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Hi TLers,
This is (sort of) a follow-up to my previous entry. Long story short, what happened between then and now is this:
- I completed my internship from June to September
- This week I was informed by a recruiter of the company that I have received a full-time offer in New York City
A little bit about myself: I'm from the Northwest (WA) and I'm finishing up my last quarter in university. I plan to start my job next March. I have only been to NYC once before, when I was 7 in 1997.
I'm not really sure what to make of this. I'm pretty sure the lifestyle and the people and everything are so much different in the east coast that this move will take me a while to get used to. Not only that, I will be leaving my family and my friends, although I do know a couple of friends who currently live there (for university) or has lived there before (internship).
I would really appreciate it if New Yorkers in TL could tell me more about NY. I've done some research about it online but it's much better to listen to some first-hand experiences.
What are the tips you would give to someone who have just moved / is moving to NYC? What are some things that are fun to do in NYC? Which neighborhoods / areas should I avoid going to? Any other things I should look out for?
Another question is about housing. I will be looking for a 1 bedroom apartment (no studio). I've done some research (Even looked up some previous threads in TL about NY) about how you need to make at least 40x the monthly rent to rent the place. My budget is in the 1000-2000 range although I would prefer ~1800 at the most. It seems like this is close to impossible in the decent areas (Upper East/West side?) Manhattan, so what I have in mind currently is Queens. (duh) I just would like to hear some opinion from NYers about this: I'm currently considering 3 neighborhoods: Astoria, Long Island City, and Flushing. Seems like LIC is the most expensive and Flushing is least expensive and also has a large Asian population so I'll blend in;) What are the pros and cons of each area and which would you recommend? Would commuting by subway be a problem from any of those places? (30-45 min commute is okay with me)
And also I hear about the deal with no-fee. Are they necessarily better because you don't have the pay the broker fee? Obviously I'm trying to save money here especially during the beginning but if a non no-fee can get me a much better apartment for the same monthly rent that I would consider it too.
And lastly, although looking for food will not be a problem for me for the most part but I'd to know what are some of your favorite restaurants in NYC (whether in Manhattan or Queens)
Thank you so much!! I'd love to meet up with TLers once I move in next year 
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Commuting by subway from Astoria and Flushing should be pretty easy, Astoria has a bunch of lines running through it and the 7 train takes you from Flushing to Times Square and also has a lot of convenient transfers and stops along the way in Queens.
Joe's Shanghai restaurant in Flushing is pretty good, try the soup dumplings.
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Come to the awesome TL meetups! By the time you get here we'll be having EVEN MORE epic tournaments.
Flushing's also a good idea if you're asian / like gaming / want to come to flushing lans ezpz.
I'll make a longer post later; I've lived in Manhattan / Times Square area my whole life, so I should have something to say. Gotta go play a tournament match now though :D
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Been here since birth but Im only a student... so I dont really have much knowledge about real estate. You probably have a decent idea of NYC, the stereotypes and rush hour travel.
Dont bother driving if you're gonna work in the city or have fun looking for a parking spot. I am not familiar with Astoria or LIC but Flushing is great, it has its own Chinatown with a miniature Korean place.
Both Astoria and Flushing has direct access to the subway. The N/Q at Astoria and 7 train at Flushing. I assume you will commute to work everyday, your best bet is to get an unlimited 30-day Metrocard ... will cost you $89 but after Dec 30. its gonna be $104.
Oh and I reside in Brooklyn and commute to Manhattan everyday for class.
edit: Whoops, my textbook was on the space bar. :/
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It gets pretty pricey to live in Manhatten. I'm not sure how much you make but living in Queens or Brooklyn will definitely be cheaper... It'll also depend on where you will work. You should try punching your work address and your potential apartment address into google map and then choose direction by public transportation/subway to see how long it'll get to work. Sometimes the subway paths can get really screwy. IE if you live in Flushing and you have to get to Brooklyn for work, it can take up really long time via train because almost all trains have to cross into Manhatten. I live in Bensonhaurst Brooklyn (pretty much the southern tip of brooklyn) and it takes me a hour and a half to get to Flushing or some areas in Queens. 3 hour commutes every day are absolute killers (I did it for a month or two while working 10-11 hours a day... it was like hell because traveling takes so much time... 10 hour work days + 3 hour commutes + 8 hour sleep = 3 hour left of free time). Oh and check how many trains you have to transfer. it gets annoying when you have to transfer too much (one delayed train will fuck you over).
