Paul B. · #6 05-05-2006, 05:15 AM

You have a lot of options as far as where you wanna live. West Village, UWS, East Village, UES, and all of Midtown are all viable options, and $3K/month should get you a decent 2BR wherever you decide to live.

Brokers are not worth it as long as you're willing to do the work required. Do a search on Google for landlords that have their own brokerage firm. Be sure to have documents proving that you and your roommate collectively make 40x the monthly rent. Also, to be extra prepared, have bank statements and 3 months of rent in hand (first and last month, 1 month security). Wear comfortable sneakers when you're out looking.

mrkilla · #7 05-05-2006, 08:40 AM

The sugestions in this thread of Brooklyn is nice but the places you would want to live will nearly cost you what manhattan does. But if you like BK then try Williamsberg

Try the East side of Manhattan above 70th but below 98th its fairly cheap there but it still might be more then you want to spend.

Astoria in Queens is a 20 minute train ride or less to grand central.

I live in the Bronx and love it but the train ride can be torture from my Area (Morris Park) (40 mins). Riverdale in hte bronx is nice but also pricey , you can take metro north from there (~25 min train ride) but commuting costs go up.

kibble420 · #8 05-05-2006, 09:05 AM

Meh. NYC is way too overpopulated, overpriced, and overrated in my opinion. Moved away 5 years ago and haven't regretted it.

MattSuspect · #9 05-05-2006, 09:38 AM

You're talking about 1500 each right?

nyc999 · #10 05-05-2006, 09:49 AM

If you're talking 3K total, you can get a decent 2 BR. Each BR will be small, but certainly liveable. My wife and her friend split a 2BR in the East Village that was $2100 and it was a decent size. Granted, that was 3 years ago, but even with inflation that's not 3K today.

Upper East Side and far downtown are probably the best deals for your money in Manhattan, and if going off the island, try Williamsburg (Brooklyn) or Astoria (Queens).