• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Moving to NYC

#21
Bunk McNulty said:
Unless you are a zillionaire, Manhattan is out, unless you're talking about maybe Inwood, in which case you'll still be riding the A train for a loooong time to get anywhere else. My friends live in Jackson Heights in Queens, where the rents are, if not reasonable, at least possible. Although it too is getting gentrified.

Music happens all over the city; a lot of it below 14th Street in Manhattan, but a lot now in Brooklyn, too. I don't know how your taste in music runs, but NYC is still the top destination for jazz: the Vanguard, Blue Note, Jazz Standard, Smoke, 55 Bar, etc., etc.

PS: A car? In Manhattan? Fuggedaboudit!
Click to expand...
I'm in Jackson Heights, small 1 bedrooms are renting for $1800 a month or more, selling at around $400K. That's for around 700 sq ft. Pianist I play with some lives in Bed Stuy, when he was looking for a roommate to share his 2 bedroom apartment, he listed that at $950 for the open bedroom. But you can access Craigslist for rentals to get an idea of going rates, check back in if you have a question about a neighborhood.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bunk McNulty and groooooove
#24
I moved to NYC as a broke teenager before 9/11 and I've been here ever since. Don't listen to these people telling you that you need so much money to live here. There are plenty of non-rich folks living and making it work in the city and we do so by forgoing certain suburban luxuries like cars and home space. I also initially lived in Bushwick, where there was gunfire on a regular basis (now that area is quite nice).

Start thinking about your neighborhood as an extension of your living situation. For example, I have a share of a pretty large and nice practice space in Brooklyn where I can play bass loudly 24/7. That costs me $100/month but it's cheaper than having a man cave in the suburbs, and I can do it any time I want and shake the walls. Also, a 24/7 grocery store downstairs can be seen as an extension of your own pantry.

Yes, being poor in NYC sucked for the first 10 years I was here. Once my career took off, NYC finally became the playground I always imagined it to be. But truth be told, ALL the live music of note happens in Brooklyn. Williamsburg specifically/unfortunately. I lived in the West Village for 11 years and by the end of it had to commute to Williamsburg every weekend for live shows. Nothing cool really happens in Manhattan anymore in regards to music. But it still has the best food (Brooklyn still doesn't have the restaurant scene that it claims to have in comparison).

I moved to Downtown Brooklyn so I could have amenities such as a washer/dryer and dishwasher. I take Uber XLs to transport my gear to a gig.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DoctorZee, Quantized Harmonic, Interspace Station and 1 other person
#25
Interspace Station said:
Solid advice telling someone looking to move to NYC, assuming for the first time, to also deal with the hassle of owning a car in NYC :woot: “The best part of waking up...(is running five blocks to move your car to avoid getting a parking ticket on alternate side parking days then finding someone smashed your window because they thought those were real Ray Bans on the dash but it turned out they were just knock offs from downtown but at least someone else keyed your car) in your cuuuup!”

All joking aside, more info! NYC is an incredible place to live and work, come prepared. And we need more info!
Click to expand...
:)

Truth be told, I don't know a single musician who earns any kind of decent money playing - that doesn't own a car.

I live in Brooklyn, in a nice neighborhood. I own a coop that would cost 5X as much if it were in one of the "best" NYC locations. Same would be true if I rented.

A long while back my wife and I were at a rooftop 4th of July party in Williamsburg. We were talking to someone, considering living there and he laughed. He said, "You have a car! You're 25 minutes away, tops, and get to pay $20,000 less a year in rent. Plus have a place triple the size of mine. Are you insane?" He had a good point. And I never have to deal with trains or busses at 2AM.

RE the parking, that IS something that has to be taken into consideration. I'm going to guess that at least 50% of NYC is super difficult to park in. There are areas still though that aren't a nightmare, like where I live. We don't have alternate side parking, either. Living in a happening spot with a car can be much more trouble than its worth, and having a garage could be expensive. The easier places to park (and most affordable) are the neighborhoods that don't have easy access to public transportation. If you have a car though, you don't need public transportation.
 
