I'm Moving to New York from London - Help Needed

[Joe Camel]

I've recently accepted a new job that's based in New York and once the visa papers have been processed, I should be out there in mid/late August. The problem is that I've only been to the city once and that was several years ago, so my knowledge of where to live is patchy at best.

I'm going to be earning $90k and the office is based in the Financial District. I literally only know a couple of people in NY so I'm thinking that a house share would be my best bet as a way of potentially meeting people in my early days in the city and also because my salary is anything but large by Manhattan standards (although i hear Brooklyn's great, I want to focus my search on Manhattan at least for my first rental).

I'm 30 years old, English and lived in London for several years now so i'm used to commuting 4 miles to work but it taking an hour and eye-watering prices are not going to be a shock to me. I'm not too concerned about living in area with loads of nightclubs but I do like going to bars, eating out and also do a fair amount of sport on a regular basis.

Where would be good neighborhoods for me to look for apartments based on the above? I've heard good things about Midtown and Gramercy but is the commute from there to the Financial District a pain ***********? What's Tribeca like as it seems relatively close to where I'll be working but also has decent connections to elsewhere?

Any help/suggestions would be much appreciated!

 

[twistoffat]

Try this site it should help you with your decision

http://www.nakedapartments.com/blog/average-rental-prices-in-nyc/

 

[Joffrey]

There have been quite a few threads about moving to NYC, neighborhood options, etc. You may want to do a search for that.

 

[Medwed]

If you prefer to live in a white ghetto then: Hoboken,NJ .
If you are Indian or Asian then Jersey City, NJ (Waterfront/Exchange Place).
Two bedroom two bathroom flat (1000sq feet) rents for 2700 to 3500 a month in NJ your share will be half. With your salary you probably cannot afford to live in Manhattan in anything more than a tiny room while sharing one bathroom (not a good option imho).
Your take home will be about $4500/month after racist term for black people takes his share.

 

[gomestar]

a lot of trains are around the financial district, so your commute from most places in Manhattan will be fairly easy.

don't live in midtown, it's where people work, not live. Tribeca is swanky and $$$$$. Don't live in the Financial district either.

 

[Joe Camel]

Cheers for the replies gents.

Is craigslist the best place to find shared apartments (it seems to have a fair few legit ones posted on there) or are there other sites you'd recommend?

 

[upr_crust]



I've recently accepted a new job that's based in New York and once the visa papers have been processed, I should be out there in mid/late August. The problem is that I've only been to the city once and that was several years ago, so my knowledge of where to live is patchy at best.

I'm going to be earning $90k and the office is based in the Financial District. I literally only know a couple of people in NY so I'm thinking that a house share would be my best bet as a way of potentially meeting people in my early days in the city and also because my salary is anything but large by Manhattan standards (although i hear Brooklyn's great, I want to focus my search on Manhattan at least for my first rental).

I'm 30 years old, English and lived in London for several years now so i'm used to commuting 4 miles to work but it taking an hour and eye-watering prices are not going to be a shock to me. I'm not too concerned about living in area with loads of nightclubs but I do like going to bars, eating out and also do a fair amount of sport on a regular basis.

Where would be good neighborhoods for me to look for apartments based on the above? I've heard good things about Midtown and Gramercy but is the commute from there to the Financial District a pain ***********? What's Tribeca like as it seems relatively close to where I'll be working but also has decent connections to elsewhere?

Any help/suggestions would be much appreciated!

Best of luck with the transition. What's been said about Hoboken and Jersey City is accurate, though the commute to the financial district from Jersey City would be simpler than Hoboken, and both cities have new residential construction for rentals, at prices less horrid than Manhattan.

There are rental properties in the Financial District area, though they are quite steep, as most are new building, or new renovations of former office buildings. If you're going to commute downtown, commutation from the West Side is less horrifying than the Eat Side, as the East Side is entirely dependent on the IRT East Side #4 & #5 trains - efficient, but packed like sardines at rush hour. That being said, the more easterly reaches of the Upper East Side have more affordable housing in greater supply (affordable being a relative term) than does the Upper West Side currently. Midtown West (a/k/a Hell's Kitchen or the theatre district) does have some affordable options, and the nabe is full of interesting restaurants and clubs.

As I said, best of luck with your transition, and, FWIW, I work in the financial district as well, commuting from the Upper West Side.

