Where can i find a cheap apartment in new york city thats not in a bad area?

Question

Iam a 17 year old high school graduate who wants to move to new york from virginia to start a modeling career but before i make the move i want to find me a cheap apartment and a job where and how do i go about doing this i want to move in may a couple of weeks after i turn 18 i dont want to end up in a bad situation up thier so where do i turn please help me also i want to move to get away from my mom.
Lost IN VIRGINIA

Answer 1

New York has a high cost of living, and its not the easiest thing to get a job.
Sounds like you dont know anyone here. That makes things very tough.
What i suggest is that before you do anything that you send out your photos to modeling agencys in NY, but while your in VA, so you can gauge what kind of shot you have at your dream. You dont have to be 18 to be a model, in fact its a little late. You graduated, so i really dont know the legality of taking jobs and the law reguarding parental permission in that respect. However, your still in VA, so if the agencies are interested they can tell you.
If you are getting no response, it wouldnt matter if you lived here, they still ask you to send in your picture.
You need to get things clearer before you just move here. If modeling isnt reciving the response you had hoped, you could try to move her and get a bar tending or waitressing job. If your attractive, i assume you are if your trying to be a model, getting hired at the right place could make you enough money to live. However, if you have no exp, they might not hire you anyway.
You could try taking a trip here, and set up interviews for the date of your trip.
While here you could stay in a hostel
http://www.hostels.com/en/us.ny.ny.html
thats a list of them after the hotels at the top.
You need to plan and orgainize before you just move here. You need to set up a job, and then could try and save some money to get a apt. Also remember apts are leases for 1 yr, plus security, while jobs can go away tommrow. Alot of landlords probably wouldnt rent to you anyhow without a gurantor, so you might need your parents help, but most younger people just have roomates, which you can find from craigslist.org.
anyway good luck.

Answer 2

Moving to NYC to escape something is not a smart idea. There are way too many ways for a young girl to get into trouble. NYC ain't Virginia. Before you go you need two things: (1) a couple or three thousand dollars nest egg to live on until you can get a job & get things together (or in the alternative the equivalent in parental support -- which it sounds like you don't have.) and (2) A roommate whom you know & trust to live with: It will be almost impossible for you to earn enough to pay for even a studio when you first start out if all you have is a high school diploma. You don't say what your modeling experience is, but you will be competing with girls who have experience, portfolios, and those kinds of support levels which will allow them to make auditions & call backs & take lessons while you may be waiting on tables to pay the rent.

Answer 3

I don't live in NYC but I've been doing online research for low cost housing myself recently and discovered several women's residences that were very reasonable and appeared to be clean and safe. Only women can stay in these places and you have to apply. Most required at least a 4 week lead time in reservation/application. They all mention that you must be a student or a working female, but surely they must have exceptions. Many said the rate included TWO meals a day! And the rates were VERY low compared to anything else I've seen in NYC, including those nasty hostels that give you little for your money (I'm talking rents like $200 a week -- including those meals)

You sound VERY young and not experienced so I really wouldn't recommend you try the hostels if you have another choice. Try contacting some of these places first. I've listed a few that I found below, though you can do a web search yourself to find more (I suggest keywords: nyc womens residence)

These looked good and were recommended by the reputable NYC ballet, theaters, and colleges that have young women entering their programs:

Brandon Residence for Women
340 West 85th Street
New York, NY 10024
phone: [phone]
www.thebrandon.org/

Webster Apartments
419 West 34th Street
New York, NY 10001
[phone]
www.websterapartments.org/

PARKSIDE EVANGELINE RESIDENCE
18 Grammercy Park South
[phone]
www.parksideresidence.com

Centro Maria
539 West 54th Street
New York, NY 10019
[phone]
Sister Clara, Director

Markle Residence
(Salvation Army )
123 West 13th Street
New York, NY 10011
[phone]


This website provides a brief idea of what the different parts of Manhattan are called and are like. (The three lines below are actually ONE URL, yahoo kept truncating it so I split it into parts. You'll have to cut and paste all the lines into your address bar.)

www.sublet.com/spider/AreaDesc
/NewYork/Manhattan
/midtownwest.asp


AND....here's a pretty decent street map (again, all three lines are actually ONE url that you'll need to copy into the address line.)

http://www.aaccessmaps.com
/show/map
/manhattan_midtown


AND!!!! a link on this site will give you a clue of the crime rate in different areas. (Sorry, same cut and paste thing on this URL also... dunno why yahoo keeps truncating these.)

http://realestate.nytimes.com
/community/profiles
/NY-Manhattan.asp

And if you are totally determined to go.... make sure that you know where the major temporary agencies are located and march yourself in there first thing to sign up for a job. Actually, it might be better if you did that locally for a few months first, that way you have SOME money along with experience you can market. When I was 21 I did this same thing (but after college). Moved on the spur of the moment with a friend, who knew one person we stayed with for a few nights. I used my good typing and computer skills to immediately get a temp office job, that company liked me, and I was good to go (until I decided to move back home.)

If ya gotta run, run. But plan ahead, so you'll be safe, ok? Take care, girl.

Answer 4

If you don't already have an agent, get one LONG BEFORE you think about coming to New York to be a model. I have done a bit of work in the fashion industry.. and I would share horror stories but they would not pass the yahoo 'Community Guidelines' If I had $1 for every person whom I know who is an aspiring writer, artist, actor, dancer, singer or model ... I could afford to live in NYC ! But for housing.. try craigslist.com

Answer 5

Are you serious girl?! You really need your mom more than you realize if you think you can find a cheap apt in NYC. LMAO

I'm sorry. Seriously though. You may have to start your modeling career somewhere else to get you started. Remember, models work in other cities besides NY. Good luck to you.

Answer 6

You can't get a cardboard box in an alley for less than $1200 per month in New York City. There is a chance you can get lucky with a decent person looking for a roommate or try to find something in Jersey where you can commute to Manhattan.

Answer 7

You won't find a cheap apartment in NYC. The modeling career is cut throat. You can't just walk in and get assigned a shoot. Be smart, go to college, get a degree and then you can get a decent job that may allow you to afford NY.

Answer 8

riverdale, bronx is nice, and probably expensive. the southern half of manhattan is where all the touristy stuff is, and you'll pay lots and lots of cash for it. i live in levittown, long island, which isnt even that close to the city, $900 for a studio apt. average houses here are 400 grand, and thats just for a normal middle class home. you'd have to make a lot of cash modeling, have a lot of roommates or live in the outer suburbs like eastern suffolk, LI or parts of jersey at least 40 or 50 miles from the city.

Answer 9

Apartments arent cheap

Try Craig's List ofr NY and there are many apartments to share. You'll never afford your own

Answer 10

Hi,
You could try Sara Homestay :
http://www.sarahomestay.com/index.htm