  • Like
Reactions: fretter
#26
I once bought a car. It was the dumbest decision I ever made. All it did was get parking tickets and vandalized. Now that there is Uber/Lyft, there is zero reason to have a car in NYC. Never forget that even if you do pay $500 for an uncovered parking space at home, you have to pay for parking at your destination as well. Waste of time and money. When I do need a vehicle, I use Zipcar or Car2Go.
 
  • Like
Reactions: The Owl
#27
BassAssHat said:
I moved to NYC as a broke teenager before 9/11 and I've been here ever since. Don't listen to these people telling you that you need so much money to live here. There are plenty of non-rich folks living and making it work in the city and we do so by forgoing certain suburban luxuries like cars and home space. I also initially lived in Bushwick, where there was gunfire on a regular basis (now that area is quite nice).

Start thinking about your neighborhood as an extension of your living situation. For example, I have a share of a pretty large and nice practice space in Brooklyn where I can play bass loudly 24/7. That costs me $100/month but it's cheaper than having a man cave in the suburbs, and I can do it any time I want and shake the walls. Also, a 24/7 grocery store downstairs can be seen as an extension of your own pantry.

Yes, being poor in NYC sucked for the first 10 years I was here. Once my career took off, NYC finally became the playground I always imagined it to be. But truth be told, ALL the live music of note happens in Brooklyn. Williamsburg specifically/unfortunately. I lived in the West Village for 11 years and by the end of it had to commute to Williamsburg every weekend for live shows. Nothing cool really happens in Manhattan anymore in regards to music. But it still has the best food (Brooklyn still doesn't have the restaurant scene that it claims to have in comparison).

I moved to Downtown Brooklyn so I could have amenities such as a washer/dryer and dishwasher. I take Uber XLs to transport my gear to a gig.
Click to expand...
I moved here in 87, paid $600 a month for a 2 bedroom in Park Slope, in 2000 that went up to $1800 a month. It's even more now. We had enough of a nut together to start looking to buy a place, which we did in Jackson Heights in early 2002 for $122K. This apartment would go for upwards of $500K now. All to say, I couldn't afford to move into either neighborhood I spent 15 years and 17 years in, respectively, now. I don't think anyone here is trying to discourage the OP, we're just giving him our experiences with some numbers attached. If you don't feel comfortable doing that, OK, but I think it would benefit the OP to know what you were paying (even just ball parking) for the West Village crib when you moved in and what it was going for when you moved out, likewise with where you're living now.

Moving to NYC is kind of like playing music anyway. If it's something you want to do, it can be the worst life in the world. If it's something you HAVE to do, it can be the best. Like I said, all any of us, you included, are doing is communicating what our experience IS so the OP has a chance to make an informed decision. I'm not sure it does anyone any good to try to devalue anyone else's experience. You got your life, I got mine.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bunk McNulty
#28
Ed Fuqua said:
I moved here in 87, paid $600 a month for a 2 bedroom in Park Slope, in 2000 that went up to $1800 a month. It's even more now. We had enough of a nut together to start looking to buy a place, which we did in Jackson Heights in early 2002 for $122K. This apartment would go for upwards of $500K now. All to say, I couldn't afford to move into either neighborhood I spent 15 years and 17 years in, respectively, now. I don't think anyone here is trying to discourage the OP, we're just giving him our experiences with some numbers attached. If you don't feel comfortable doing that, OK, but I think it would benefit the OP to know what you were paying (even just ball parking) for the West Village crib when you moved in and what it was going for when you moved out, likewise with where you're living now.

Moving to NYC is kind of like playing music anyway. If it's something you want to do, it can be the worst life in the world. If it's something you HAVE to do, it can be the best. Like I said, all any of us, you included, are doing is communicating what our experience IS so the OP has a chance to make an informed decision. I'm not sure it does anyone any good to try to devalue anyone else's experience. You got your life, I got mine.
Click to expand...

