NYC GCers, Mullet needs some major help
 

In my attempt to completely jinx myself from getting this amazing job I applied for (and will find out about on friday) working for a nonprofit in NYC - I seek the advice of the o wise ones of GC.

If I am offered this job, I will have to move my Midwestern ass to the Big Apple. The company is located in Midtown Manhattan and I would honestly be making pennies (seriously, it's a nonprofit) and I would have somewhere around $1000 a month for rent and utilities.

Now I know this is basically a joke - but I'm hoping some of you can advise me as to the neighborhoods of NYC - where is good to live, where will have cheap (but decent) apts, and where to absolutley avoid.

I'm not afraid of a commute on the public transportation (but i'm hoping it will be less than an hour) - so any advice would be absolutely super :)

Let me sleep on this, and I'll get back to you. You can start by checking out craigslist.

Re: NYC GCers, Mullet needs some major help
 

I have friends who are living for that amount on the upperwest side. If you find people to live with it comes out at a decent price. But honestly if you want ot pay less or live alone, you may want to move out of Manhattan. If you're hot I'm sure you can move in with a banker who will pay for your rent too.

-Rudey

HI! I work in non-profit and trust me it is HARD to get by on my salary and I make more than most (sadly). I say look in Queens. I by luck got my $600 a month apartment (thanks to being passed down by a sister;) ). The area I am in now which is 10 minutes from mid-town you probably won't find anything. Peaches is right, check out craigslist. You may want to check further out, like Eastern Queens. You can also do what I did when I first moved here, get a roommate, and when you get on your feet and learn the area more, move out. Feel free to PM me for anything.
Allison

Yeah, roommate would be a good idea at first. Definitely craigslist - sublets and such might be listed. You might find something in the Columbia area - W 110-120s (Streets, I mean!). But your best bet is probably Queens. If you can get something close to the subway (7, E, F, R into eastern Queens and N into northwestern Queens) it will make commuting a lot easier.

Or you could try Hoboken or Jersey City in NJ.

i don't know anyone in NYC, so i won't lie, I'm sketched out on having a random roommate ;) Of course i know people do this everyday, and it's definitely on my list of possibilities :)

Does anyone have any experience with or know know anyone who found a random roommate through craigslist and the such?

My brothers friend told me to check out Phipps Houses Service on 28th Street and 2nd Avenue - its Section 8 housing where you pay according to your salary. Anyone have experience with them? Or is this pretty shady?

So far:
Queens gets a +
Jersey is a good option

Rudey: aren't you a banker... :cool:

Just so you know, Section 8 basically does not exist anymore in NYC. If you are a woman with children who is in a domestic violence situation you may stand a chance but the common everyday working person is not eligible for this benefit. Also, any type of lower income housing is not something you are going to be able to move to NYC and be eligible for right away. You usually have to get put on a years-long wait list and then it is a lottery system in order to obtain. I understand your reservations about the whole roommate thing. If you would like, join my yahoo listserv in yahoogroups for NYC Greek Alums and you can post you are looking for a roommate. You may be able to meet someone that way. I would advise coming and meeting with a few potential roommates though because there are a lot of sketchballs out there. Good luck, and again, feel free to PM me if you have any other questions.

Oh yeah, I also wanted to suggest getting into contact with alumnae from your organization in the NYC area. I don't know what GLO you are in but I belonged to the Panhel listserv when it existed and there used to be posts for roommates/vacant apts. all the time.

Hoboken really nice- and way too expensive for someone making a nonprofit salary, unless you have a parent who is paying your rent ( I worked for a nonprofit in NJ so I know). Jersey city does have cheap rent, but the commute is a pain in the ass and it depends on your neighborhood- I wouldn't live near Journal Square (where most cheaper rents are). Your best bet in the city is Queens or Brooklyn. Queens is probably slightly cheaper, but the commute from Brooklyn is WAY shorter. Just be very careful of the neighborhoods in BK! Some are awesome and some scare the hell outta me.

Good luck!

The NY Times real estate section is a good place to look.

Craigslist.com is a great place to look.

Phipps is a legitimate, and well respected real estate family, but like winneythepooh7 said, you are probably not going to get it. I'd offer to be an abusive SO, but I'm supposed to be ZTAMich's stalker, and I can't even get off my butt to stalk her.;)

If you really want good help, tell us where you will work. Midtown is HUGE. That way we can recomend neighborhoods that will give you a one seat ride to work.