If you're looking to live near an asian population, 8th avenue is like the chinatown for brooklyn but I can't say I like the area too much. I'm not trying to be racist or anything (I'm Chinese myself) but i generally hate heavily asian populated area because the street/area tend to get dirty as fuck (IE Chinatown). I guess its convenient to buy things or whatever but the street sometimes smells like complete shit because the fish markets/restaurant don't clean up well after themselves.
Another area with a decent asian population is where I live, Bensonhaurst Brooklyn. The asian population has really skyrocketed over the years and it hasn't gotten to the point where the streets smell like dead fish all the time (although it's getting there) and its still pretty convenient to get asian goods. I'm not sure how much rent is as currently in my neighborhood I'm living with my parents but they recently rented out the first floor (2 bedrooms) to a family and they charge them roughly 1200 or 1300. It's about 45 minutes from manhatten which makes it a bit inconvenient if you go to the Manhatten a lot. I don't think its that bad for work, but if you go to bars/eat/hangout a lot with friends, it can be an annoyance. (It doesn't bother me but sibling complains about about how she wish we live closer to the city).
Best of luck in your search!
My hangout place of choice is probably the East Village. It's a favorite spot to hang out for college students (it's close to NYU) and there's a lot of restaurants out there with a lot of [authentic?] Japanese food places (Ramen, Sushi, Japanese convenient stores). There isn't a specific one that I recommend.
If you're into korean food, you probably want to check out korea-town near 34th street. There's a pretty neat place in Queens where they have All-you-can-eat korean BBQ. The quality of the BBQ wasn't the greatest but its still very good (I've only had korean bbq once before though) for a very reasonable price ($25-35ish). Oh wear "shitty" clothes when you go there. The place isn't very well ventilated and your hair/body/clothes WILL smell like korean BBQ when you get out of there. http://www.yelp.com/biz/picnic-garden-flushing
My favorite place is probably Pommes Frites (also in east village, great for desert), which is this little Belgium fries shop which is amazing. It's a little pricey for fries but they make it right when you order and they have something like 20-30 type of sauces you can choose from and you can go in and ask for samples to try the sauces before picking (you can sample a bunch but i always feel bad after a couple  ). Definitely try the sweet mango chutney its my absolutely favorite. http://www.yelp.com/biz/pommes-frites-new-york#query:belgium fries
Karoke in 8th ave (and probably flushing... but i never go there) is pretty sweet and cheap. You rent a room for X amount of hour for like $50 an hour (I don't know the exact price, most likely cheaper). you can bring a bunch of friends to offset the cost, and plus when you order food and drinks, you can order up to the cost you paid for the room for free. IE if you stayed there for 3 hours, you can order up to $150 worth of food and drinks, which is a pretty good deal even though they jack up the price of the drinks and food. I'm asian so liking karoke is in my blood... but a lot of asians like to hang out there. I'd imagine they probably have similar places with similar prices/policies in Flushing. http://www.yelp.com/biz/100-fun-brooklyn#query:100 fun
I'm not sure if you ever tried Halal food but its the absolutely best fucking food in the world. Get a mix of chicken and lamb over yellow rice with lots of white sauce and its heaven in a box. I can eat that stuff all day (*drool*) and best of all its typically only $5-7 or so. You'll see a lot of Halal food carts scattered across the city but some of them are complete crap. The best one out there is probably this one and they only open from 7pm to like 4am (they cater to the people who goes to bars). Really good, I have friends who drive out from westchester in the middle of the night in order to get Halal food from this cart and there's usually a pretty big line at all hours. http://www.yelp.com/biz/53rd-and-6th-halal-cart-new-york
/edit added eateries even though I don't go out much
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Go to John's Pizzeria on Bleecker street the day you get there.
