Living in/near NYC

acubass · #1 04-20-2009, 12:01 PM

Hello, I have the opportunity to attend graduate school in Manhattan NY, however......

I am from the south where cost of living is relatively cheap. What living situation would be ideal for someone who needs to live outside the city and go to school in the city?

What areas of living are "reasonable" in cost and close enough to commute daily?

To put this in perspective a little, I rent in downtown Columbia SC, have 1000sqft for $500 a month.

How much will your average rent be outside of the city for a single room apt.? Thanks Much for any input.

Rusty Chainsaw · #2 04-20-2009, 12:14 PM

I'll leave it to our NYC residents and commuters to come up with a definitive answer for you, but I think, in terms of an apartment, you're talking roughly half the square footage for double the money if you want to be easy commuting distance from NYC.

excane · #3 04-20-2009, 12:59 PM

There are plenty of places in Brooklyn to start looking. You can get friends/roommates to help split the cost but generally speaking, it will cost more here than in SC.

Most areas are all accessible to Manhattan by subway.

The cost varies GREATLY on what area you choose....Williamsburg, Brooklyn has become a hot spot and rent has gone up significantly. There are also a bunch of places in Queens that are nice.

Relic · #4 04-20-2009, 01:03 PM

NYC and it's surrounds are not cheap. Maybe getting an apt in Jersey City or Hoboken and commuting may work but it's probably not going to be all that much cheaper. If you love a life of err.."adventure" you could probably find something cheap in Newark and take the train in.
Hopefully some of the NY crew here can provide some more useful info.

excane · #5 04-20-2009, 01:07 PM

There really is no way around it....any place in Manhattan (if you're set on living here) is going to cost a lot UNLESS you move to the other boroughs. (There ARE area's in Manhattan that are cheap but you do not want to live there, trust me)

Upper east side is BIG bucks. The more you go downtown, slightly less....west or east village is a popular choice for the 20 something crowd.

I will agree that Hoboken is pretty nice and a lot less than Manhattan...very easy to jump on the path train to the city.

DudeistMonk · #6 04-20-2009, 01:13 PM

Your best bet IMO is to move somewhere in NJ where you can take the PATH Train into the city...It's a $1.50 and runs all day and night. It takes about a half hour to get in and there are 3 or 4 stations in the city. Which is basically Hoboken, Jersey City, Newark.

I have a lot of grad students in my building, I split a 1.6k a month rent on a 2 bedroom, utilities + parking included, That's in uptown Newark. You can go cheaper but then your in the ghetto. Jersey City and Hoboken are more expensive than Newark. Hoboken is the happenin place to be for the meathead 20 something crowd.

guitar ed · #7 04-20-2009, 07:16 PM

Having spent a lot of time in NY, and NYC, I say spend the bucks, and get a LLC. It will be a once in a life time experience. Good or bad? Who knows. But unique.

edg

LLC = Lower Level Closet

acubass · #8 04-21-2009, 08:42 AM

Can you elaborate on the specifics of a LLC. This is a term i've never heard of?

guitar ed · #9 04-21-2009, 10:06 AM

An LLC, Lower Level Closet, is also referred to as a basement apartment, in polite circles at least. They are small, have minimal windows, can have lots of street noise, etc. Good for student housing, but that's about it.

It would be a way to live in NYC without paying a major fortune in rent, only a minor fortune.

If you want some more thoughts on living in NYC, let me know. I can say way too much on the subject.

edg

PaulNYC · #10 04-21-2009, 10:40 AM

If you want to live in Manhattan, consider living in Harlem south of 125th street. It is just as safe feeling as the UWS in the 100s, but has less amenities (Stores), and better transit. Inwood is nice also.

Hoover · #11 04-21-2009, 10:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rusty Chainsaw

I think, in terms of an apartment, you're talking roughly one-fourth the square footage for triple the money if you want to be easy commuting distance from NYC.

Fixed

Hoover · #12 04-21-2009, 10:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by excane

I will agree that Hoboken is pretty nice and a lot less than Manhattan...

I want some of whatever you're smoking.

Either that, or I want to meet your real estate agent! Hoboken is the new hot spot for Dinks, Yuppies, and GenX'rs with disposable income. Rents there are most definitely not "a lot less" than Manhattan, unless you're talking prime midtown Manhattan. And grad students do not talk about prime midtown Manhattan unless they're tapping the trust fund.

Sadly, the best deals in NYC seem to be Queens. Check out Astoria or Long Island City.

Or, as DudeistMonk mentioned, somewhere farther out on the PATH in NJ.

excane · #13 04-21-2009, 11:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hoover

I want some of whatever you're smoking.

Either that, or I want to meet your real estate agent! Hoboken is the new hot spot for Dinks, Yuppies, and GenX'rs with disposable income. Rents there are most definitely not "a lot less" than Manhattan, unless you're talking prime midtown Manhattan. And grad students do not talk about prime midtown Manhattan unless they're tapping the trust fund.

Sadly, the best deals in NYC seem to be Queens. Check out Astoria or Long Island City.

Or, as DudeistMonk mentioned, somewhere farther out on the PATH in NJ.

Ok, maybe I exaggerated. Not a LOT less, but less than an equal size apartment in a prime area of Manhattan. Yes, Hoboken has become the new Williamsburg for hipsters.

Also, it's slightly less money the farther out into Queens you go. Bayside, Oakland Gardens, Flushing, are all nice areas and express bus accessible.

BigKahuna13 · #14 04-21-2009, 11:09 AM

Anyplace in Manhattan is going to be out of reach for a (non independently wealthy) grad student unless you're willing to take on roommates. Rents in the most inexpensive areas of Manhattan are going to be far higher than $500/mo and for that money you'll get a small studio apartment.

Queens and Brooklyn are going to expensive too, but not as much as Manhattan.

You might want to look at the outlying areas - Nassau and Suffolk and Jersey (you can probably forget Westchester). The commute is about the same timewise as it is from eastern Queens and the rents are cheaper, though there aren't as many rental apartments available, but that's offset by higher commutation costs - my monthly commuter ticket from western Suffolk to Manhattan is about $280.