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Got the job! :D But now I have to move to NY. D:
riz
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So after a long, long time of unemployment after getting laid off, I finally got a job offer. I haven't accepted yet but I have to call them tomorrow to do so. The job seems like it will be awesome, and the salary was originally quite low but I asked for more and they actually came back with it. Not as high as I think it should be for the area, but not BAD, at least.
Anyway, the problem now is, the job is in New York and I'm crashing at my parents' place in south Jersey. It's about a two-hour commute, on a good day (I imagine traffic on the parkway or bad weather will make the bus ride hell). I will likely have to commute from here at first anyway but I want to find an apartment within reasonable distance ASAP.
I really don't know shit about New York.
Back in Boston I could just wander around Allston/Brighton and stop in to talk to the real estate brokers about what they might have for me, and take some drives around with them to look at places, cos I knew where I wanted to be. But now I'm pretty lost. And there's 50,000 brokers and websites for NY out there.
I guess my questions are as follows:
1) Job is near the Flatiron building. I was told I could take the N or R trains to 23rd St. Are nearby neighborhoods even worth looking in? Where else is convenient to those trains?
2) I found a few listings for nice-looking 1 beds in Bay Ridge. I'm thinking Brooklyn is probably the best bet for me, but is Bay Ridge too remote? It's like the end of the subway line... Where else in Brooklyn would I want to look?
3) Anyone recently found an apartment in the NY area? Did you use a broker or hit the pavement yourself? I really don't have the time or patience to chase ghost listings on Craigslist, so I don't mind paying a broker fee if it gets me what I want, but I also don't want to just toss darts at the internet and hope I find a good one.
It's probably important to mention that I am estimating $1,200 as the highest I can go, preferably a little less. My mother mentioned possibly kicking in $100-200 a month if it meant being in a safer building/area, but even $1,400 isn't going to get me a shiny lobby with a doorman, I don't think.
Also I can put a picture of our cats in here later if it will help get responses.
Anyway, the problem now is, the job is in New York and I'm crashing at my parents' place in south Jersey. It's about a two-hour commute, on a good day (I imagine traffic on the parkway or bad weather will make the bus ride hell). I will likely have to commute from here at first anyway but I want to find an apartment within reasonable distance ASAP.
I really don't know shit about New York.
Back in Boston I could just wander around Allston/Brighton and stop in to talk to the real estate brokers about what they might have for me, and take some drives around with them to look at places, cos I knew where I wanted to be. But now I'm pretty lost. And there's 50,000 brokers and websites for NY out there.
I guess my questions are as follows:
1) Job is near the Flatiron building. I was told I could take the N or R trains to 23rd St. Are nearby neighborhoods even worth looking in? Where else is convenient to those trains?
2) I found a few listings for nice-looking 1 beds in Bay Ridge. I'm thinking Brooklyn is probably the best bet for me, but is Bay Ridge too remote? It's like the end of the subway line... Where else in Brooklyn would I want to look?
3) Anyone recently found an apartment in the NY area? Did you use a broker or hit the pavement yourself? I really don't have the time or patience to chase ghost listings on Craigslist, so I don't mind paying a broker fee if it gets me what I want, but I also don't want to just toss darts at the internet and hope I find a good one.
It's probably important to mention that I am estimating $1,200 as the highest I can go, preferably a little less. My mother mentioned possibly kicking in $100-200 a month if it meant being in a safer building/area, but even $1,400 isn't going to get me a shiny lobby with a doorman, I don't think.
Also I can put a picture of our cats in here later if it will help get responses.
riz on
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i worked near there for a summer job once, you can live anywhere along the F V or R W easily
like downtown brooklyn/ft greene, that would be good, my friend stayed in that area one summer and it was a good neighborhood and wasn't terribly expensive
Congrats!
i'm still kind of sad my one job offer is in central jersey and i got nothing in nyc. leaving will be sad.
$1200 a month will likely limit you to a studio/ tiny 1-bedroom in Manhattan. Your dollar will go further in Brooklyn but then you'll be living in Brooklyn. Bay Ridge really is out there. You'll probably get sick real soon of riding a packed subway to and from work all that distance. If you decide against Manhattan you can look into Long Island City, which is nice and very close, or places in Brooklyn like Williamsburg (tons of hipsters, but you might find some deals since there's a chunk of trustafarians whose parents can't pay rent anymore due to the economy), Greenpoint, or Red Hook.
I'd recommend Manhattan, because it's fucking awesome, but you'll have to come to terms with a small living space. Look for a 2nd/ 3rd floor walkup that faces other buildings. It will be quieter than those facing the street and there may even be some green space to enhance the view (you will quickly come to hate the people with patios and decks, but you may get lucky and find some that throw parties like I did). If you have a chance while viewing the places, talk to people that live in the building about noise, problems, the super, etc. Coming in blind is kind of a crapshoot, but you've always got the option of sticking it out for a year and using that time to find a better place. No matter what you end up doing you should have a great time. New York is awesome. Good luck.
I have two friends doing postgraduate studies in New York and I they both used a broker to help them find their current apartments. I can try to get in touch with them to see who the used and if they liked it or have any tips.
I do not know anything about New York city, but I also recently just moved and it might be helpful to those on the forums that are from the New York area to know if you have access to a car and how far you are looking to commute in total to and from work. I only ask because my Aunt works in Philadelphia but lives outside the city which sort of forces her to drive to a train station and take the train into work. I am not familiar with the entire New York transit system, but I feel it is better than Philadelphia's, and if that is the case they may/should have areas further away from the city where you could park/bike/jog/scooter/moonwalk to and then take a 40 minute train ride to work?
Astoria and Stuy Town are the closest affordable places. If you don't want to share a place, I figure you'll be spending more than 1200, but if you have roommates, you can get things for less.
Good luck duder
I don't have a car and don't plan on having one for as long as I can manage. The commute from my parents' house involves getting dropped off by my stepdad at a commuter bus station, bus up the parkway, then subway from Port Authority to the office. When I lived in Boston I had ~an hour commute each way on the T. It kinda sucked but I guess I was used to it. I think anything less than an hour would feel like a luxury. Honestly, I'm more concerned with proximity of apartment to subway stop, since once I'm ON the train I can just sit there, but I don't want to have to walk home alone in the dark through empty blocks.