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United States4126 Posts
I can tell you just about as much as Disregard since I'm another student from Brooklyn Like everyone else has said, Flushing is known for its asian population and is one of the most busiest asian neighborhoods along with Chinatown.
Also, I had a friend who found a good deal for an apartment west village for $900 a month from craigslist so I wouldn't say Manhattan is completely out of your budget, I guess you have to be lucky with finding the right deals.
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I live in a 2 bedroom a few blocks from times square for like 2K. theater/arts housing deals ftw.
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NYC is the shit man although i can't give you any advice on moving since i've lived here my whole life. Don't avoid places (unless its a dark scary night) go everywhere. explore! i haven't been everywhere in nyc by a long shot but its always interesting when you go to a new neighborhood or area.
What else.. oh yeah actually do avoid time square it isn't interesting at all beyond going once in a while. As far as where to live it really depends on where you work.. flushing is cool i guess if you're like legit from asia asian (like speaking reading signs etc in chinese or korean or whatever all the time) but its really far from manhattan. But if you work in queens this is not a problem and if you work right around the 42nd street area i guess the subway commute isn't soo bad. idk.
Also nyc has best food in the world  Go to Shake Shack (very local chain) there's like 5 of them in new york and they have amazing burgers that are really good quality, well sourced meat all that good stuff. Chipotle is awesome, same deal as shake shack, good quality but its mexican food instead. Great pizza too, Lombardies in soho, Johns Pizza in the west village, Motorino in the east village, Lucali in carroll gardens brooklyn, and pretty much any slice place on any corner is better than 99% of pizza in America. Ippudo in the west villiage has fucking awesome ramen, Momofoku in the lower east side has excellent asian food. Both are kinda famous and hard to get in to but unlike a lot of places in nyc that have those qualities they aren't so crazy expensive. Zabars on the upper west side (81st and broadway) for bread lox cheese cured meats and other stuff like that. plus they have a cafe which is awesome. Hale and Hearty soup is good idk if they have those in the rest of the country or what though. H&H bagels (there's a couple) and Absolute Bagel on 107th and broadway for bagels. Chelsea market on 14th and 9th ave has a lot of great places inside it. Kosar's bialys on the lower east side for bialys (a jewish thing similar to a bagel but a little smaller, great when used in the same ways bagels are). The donut plant on the lower east side for donuts. Think Coffee on the lower east side and the Mud Truck in astor place (they have a store in the east village too) for top notch coffee. Jimmy's no. 43 in the east village is a great barish kinda place but the owner is really in to good food and makes great dishes. I can only assume their beer is just as good.
I don't really know what you like so i tried to cover everything great that isn't a really fancy/expensive restaurant lol. I'm know i'll think of more.
i can't remember the name of a good sushi place and a korean place right now but ill edit them in when i remember.
yeah i can talk about food all day because it all sounds so delicious right now >:O
gl hf :D
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United States24673 Posts
I think the culture shock is something you will probably get over very quickly. Give it a few weeks tops imo.
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Finding a place to live in NY is really luck of the draw. I recommend hiring someone to find something in your price range/ commute threshold. I've lived in Queens for a good chunk of my life, but I was working 60+ hrs a week at one point and would've gladly bled for a shorter commute. If you're really into ethnic food Queens is the place to be; every other aspect is pretty lackluster. Don't worry about blending in, there are plenty of Asians everywhere (I'm one of them). It's hard to give good advice on such a broad topic without knowing what kind of social life you like to lead, where you work, etc. Again, I think it's in your best interest to have someone do a good search for you, but that's just my take.
Frying Pan (bar, lower west), Pommes Frites (fries, lower east), Beer Garden (bar, Astoria).
@funnybananaman, you named a bunch of things that are all over the country...
Edit: wow someone already mentioned pommes frites, awesome
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Is there any reason you do not want a studio? You can definitely find a studio in a good location that is well within your budget in manhattan. If you find a roommate, you can easily find a 2br that is under 2500/month. Also, a broker is sometimes required for good apts... the studio i am in now basically required a broker to get. it sucks to pay the 15% fee, but it was worth it for me.