Yeah, man. I appreciate what you're saying. I think that if you want to live in the city, you should do it and not listen to people who don't actually live in it. Whatever I do, I do to the most extreme possible. I pay a lot for where I live since I moved out of the WV just a year ago. But it's comparable to what I would want out of a house in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, or Denver. NYC gets a reputation for being so expensive when there are a lot of ways to live cheaper that don't exist in other cities that are more car reliant. I remember when I lived in San Francisco, one parking ticket once forced me to sell my favorite instrument. Still stings to think about. I don't really spend any money these days other than going to shows. Used to spend $4K a month eating out and now I cook for myself.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Quantized Harmonic
#32
i'm going to be in the unpopular opinion here, but i live on long island and I love it. take the train to manhattan, you are there in 30-40 minutes... may not be for everybody, but i have a parking spot anywhere i go, it's pricey but not insane, and i still have everything i need within a really small radius.

if i was going to be in the city i'd have to opt for somewhere in queens. astoria is a happening area with lots of reasons it attracts new people.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Interspace Station
#34
Life long NY’er here...61 years.

The closer you live to the city the more costly and crowded it will be. The congested areas follow the subway lines throughout the boroughs. It will also be more difficult to have a car in these areas since there’s simply not enough spaces for all the cars. Throw in alternate side parking for some added grief.

I live in western Queens/ Glendale. No Starbucks nearby which is a good thing.

I have always had a vehicle, have never lived in Manhattan but worked there every day.
Life is good here if you like diversity and crowds of people.

I have always had a good schedule of music work. All styles. Lots of great players here so the competition is fierce..and the work is here but you’re not going to get rich.

I’ll be happy to answer any questions.. us New Yorkers are very friendly: )
 
  • Like
Reactions: Relayer71, Interspace Station and BassAssHat
#35
Joe Nerve said:
My suggestion - find a nice place anywhere with reasonable rent, and buy a car (if you don't already have one). That gives easy access to any gig.

And FWIW, there are lots of gigs in Staten Island and NJ. People in NYC without cars cut themselves off from all that. Its also a lot easier to become a big fish in the smaller pond of SI than it is in any of the other boroughs. I earn my living playing music in NJ for the past 2 and half years. I've played much more in NYC and never before came even close to doing that.
Click to expand...

But where do you park the car? And how much does it cost?
 
  • Like
Reactions: BassAssHat
#36
Accomodation: use StreetEasy and CL to find an accomodation. Try to avoid listings with broker fees if you can. New York can be really cheap is you're living in a rent-controlled apartment (but good luck finding one), or expensive is you go for the luxury condos devlopments that keep poping up. The market has somewhat stabilized, rent increases aren't as crazy as they were a couple of years ago. Check out lease agreements, some landloards will add clauses banning instruments. If you have kids, study the zoning districts well as the middle schools zoning differ from "official" neighbourhood limits.

Car: I would suggest not owning a car if you live in an area that's well accessible by the subway. As others have mentioned, parking will be a pain, and expect recurrent damages to your car. Uber / Lyft will cater to all of your car transportation needs.

On grocery shopping: Trader Joe's is by far the best value, being reasonably close to one is a huge plus (my wife and I were doing grocery shopping on the evening on my way back from work, then go home with the subway).

Good luck and enjoy the experience!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Quantized Harmonic and BassAssHat
#37
BassAssHat said:
I once bought a car. It was the dumbest decision I ever made. All it did was get parking tickets and vandalized. Now that there is Uber/Lyft, there is zero reason to have a car in NYC. Never forget that even if you do pay $500 for an uncovered parking space at home, you have to pay for parking at your destination as well. Waste of time and money. When I do need a vehicle, I use Zipcar or Car2Go.
Click to expand...
Not to mention the insane insurance fees you need for your car!
 
  • Like
Reactions: ajkula66, The Owl and BassAssHat

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back