moving to NYC?

Question

i am planning on moving to new york city in the new year and i have no idea what area's are best to live in, i have a budget of $3500 to rent and i dont know if that is realistic (i'm English you see i spend the British £), my job as a paramedic will enable me to stretch my budget a little further if needed, my job (i think) will be in the upper west side, i am doing my research but was just wondering what other people think!!

Answer 1

$3500 to rent will go a long way in NYC (assuming this amount is solely for rent. Paramedics here don't make this kind of money). If you want a 1-bedroom, expect to pay a minimum of $2,000 (this would be a good deal in a rent stabilized apt on West End Avenue, for example), more like $2,500-$3,000 on the Upper West Side. Riverside Drive has beautiful buildings and there is a park there. West End is good. It's best to stay west of Broadway. Broadway is noisy, and dirty in parts, and east of Broadway can be a little seedy, but it also has good ethnic restaurants.

There's also Central Park West, which is pricey, but if you go up into the 90's it may get more reasonable. There are brownstones between Columbus Avenue and Central Park West in the 80's and 90's that are popular. Not cheap, but you may be able to afford it.

If you want a giant place, go to Hudson Heights (the western part of Washington Heights). The further west, the better. It's north of the Upper West Side and there isn't as much going on.

My favorite neighborhood is the West Village, but it is incredibly expensive. Only investment bankers can afford to live there now, and you wouldn't get much space for the money, but it is the most quaint part of the city, and is worth a shot. It's also a bit of a trek up to the Upper West Side, but you could get there via the 2/3 express line in a half hour.

Brooklyn is great--Park Slope is popular, but very expensive. And it's not convenient to the Upper West Side.

For a first place in NYC, and especially if you're working near there, I would choose the Upper West Side, either on West End Avenue or Riverside Drive or between the two. I'd look between 72nd street and 116th (Columbia University is at the top and the area has been gentrified and has gotten expensive). The transportation is great, lots of places to eat.

Do a google search on the rat issue, though. Apparently there is a huge rat population in a certain area of Riverside Drive.

Answer 2

Do you mean you can spend up to $3500 per month on rent? If that's what you mean, you can definitely make something work. If you mean that you're trying to live on $3500/month total, that's going to be much harder.
If you don't know the City at all, it's not a good idea to make a long-term commitment to an apartment without knowing what neighborhoods you like. Perhaps you can set up a month or so sublet on the Upper West Side through Craigslist (newyork.craigslist.org) and use that time to explore and make a decision about where you will live next. We really can't tell you whether to move to the Upper East/Upper West/downtown Manhattan/Brooklyn/the Bronx/anywhere in particular without knowing you and your tastes.

Answer 3

In the long run, you're going to need money to pay the bills beside the rent. Brooklyn has nice neighborhoods close enough to the subway to get you to the Upper West Side. Try Brooklyn Heights if you could afford the rent.

Answer 4

With $3,500 a month, you can move anywhere you want.

If you start working as a paramedic here you will not be able to afford this amount.

Answer 5

I think you are a dreamer