Is there a reason you want to live near an asian community? asians "blend in" pretty well throughout the city, and good asian food is very accessible in manh (k-town and chinatown are pretty legit). Queens sounds close, but if you are working in Manhattan, public transportation can be a huge pain late at night and on weekends. Plus, if you don't bring a car, getting around Queens can be a pain as well.
my best advice would be to visit new york for a few days and check out the neighborhoods you are considering, and see how long it would take you to commute. everyone has a different set of requirements
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United States24673 Posts
On October 16 2010 13:51 Michaelj wrote:
Is there any reason you do not want a studio? You can definitely find a studio in a good location that is well within your budget in manhattan. If you find a roommate, you can easily find a 2br that is under 2500/month. Also, a broker is sometimes required for good apts... the studio i am in now basically required a broker to get. it sucks to pay the 15% fee, but it was worth it for me.
What was your 15% fee? My broker took exactly 1 months' rent...
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Thanks for the replies!! I will copy down the names of the food places and be sure to visit them when I get there, and thanks for the information on NYC also And great to know that I will get used to the culture quickly!!
Okay... maybe I do not require a one bedroom apartment necessarily. It's just that the studios in Manhattan I've seen are so small... not sure if I can get used to it. On the other hand, 1 bedroom in Manhattan in a decent neighborhood (see below) will not likely fit in my budget.
More information about my expectation for housing:
- I will be working in the Chelsea district in Manhattan, and I will definitely commute by subway (or any other means that I have not realized yet but I'm definitely NOT driving, it seems crazy on the road)
- I definitely want to live in decent neighborhood (i.e. where I won't get robbed or has gangsters around, etc.) not like Greenwich Village but definitely not Harlem, Bronx, etc., so low crime rate is important. It is also one of the reasons why I lean towards Queens for apartments; it seems like Manhattan is such a complicated place but if there are places that are pretty decent I'd love to know about them.
- I will not share a place with somebody else. I will be living by myself.
So basically, I want to know if there is any apartments in Manhattan that is: in a safe/decent neighborhood, fit within 2000/month, and won't need to share with someone else.
Advices would be much appreciated. Thanks!!
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On October 16 2010 10:17 Rotodyne wrote:
Go to John's Pizzeria on Bleecker street the day you get there.
Best advice yet. If there's one way to start off your new life right, it's that.
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On October 16 2010 13:55 micronesia wrote:
What was your 15% fee? My broker took exactly 1 months' rent...
yeah, 15% of a year, so 2 month's rent basically =\. I was in a rush so I felt I didn't really have room to negotiate,
Anyway, for 2k you can easily find huge studios in manhattan in decent neighborhoods. Even 1 brs are possible. If you are in Chelsea, there are a bunch of nice, affordable neighborhoods nearby.
You can look in hells kitchen/midtown west (40s/50s from 8th ave to 10th ave... further east the better). There are a lot of walkups around here that are affordable, and there are a TON of restaurant options nearby.
You can also look at Murray Hill (30s around Lexington/Madison ave), it's pretty quiet, clean, and affordable.
I would probably avoid the Upper east side since your commute would kind of suck, and the UWS isn't the most fun or closest place.
But seriously, at 2k you can find a ton of places, and although apts look small when they are empty, a few pieces of furniture can actually make the places look huge. The places i listed above are probably the best "value" neighborhoods that are close-ish to chelsea. You can find bargain apts downtown, but they are likely to be small (and you sound like you want a bigger apt)
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you can afford rent at 40x what you take home. Aka if you're salary is 40k after taxes its 30k and you can't live comfortably with rent higher than say about 800. Then again its NYC so i don't know if you're going to have a car or not and what your other expenses are going to be.
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despite its stereotypes harlem is really not bad at all anymore, and so are some places in the bronx. New york overall has a fairly low crime rate compared to other cities. if you're working in chelsea commuting from flushing is going to take a long ass time but astoria or long island city wouldn't be too bad. Brooklyn is also an option but id suggest just taking a good look at the subway map. New york is an expensive place unfortunately though so in good neighborhoods can be hard to find a decent apartment that isn't crazy expensive but if you're by yourself i guess it doesn't have to be very big.