Other suggestions
 

Mullet:

Have you joined Socialserviceforum.com yet? This is a good site for people interested in the human services field in NYC. There is a board where I've seen people list they are looking for potential roommates. I also agree with Russ, where is the job located? There are also nice parts in the Northern and Eastern Bronx where the rents are cheaper. It will probably take you longer to get to work though. The further you get from the city (where cheaper rents are) the longer the commute. Also the farther from Manhattan, the less stuff is around such as stores and restaurants so you may want to think about having a car (more expenses cuz of NY insurance-close to $400 a month) unless you don't mind waiting for a bus at midnite. Honestly my best advice would be to try to look in the outer boros or for a roommate. I have a friend working in non-profit as well making $30,000 (before taxes) a year. He lives in Manhattan and his rent (not including utilities) is $1200 a month and that is WITH a roommate. So do the math and you can see he has very little after he pays for his rent. When will the job start? Also remember that getting an apartment (with or without a roommate) often involves paying first and last month's rent, not to mention a broker fee (which most people end up resorting to in NYC). My last friend I know who got an apartment in Manhattan paid close to $6000 in just first months, last months and fees to the broker before he even moved into his apartment. Manhattan is a great place to live IF you have money but if not, it is going to be very difficult to live and make ends meet. You don't want to be stressed out because of this. You can live well like the majority of New Yorkers by living in the outer boros. I know that unless I marry into money, as a Social Worker, I most likely will never be able to live independently in Manhattan. It's a sad reality but not many people want to be in their mid-late 20's and past that living with roommates. One of my sister's is a Social Worker and she lives in mid-town with 3 other roommates. They all have their own room and get along well enough but she is still pretty unhappy. I don't want to sound negative or discourage you but I hear of way too many people that don't make $$$$ who have never really experienced life in NY have false dreams that they are going to be able to live well in Manhattan. It's just not going to happen. Look at all the people coming here from other countries with that idea. So many of them are living 4++ in studio apts. in bad sections of the boros and they can barely make ends meet. Again feel free to PM me;)

Dont leave Staten Island out of the search- everyone forgets about it. Not as convenient, but if you check NYTimes- might find some good prices for apartments. Last summer when I was being swooned to consider teaching the NYC schools after college- that was the place in the apartment ads that stuck out to me.

Wow, thank all of you for your wonderful advice already - it really is much appreciated :)

I am totally keen on living in one of the boroughs - i know i would have to struggle far too much to live in Manhattan! I guess i just need to start with which ones are good/closest/most convienant to live in!

The company is located on 35th St - right by Madison Square Garden & the Lincoln Tunnel, I've been told.

Oh yeah, I always forget about Staten Island. You can probably do well and find people who rent out of their houses if you go there. Go Iowa;) Mullet, it's great that you are asking for advice and you know what you are getting yourself into and have realistic expectations. So many people don't really know how difficult it is to just live in NYC and move here and find that out the hard way. Are you working for a social work-type agency? I always get excited when I find out there are other SW's or people in human services on these boards. You can also check out the ethnic papers too. That's another way to find out about lower cost apartments. One of my sister's found her apartment in Bensonhurst, Bklyn in an Italian newspaper and me and another sister found past apartments in one of the Irish newspapers. If you need to move right away, you could also sublet or rent out a room with someone for short-term so you have time to learn NY and the boros and also bide more time to find a better deal that way (I think I/we said that though). Again, be prepared for sketchy roommates though even if they seem nice;) I moved in once with a girl for 2 months who was really cool then she got a dog and left him alone for days on end and never returned to the apartment. I also lived in a studio with a sister once and that didn't work after she started having sex with her boyfriend out in the open in front of me. I think the roommate horror stories are for another thread though LOL:D

Now we're getting somewhere. Sounds like its on, or West of 8th Avenue. That means the A,C or E train.

First, I recomend that you completely forget about Staten Island. Its beyond boring, and the commute is loooooooong. You would first have to commute to the ferry terminal. Then you would have a half-hour boat ride. Then you would board the 1 train, or the N or W train. Neither have transfers to the A,C or E south of 59th Street. I could go on, but you're looking at a nightmare commute. Probably 1 1/2 to 2 hours per direction each day. And when you get home, you're in Stranded, I mean Staten Island. With nothing to do. Not fun.

The easiest commute will be near the A,C or E lines, or where you can walk across a platform for a transfer, like the F or G trains. The L train also offers an easy transfer, and it serves up and coming neighborhoods in North Brooklyn, where you'll find a lot of college educated people close to your age. The B,D, F and V trains offer an easy transfer at W. 4th Street. The 1 train offers a bizarre transfer at 168th Street, but it works.

To make your life easy, here are neighborhoods that I recomend by borough:

The Bronx:
Kings Bridge
Riverdale
Spuyten Duyvel

Brooklyn:
Bushwick
Clinton Hill
Fort Greene
Greenpoint
Park Slope (might be too pricey)
Prospect Heights
Williamsburg

Manhattan:
Inwood or Washington Heights WEST of Broadway
Lower East Side (if you can find a place, you'll have a blast)

Queens:
Jackson Heights
Woodside

I think that you'll be happiest in Brooklyn or Manhattan. You'll find more things to do.

