Any New York gurus here? Well, packing up my crap and relocating to NYC in a couple weeks. Got a job with a Wall St firm but they aren't giving me much time before I start. I know nothing about the Manhattan area. I know that corporate housing is some joint called the Ocean in Battery Park, which is allegedly near the financial district or something.... Anyway, they are paying my broker fees and I have a month to find an apt. Whats a good area for a couple of young professionals who dig music, art, good grub, and sports? Oh, and being close to a park is a plus (we have a black lab.) Any recommendations?
Basically you're f*cked. Rents are really out of control these days. Personally, I would recommend living in the Village area. Perfect midtown location, around the NYU campus, and only a few stops from work. It is rather pricey though. There are some nice parts of downtown not too far from Battery Park that have been renovated and cleaned up from asbestos since 9/11. Rents there aren't out of control like they are on the Upper West Side. You might also want to consider the Avalon Riverview, one stop away from Grand Central. Avalon Riverview
They are paying your fee? You are set then. I work way downtown off Wall so I have always lived downtown. I just don't like uptown. Try E. Village, W. Village, Gramercy, those are my preferences. I would stay away from SoHo (too expensive) and TriBeca (kind of boring, IMO, and kind of expensive now too) and the financial district (ghost town on weekends) As far as good brokers, a lot of people use Citihabitants, though I know some who have had trouble. The one time I used one it was like "New York Apartments" or something, they were assholes. Don't use them. Mike Zaccariah was his name. But since you don't have to pay their fee, then you are set. You might be an uptown person but if you are make sure its close to the 2 or 3 or 4-5-6 lines or else your commute is going to probably suck. Also, a lot of nicer luxury type apt buildings don't go through brokers and just rent direct, so you can go trough them if that is your game. THey are expensive though. If I had to go with a broker again, the Corcoran people usually have pretty good listings on the net, also people swear by craigslist and the village voice. Looking for an apartment does kind of suck though.
Sam, we should get together for a beer one day. I work downtown as well... The Village or the Upper East Side sound right up your alley. Get ready for the miserable NYC experience known as the Great Apartment Hunt. I've been through it a few times, and it's rather traumatizing.
man. get ready for some crappy apartment searches. if you want to live near downtown, then I echo the sentiments expressed above: east village & west village/greenwich are the best bets, but pricey if you don't have roomates gramercy/murray hill is cheaper but somewhat difficult to access and there's not a lot going on there you could live in chelsea but prices are going up. midtown try hell's kitchen (40s-50s on the west side). it's an up and coming neighborhood and you can still find some good deals. say no to upper east side. lots of professionals live on the upper west side near central park but it's somewhat of a pain on weekends if you buddies want to hang out in the east village or lower east side. you can also check out brooklyn - park slope is a good new area with lots of writer types, etc. and the commute is not that far from wall street. i'd avoid the financial district and tribeca - pretty dead at night. if you can find roomates and share a loft, you can definitely get something in soho. that's all i have. oh. and craig's list is awesome.
When I was up there, I met a ton of Long Island folks who were Manhattan Brokers. A bit of a commute, but supposedly a LOT cheaper. 'Course, you could always shack up in Central Park, too.
Since my wife and I are DINKs, we're sorta committed to spending some cash and living in the heart of everything. Plus selling the G35 is gonna give me some play money.
What's your budget? And what's most important to you? Your commute to work or where you live when you leave work? The commute to work is not that big of a deal if you ever worked in Houston.
Dude you're going to be in Manhattan, you are going to be in the heart of everything no matter what. How old are you you?
I havent really commuted in 7 years. I have lived in either Montrose or Rice Military since 1994. I dont mind paying more for rent if I can be close to work. My wife is 30, I am 33. Budgeting around $3000-$3500 a month on rent.
You can find all of those things except for maybe the parks anywhere in Manhattan? What type of food? Ethnic? Music? Live or lounge? Commute to work more important than commute to social outings? Do you have any NYC experience?
Yeah hopefully all of us CF.netters can get together at some point to catch a game this year at a friendly downtown location. I couldn't make any of the ones last year because they were way up on the UES. mateo For 3k, you can get a P-I-M-P place in Brooklyn Heights (one subway stop to Wall Street) which is an extremely nice neighborhood and one where I will probably move to when I get over my penchant for staying out drinking till 4 AM every weekend.
Speaking of that, since I will only get one shot to see T-Mac and Yao this season, is it a b**** to score Knicks tix?
i had tix to the first marbury game...which happened to be the one time that the rox visited NY. Mateo, my best advice is that you need at least three weeks to secure an apt
No kidding. You know what kind of place you could rent in Houston for that amount? Anywhere you wanted to. Stupid money to throw away. If I were you, I'd rent a furnished apt month to month and start looking to buy. Unless you're not planning on being there too long.