@inside the box
Which ones are all over the country? there's one other shake shack in the rest of the usa and its in miami, chipotle is really mostly north east and also colorado cuz thats where it was invented (pretty sure not in washington where he's from). All the pizza places are definitely new york only and so are ippudo and momofoku. H&H, zabars, kosars, chelsea market, donut plant, jimmy's no. 43 and the 2 coffee places are definitely nyc only. And i admitted idk where else they have hale and hearty i've never seen one outside of nyc.
edit- just looked it up hale and hearty is also only in nyc.
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On October 17 2010 01:26 THE_DOMINATOR wrote:
you can afford rent at 40x what you take home. Aka if you're salary is 40k after taxes its 30k and you can't live comfortably with rent higher than say about 800. Then again its NYC so i don't know if you're going to have a car or not and what your other expenses are going to be.
Really? If that is the case, then it sounds really brutal to get an apartment anywhere in NYC. I thought it was based on your gross annual income (i.e. before taxes) in which case I can afford up to 2100/month without guarantor / co-signing.
Can anyone confirm this?
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I wouldn't live in Flushing, the commute seems like a long ways to me for some reason, but it depends entirely on how far from the subway station your place is. It does have a large Asian population though, which I can see the appeal of.
I live in Astoria and enjoy it pretty well. The commute into midtown is pretty quick (15-25 minutes). LIC is definitely closer to midtown but is kind of hit or miss. There's some nice parts and some really not nice parts. It won't be difficult for you to figure out which is which if you visit the area.
The idiosyncrasies of the city take a while to get used to, but I think its kind of fun. If you don't have a while to look at places it will be hard to find a place without hiring someone.
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You should also take a look at Jersey City if you want a nice/safe location. You can probably get a studio/1br for your price range, and taking the PATH is actually a more convenient method to get to midtown (probably around 20-30 minutes) than taking the subway from a lot of places in the other boroughs. Coming in from Flushing, for example, would take about an hour.
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I never had a problem with the 40x income thing, most landlords are lenient about that kind of thing (even high-rises), and you could always get a guarantor anyway.
About broker's fee, you can always negotiate with your broker on his fee. Never pay more than 1 month, anything more and you're definitely getting ripped off. A significant portion of listings out there have more than one broker trying to sell it, so don't be afraid to walk away if the broker gives you crap about the fee. BUT - there are a lot of great listings too that you don't have find through brokers either.
About apt location -- since you seem to prefer a higher quality apt -- if there's one recommendation I can make, do not live in Manhattan. It's dirty, it smells, it's 20% smaller, 20% more expensive, noisy as hell, and a great majority of buildings are just old. Google up nyc highrises, there's a couple of websites that keep up to date listings of all the luxury highrise buildings around the 5 boroughs and jersey city too. Living in Manhattan is seriously over-rated -- ask anyone who's lived in both Manhattan and any of the other 4 boroughs, and they'll tell you the same.
For example, I'm a 30min commute away door to door from my Brooklyn apt to 42nd & Madison. I live in a spacious 1150 sq ft true 2BR for $3300/month. The building is less than 1 yr old, with a 24hr gym, brand new everything, elevators + central air, and even a concierge desk. Finding an equivalent high-rise in Tribeca or UWS would be over $4k/mo, easy; Midtown would be over $5k/mo, easy; LIC would be around $3600-3800/month. (I just moved 1.5months ago, so I'm pretty up to date on pricings)
Bro, if you can find a roommate or two, do it -- getting a 2BR converted into a 3BR is so much cheaper than a studio, let alone a 1BR. But if you're prepared to spend $1500-2K, you can definitely find some nice 1BR high-rises, even in midtown. In any case, I would recommend high-rises in UWS, Tribeca, maybe LIC (it's gotten a bit pricy recently), Brooklyn Borough Hall, and Jersey city if your office is close to the PATH. Google up those high-rise compilation websites I told you about, and then figure out the commuting time, and go from there.
One last piece of advice on apt hunting -- the more time you spend on it, the better deals you will find. No question about it, there are always better places for cheaper out there. You just need to start early, put in that 1-2hrs every day, and you will find there are some really great deals out there. And if you're willing to live in a non-highrise (i.e. a really old building), you can find some insanely cheap apts out there.