 

[jacobpitt]

Which type of help do you need?

 

[Joe Camel]



Best of luck with the transition. What's been said about Hoboken and Jersey City is accurate, though the commute to the financial district from Jersey City would be simpler than Hoboken, and both cities have new residential construction for rentals, at prices less horrid than Manhattan.

There are rental properties in the Financial District area, though they are quite steep, as most are new building, or new renovations of former office buildings. If you're going to commute downtown, commutation from the West Side is less horrifying than the Eat Side, as the East Side is entirely dependent on the IRT East Side #4 & #5 trains - efficient, but packed like sardines at rush hour. That being said, the more easterly reaches of the Upper East Side have more affordable housing in greater supply (affordable being a relative term) than does the Upper West Side currently. Midtown West (a/k/a Hell's Kitchen or the theatre district) does have some affordable options, and the nabe is full of interesting restaurants and clubs.

As I said, best of luck with your transition, and, FWIW, I work in the financial district as well, commuting from the Upper West Side.

Thanks upr_crust, that's a lot of help.

 

[tropics]

i moved a couple of years back and had the same thoughts about wanting to live in manhattan. those thoughts promptly disappeared after viewing a few apartments in the city in my price range...! i felt like asking where the rest of the apartment was.
you might find some english ex-pat site where you could get in touch with some people in similar circumstances. even though they speak english here it is like a foreign language for the first few months... it's quite an adjustment, and knowing people who have gone through it could be handy. another thing you might want to consider is credit history - you probably won't have a US one so that might put you at a disadvantage for renting. i had to get my employer to sign my first lease.

 

[Joe Camel]



i moved a couple of years back and had the same thoughts about wanting to live in manhattan. those thoughts promptly disappeared after viewing a few apartments in the city in my price range...! i felt like asking where the rest of the apartment was.
you might find some english ex-pat site where you could get in touch with some people in similar circumstances. even though they speak english here it is like a foreign language for the first few months... it's quite an adjustment, and knowing people who have gone through it could be handy. another thing you might want to consider is credit history - you probably won't have a US one so that might put you at a disadvantage for renting. i had to get my employer to sign my first lease.

Flatshare prices in Manhattan do seem ridiculously high, even in comparison to London. It's a good point that you raise re: credit history, although as I'm only looking for a share it seems to be about 50/50 in terms of those require a credit check. Worst case scenario, I'm pretty confident my employer will sign the lease.

I think the Upper West Side looks like a decent bet as I like the idea of being near the park. The commute appears to be ~20 mins on the Subway, which is about half the time it takes me to travel at the moment from Clapham to Marylebone so it'll be an easy commute in comparison. If I don't find anywhere around there in my price range or that's big enough to swing a cat in, i'll probably start looking at Brooklyn instead (although it doesn't look much cheaper there either!).

 

[phillrees]

Hi,

I moved from London to NYC a year ago and its a really tricky process finding a place to live initially. I would suggest getting your employer to be your guarantor right away, will save you a lot of time. I tried for a few places but was rejected as I had no US credit history but in the end I had my employer to be the guarantor and had to give 5 months security deposit which hurt the bank balance but got me a place to live which was great. What you also need to remember is that the estate agents/ real estate agents charge a fee to find you a place, this can sometime be the cost of one months rent or more but you can also search for a no fee rental too -this might help you a little to understand the process more -

http://www.nakedapartments.com/guides/nyc.

The financial district is pretty easy to get too from most places, great transport links down there. Its not too bad a place to live as in quality of the apartments and the rent prices are pretty comparable to most of Manhattan but its very quiet down there, not much going on. It does have some nice bars though and some nice spots in Battery Park City too.

I live in the Lower East side and I love it, really easy to get to Brooklyn, Soho, Financial District, China Town, East Village are close bye and walkable. Its a very lively area which has great night life and great restaurants so I've found it a great place to be based for my first year in New York. Prices in New York do seem slightly higher than London and places here are much smaller, but one good thing is your bills will be so cheap compared to the UK - no council tax, heat is normally included, no water rates, TV license etc

Its a tricky few weeks when you arrive but will be worth it, its an awesome place to live.

 

[rryan]

There is good site for furnished apartments that you may want to check out www.nyfurnishedapartments.com