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Did you luck or crap out with your first NYC apt? - Page 2

post #16 of 24
10/18/10 at 1:40pm
first move was '93.
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post #17 of 24
10/18/10 at 1:43pm
Lucked out: I was working with a dude that was getting rdy to move in with his GF and I was looking for a place. He had a studio in a Ft Green brownstone on what is considered the best block(S Portland btwn Dekalb and Laf.) He spoke to the landlord and I met him a week later. STarted out paying $400/mo! Studio was on the top floor and also had a terrace! Landlord's daughter had a bedroom on the top floor also. After appr 2 yrs, she was doing her Jr year in HS overseas so the landlord asked me if I wanted the entire top floor! Rent moved up to appr $700/mo. Market rate for the entire top floor would have probably been close to $2000/mo. He would raise the rent a little but I paid WELL below market rate. The ONLY reason I moved was becasue his wife had her own biz and it wasn't doing that well and they converted the entire top floor to a home office!
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post #18 of 24
10/18/10 at 1:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Manton View Post
first move was '93.

How was NYC real estate back then? I would imagine the number of neighborhoods people considered then was significantly lower - I remember visiting as a tourist and cabs would not take us to Brooklyn, people would tell us not to step into "Alphabet City", Hell's Kitchen was considered risky, etc...
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post #19 of 24
10/18/10 at 2:52pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cool The Kid View Post
What are we considering lucking out

I'm in a 700 sq ft corner 1BR walkup in the UES for 1950/mo, I think it was no fee. I think that was a decent deal

Hearing this makes me glad I am in LA.

Job salaries are about the same but we get twice the home you guys pay for, with no winters.

Shitty part is the need for a car and insurance. We save on heating and winter clothes so that may balance it out.
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post #20 of 24
10/18/10 at 2:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by gdl203 View Post
I was NYC real estate back then? I would imagine the number of neighborhoods people considered then was significantly lower - I remember visiting as a tourist and cabs would not take us to Brooklyn, people would tell us not to step into "Alphabet City", Hell's Kitchen was considered risky, etc...

I lived in Turtle Bay then, which was fine. But yes, the place was very different. I had a chance to buy at 22nd and Park and couldn't scrape the money together. Had I done so, I would be rich today. Also looked at a place on GPS, nice building, terrible apartment, but crazy cheap and rennovatable.

Times Sq. was still quite rotten in 1993. The Upper Upper West Side was also a dump.

My first experience with Hell's Kitchen was in the mid '80s and that is a story unto itself.
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post #21 of 24
10/18/10 at 7:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cool The Kid View Post
What are we considering lucking out I'm in a 700 sq ft corner 1BR walkup in the UES for 1950/mo, I think it was no fee. I think that was a decent deal
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post #22 of 24
10/19/10 at 10:58am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Butter View Post
Hearing this makes me glad I am in LA. Job salaries are about the same but we get twice the home you guys pay for, with no winters. Shitty part is the need for a car and insurance. We save on heating and winter clothes so that may balance it out.
NYC living can be really cheap... rent makes out of towners balk, but it's really only one part of the picture Plus that rent is split between me and my gf.
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post #23 of 24
10/19/10 at 11:12am
First moved there in '94 and used the paper to find a place on 10th near 1st which was considered just a block from super-sketchiness. Rent was good, and I didn't mind that the bathroom was off the kitchen, but the landlady was insane--she lived below me and was constantly coming over and complaining about non-existent problems so I moved in three months, used a no-fee broker and found an awesome place in Park Slope. Passed up the chance to buy that and have been kicking myself ever since.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Cool The Kid View Post
NYC living can be really cheap.

Not sure about what you're comparing this to. There's lots of cool, cheap/free stuff to do, but how do you figure it can be really cheap?
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post #24 of 24
10/19/10 at 11:41am
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheIdler View Post
Not sure about what you're comparing this to. There's lots of cool, cheap/free stuff to do, but how do you figure it can be really cheap?
I know ppl legitimately paying ~400-600/mo in rent here. Granted they live in Bedstuy and bike everywhere but they enjoy that way of life and can still take advantage of a lot of what the city has to offer. And even my cost of living is reasonable. My share of the rent is 1150. Add another 100 for my Metrocard and that's my housing + transportation costs. I doubt many ppl living in major cities are paying around or less than 1250/mo on their rent/mortgage + car payments + insurance + gas + maintenance. Obviously there are trade offs, but at the end of the day I live in a world class city for what I think is pretty decent $$$.
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