Source: I spent a bit of my childhood in Sunnyside (Queens), dormed on Columbia campus, lived in midtown (45th and Broadway) for 1 year, lived in LIC for 4 years, and just moved to Brooklyn 2 months ago.
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On October 17 2010 03:12 funnybananaman wrote:
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despite its stereotypes harlem is really not bad at all anymore, and so are some places in the bronx. New york overall has a fairly low crime rate compared to other cities.
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The nice areas in Harlem cost just as much as other places in NYC. I lived around 116/Manhattan and paid $3500 for a 2bdr apartment. Harlem is still pretty scary (imo) if you go north of 125. That's like a totally different town...
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On October 19 2010 01:14 Cambium wrote:Show nested quote +On October 17 2010 03:12 funnybananaman wrote:
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despite its stereotypes harlem is really not bad at all anymore, and so are some places in the bronx. New york overall has a fairly low crime rate compared to other cities.
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The nice areas in Harlem cost just as much as other places in NYC. I lived around 116/Manhattan and paid $3500 for a 2bdr apartment. Harlem is still pretty scary (imo) if you go north of 125. That's like a totally different town...
Same thing when you stumble into Central Brooklyn. D:
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On October 19 2010 00:50 Happy.fairytail wrote:
I never had a problem with the 40x income thing, most landlords are lenient about that kind of thing (even high-rises), and you could always get a guarantor anyway.
About broker's fee, you can always negotiate with your broker on his fee. Never pay more than 1 month, anything more and you're definitely getting ripped off. A significant portion of listings out there have more than one broker trying to sell it, so don't be afraid to walk away if the broker gives you crap about the fee. BUT - there are a lot of great listings too that you don't have find through brokers either.
About apt location -- since you seem to prefer a higher quality apt -- if there's one recommendation I can make, do not live in Manhattan. It's dirty, it smells, it's 20% smaller, 20% more expensive, noisy as hell, and a great majority of buildings are just old. Google up nyc highrises, there's a couple of websites that keep up to date listings of all the luxury highrise buildings around the 5 boroughs and jersey city too. Living in Manhattan is seriously over-rated -- ask anyone who's lived in both Manhattan and any of the other 4 boroughs, and they'll tell you the same.
For example, I'm a 30min commute away door to door from my Brooklyn apt to 42nd & Madison. I live in a spacious 1150 sq ft true 2BR for $3300/month. The building is less than 1 yr old, with a 24hr gym, brand new everything, elevators + central air, and even a concierge desk. Finding an equivalent high-rise in Tribeca or UWS would be over $4k/mo, easy; Midtown would be over $5k/mo, easy; LIC would be around $3600-3800/month. (I just moved 1.5months ago, so I'm pretty up to date on pricings)
Bro, if you can find a roommate or two, do it -- getting a 2BR converted into a 3BR is so much cheaper than a studio, let alone a 1BR. But if you're prepared to spend $1500-2K, you can definitely find some nice 1BR high-rises, even in midtown. In any case, I would recommend high-rises in UWS, Tribeca, maybe LIC (it's gotten a bit pricy recently), Brooklyn Borough Hall, and Jersey city if your office is close to the PATH. Google up those high-rise compilation websites I told you about, and then figure out the commuting time, and go from there.
One last piece of advice on apt hunting -- the more time you spend on it, the better deals you will find. No question about it, there are always better places for cheaper out there. You just need to start early, put in that 1-2hrs every day, and you will find there are some really great deals out there. And if you're willing to live in a non-highrise (i.e. a really old building), you can find some insanely cheap apts out there.
Source: I spent a bit of my childhood in Sunnyside (Queens), dormed on Columbia campus, lived in midtown (45th and Broadway) for 1 year, lived in LIC for 4 years, and just moved to Brooklyn 2 months ago.
Thanks! That was very informative. Yah, I've been thinking about living in Chelsea or far enough away that the rent isn't as crazy. So I have pretty much narrowed it down to Astoria and Chelsea, and I don't want a crappy apartment. So, given my budget, Chelsea is pretty much out of the question. I do want to get a luxury apartment (preferrably with my own washer/dryer) in Astoria for around 1800, do you think it is doable?
