How can I afford to move to New York City?

Question

I want to know about rent, work, realities of NYC life. How can I figure out how to move to NYC and take advantage of the wonderful place everyone says it is? I've visited. I don't HAVE A CLUE how to start looking for a job, an affordable place to live, or how to make it work. Any suggestions?

Answer 1

Depends on the lifestyle you demand. Most people I know moved here with a few bags of clothes and some money in their bank account. They didn't have a job lined up but usually had a connection for a place to sleep, like at a friend's apartment for at least the first week or so. Jobs can be easy to find if you're not picky. Restaurants are always hiring and people usually start out working as waitstaff or as a delivery person if they have a bike. Jobs like that can usually be found in the first few days if you try hard enough.

Finding your own affordable apartment in NYC is tough right now. There's really not much out there that's under $1200-1300/month. Unless you have a lot of money saved up, it might be easier to rent out a room in someone elses apartment for awhile while you look for a place of your own. Even then, it's difficult to find a room for less than $700-800/month. Anything less than that will probably be far out into one of the outer boroughs. Don't forget that bills may not be included. It may be cheaper and easier to find a place across the river in NJ while you look for a place in NYC. The PATH train runs from NJ to NYC so getting into the city is simple.

Bringing a car is a bad idea unless you plan on living in it. Even then you will probably get a bunch of tickets.

You can reserve a room at the YMCA if you have no place to stay. The cheapest rooms start around $40. The Greenpoint, Brooklyn YMCA is in a great area:
http://www.ymcanyc.org/sub.php?p=about&sp=greenpoint/greenpointabout

Answer 2

The reality is...this is an easy city to spend a lot of money in!

So if you are going to move here, you should definitely have a job lined up first. You will go through a lot of money in the beginning getting an apartment, deposits, furnishings, etc. Expect to pay at a minimum $1,200 for rent, possibly more.

Once you live here for a while, you can get settled into your own routine. Find cheap places that you like to eat, find the sales and discounts, etc.

Depending on what you do, check out monster.com or hotjobs.com for employment. You can also search listings on nytimes.com and craigslist.

Craigslist - newyork.craigslist.org - can also be a very valuable resource for finding apartments.

You might want to plan a vacation to come here, visit, spend some time checking out neighborhoods, maybe go on an interview or two. It can be quite difficult to move here and get settled without one or two trips beforehand. More if possible!

Answer 3

the quantity you've kept up is reliable adequate to get you a one bedroom living house. although i'd propose that start up searching for employment and performance countless interviews coated up upon your arrival right here. The job marketplace right it is aggressive noticeably in the business field. consisting of your income as stated, you ought to opt to ascertain the different boroughs like Queens and Brooklyn in which you could locate large places to employ, keep, and devour. in case you do have a vehicle, leave it at living house and use mass transit to get for your vacation spot. in case you intend to locate an section, do no longer use craigslist for an living house, they are referred to for scams. a more desirable ideal suggestion is that and your pals get an living house at the same time so as that each human being can make contributions to the lease and different prices as well. reliable success.