Also I've heard about bedbugs invading everywhere in New York City... that sounds pretty scary. Is anyone actually experiencing right now, or have experienced it before? Is that also a problem in Queens? Hopefully it won;t be a problem for me since I do plan to keep my place pretty clean.
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Bedbugs are impossible to treat if you are in an apartment building. Your best chance is to buy mattress encasements. Bedbugs feed on blood like mosquitoes, and they survive over 6 months without food. So it doesn't matter if your apartment is clean or not. Do your laundry frequently, wash your sheets, I'd go for leather couch and chairs since they like to hide in furnitures with cloths.
As for your apartment search, most people who choose to live in Manhattan have long hours and commuting late at night is a hassle / safety concern. If you know you will be working regular hours there's no need to live in Manhattan.
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in my experience it is 40x before taxes. Apartments with built-in washer/dryers are fairly rare, even in queens, but most apartment buildings will have laundry rooms.
Is this your first time living alone? I'm just curious why are you fixated on getting such a nice apartment. luxury 1br for yourself with a washer/dryer, that is a pretty penny.
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Uptown has plenty of those, about $2000 a month. Had a friend that used to live there by herself, but she went back to Korea few months ago. Pretty nice Id say, though theres no bedroom... the living room and bedroom are in the same space. However, the kitchen is fairly modest to me and theres a decent amount of storage. Wish I can afford 2000 a month, it would be perfect.
edit: Though one thing I really disliked about that area was holy shit the subway is packed, I live in Brooklyn and well lets just say it isnt as bad as that was... Rush hour = Weekend up there.
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On October 19 2010 08:39 imDerek wrote:
Thanks! That was very informative. Yah, I've been thinking about living in Chelsea or far enough away that the rent isn't as crazy. So I have pretty much narrowed it down to Astoria and Chelsea, and I don't want a crappy apartment. So, given my budget, Chelsea is pretty much out of the question. I do want to get a luxury apartment (preferrably with my own washer/dryer) in Astoria for around 1800, do you think it is doable?
Also I've heard about bedbugs invading everywhere in New York City... that sounds pretty scary. Is anyone actually experiencing right now, or have experienced it before? Is that also a problem in Queens? Hopefully it won;t be a problem for me since I do plan to keep my place pretty clean.
Chelsea is the most expensive area you could look in, and would be the last place to look for an apt if you want bang for buck.
Astoria is kind of far, the buildings are pretty old, and I don't like the N/R subway -- if you're set on living in Queens, I would suggest LIC as I think the 7 is a lot more reliable and the buildings are much newer. But Astoria is alright -- at least they have a lot of good bars. LIC doesn't have much, but at least it has a lot of delivery food options.
Like I said before, I would recommend looking in Tribeca, Borough Hall Brooklyn, Jersey City if your office is close to the PATH, and LIC. UWS tends to be a bit pricier. Last resort would be midtown (Chelsea, etc.). Google up those high-rise websites I was talking about, start compiling a list of apts by price, then start calling and scheduling appointments.
Btw, you will never find a 1BR with its own washer/dryer, at best you'll find a 2BR with its own washer/dryer, definitely 3BR and up have them (for high-rise apts). But most high-rises have washer/dryer rooms for each floor anyway.
A few of my friends have had bedbug infestations, and it is a pain in the ass according to them. Basically what you gotta do is get an exterminator to spray your entire place down, then he comes back in a month to spray it down again since bedbug eggs hatch within 4 weeks or something like that. I've never heard of a bedbug infestation in any high-rise though. Only my friends who live in harlem or really cheap & old walk-ups have had to deal with it.
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On October 19 2010 16:08 Michaelj wrote:
in my experience it is 40x before taxes. Apartments with built-in washer/dryers are fairly rare, even in queens, but most apartment buildings will have laundry rooms.
Is this your first time living alone? I'm just curious why are you fixated on getting such a nice apartment. luxury 1br for yourself with a washer/dryer, that is a pretty penny.
Yes, yes it is. The reason why I want a nice apt is that I'm pretty obsessed with cleanliness, so I would not share utilities with other people unless I really have to. And the severe bedbug problems in NYC just gets me more paranoid about sharing stuff with other people.
Brooklyn sounds pretty sketchy so I'm not really considering there. Tribeca is probably noisy due to night life. NJ sounds okay but I'd rather be on the east of Manhattan so it's easier to go to other places in Queens (i.e. Flushing)
I'm pretty much set on LIC or Astoria, I will look at the high-rises there -- hopefully they won't be too expensive next February. I found a few listings on Craigslist that are luxury apartments in Astoria that claims to have their own washer/dryer that fits within my budget, such as this one: http://newyork.craigslist.org/que/nfb/2015108664.html Does that sound like a legit deal?
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On October 18 2010 13:03 s h 1 k 4 i wrote:
You should also take a look at Jersey City if you want a nice/safe location. You can probably get a studio/1br for your price range, and taking the PATH is actually a more convenient method to get to midtown (probably around 20-30 minutes) than taking the subway from a lot of places in the other boroughs. Coming in from Flushing, for example, would take about an hour.
Being from New Jersey, I approve. A friend of a friend has an apartment he shares in Newport, Jersey City in the high rises overlooking the Hudson. I think rent is 2100 split between 3 so it's not horrendous. It used to be a shitty place to live but it's getting better with development recently. Personally looking to do this next year.
I live in the city (NYU undergrad) and I can say the BEST HALAL is at 14th and 3rd. $4 for chicken over rice WITH a soda. Yes, I am a huge fanboy.
Btw where are you working? Downtown? There are a lot of great places by Wall St. I can recommend for lunch. If you like Japanese BBQ definately check out Gyu-Kaku (http://www.gyu-kaku.com/ny/index.htm). During happy hour the grilled meats are half off.
Got a lot more favorite places but guys who have replied listed a great deal them. I think you'll adjust quickly to the city and really fall in love w/ it.
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Hmm, now that you mentioned it, I am strongly considering NJ as a possible option, as the rent is likely to be cheaper, and you don't have to pay NYC tax (correct me if I'm wrong)
BTW, I will work at Chelsea, Manhattan, so living in NJ is probably closer than living in Queens too.
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What are some nice neighborhoods in JC that are not too far away from Manhattan? Is Newport safe? I heard JC's crime rate is comparable to that of Bronx's.
EDIT: sorry double post
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since it seems like you really don't know much about the city and neighborhoods (no offense), you would be very well served walking around potential neighborhoods during the day and night to see if you feel comfortable. Find a friend to stay with for a few days, or spring for a motel. You don't want to sign a one year lease and decide that you hate your neighborhood =\.
It seems like everyone has their own (mis)conceptions about New York, so you really need to walk around and get your own idea of what it's like.
LIC is a weird mix of warehouses and luxury apartments. I think developers built very nice buildings expecting property prices in manhattan to push a ton of people to the outer boroughs. There is a nice area of two-square blocks where there is a huge park and a rather nice set of apt buildings, and there are some other nice buildings scattered around the neighborhood. However, there is very little to do in the neighborhood. A plus is that it is a very quick commute into manhattan via the 7.
Astoria is very lively, and still relatively close to manhattan. However, you should still check it out at night to see if it is your thing and if you like it. I haven't been there in a while but I remember a good mix of ethnic restaurants, hookah bars, etc.
Re: bedbugs. Someone I know recently discovered she had bedbugs, but had exterminators take care of the problem. I don't think it's as widespread as everyone makes it out to be, at least in my experience.
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Thanks! I will go there 2-3 weeks before I start my work to just explore NYC and look for apts to see if I like the neighborhoods. Actually right now I'm mostly considering Jersey City since I would like to avoid paying the NYC tax which adds up to a extra few thousand dollars I have to pay every year. And their apartments seems to be on the same level, if not cheaper, than ones in Astoria/LIC. I'm mainly looking at high-rises and low-rises in Paulus Hook -- seems like it can still fit in a <= 2000 budget.
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I live in brooklyn, pay about $800/month, have a great space and it's about 2 blocks from the L train which makes getting into manhattan very easy. Check out east williamsburg/lorimer if you're looking for a pretty laid back living experience. great food, bars and cute girls lol
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EPT