I wouldn't live in Jackson Heights or Woodside if you paid me. And some of the parts of Brooklyn you mentioned are not that safe although they've cleaned up. Jackson Heights is great if you're looking for Indian food.

Anyone saying to live in Staten Island knows nothing about NYC. It's boring, it's not that great, unworthy commute, and it will forever be a trash dump with smelly people.

Check Forest Hills Mullet. There will be a good commute for you and also it's got a young crowd that moved there. But again you can find a place for 1K easy in a high rise if you live with like a few people.

-Rudey

I wouldn't live anywhere in Queens, but I thought that she might want the boring option.

All of the neighborhoods that I mentioned in Brooklyn have really turned around. Bushwick is still sketchy, but rising fast.

How about DUMBO in Brooklyn? That seems to be very trendy right now, but not as expensive as Manhattan.

Umm, Queens is not boring. It's not Manhattan, but it's not boring. Also Forest Hills is not really what I would call cheap. Jackson Heights is not really a safe safe neighborhood and Woodside is going downhill. I live in Sunnyside, it is a good neighborhood but not exactly cheap either and is kind of going downhill also if you ask me.

The food is better in Queens.
There are still cool areas in Queens.
There are houses still in Queens.
The girls are easier in Queens.

Actually mullet check out Astoria and Forrest Hills in Queens. Both are cool neighborhoods that are also getting cooler but their property values haven't sky rocketed like Brooklyn's has due to gentrification.

-Rudey

Sunnyside is filled with little Irish and Mexican thugs.

-Rudey

Astoria is still pretty high as well. Manhattan prices and you aren't in Manhattan.

DUMBO is very trendy, and has been for ten years. I doubt that she'll be able to find anything in her price range, but if she does, she ahould grab it.

For those who live over there, DUMBO is an acronym for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass. Its more traditional name is Fulton Ferry. It is loaded with highrise warehouses, many of which have been converted to loft apartments. It would be an easy commute to 34th and 8th in Manhattan (F train at York, and transfer to the A, C or E at W. 4th.)

Nothing compares to Manhattan. Just comparing Brooklyn to Queens, Brooklyn has much more to do. Its loaded with educated and artsy people who have elevated it to the point where Brooklyn now has more culture than almost all American cities. It has great restaurants. Queens has greater diversity in its ethnic restaurants, but Brooklyn blows Queens away with cool trendy restaurants. If you love Italian food, there is also no contest. Brooklyn wins.

Just to really make everyone jealous, I live in a TriBeCa studio for $500/month. :cool:
I win. :p

It might have more trendy food spots but who the hell is going to go out to Brooklyn to see and be seen? And really the Italian food is questionable.

OK and your building must have some problems because that's way too cheap.

Queens also has an art scene (the MoMa even has a temp spot in LIC). The reason why Brooklyn has more is only because it rapidly got gentrified. In the last 10 years the most awful neighborhoods became expensive as people left and newer wealthier whites moved in. In Queens that doesn't seem to have happened and I personally think it's because the last 20-30 years have strengthened those immigrant communities pretty well there.

-Rudey

No problems with my building. Its a Mitchell-Lama complex. I got in 6 years ago, after being on a waiting list for almost 3. I got lucky.

Brooklyn
 

Here's a very good article on developments in Brooklyn:
http://www.newyorkmetro.com/nymetro/...288/index.html

Queens has educated and artistic people, too. Queens also has MOMA, P.S.1, American Museum of the Moving Image, Noguchi Garden Museum, Silvercup Studios, Kaufman Astoria Studios, and the Socrates Sculpture Park.

The fact of the matter is you're lucky if you can find an apartment for under $1,000 in almost any neighborhood in New York City and the suburbs. It is an expensive city. I grew up in Astoria and rents have almost doubled in about six or seven years. A two bedroom apartment that rented for $750/month in 1998 now rents for $1,500. People are thrilled when they find a place for $1000.

Here is an article about Queens. http://www.newyorkmetro.com/realesta...astorialic.htm If you look to the left hand side, you can click and read about different neighborhoods in New York.

mullet, I think that you should probably stick to Manhattan, Queens, and Brooklyn because of the location of your office.

I never understood how those worked. I thought you had to be a very low income level. I've heard of ridiculous apartments that are like 4 bedrooms with only a 1000 a month rent on the upper east side just because they've been passed down under rent control forever. I always wondered how to get in on those lists but thought you had to move in with some dying old lady so you could take over her lease.

-Rudey

Mitchell-Lama complexes have rules that require that your income be in a certain range. If its too low or too high, you can't get in. At the time, my income was low enough (but not too low) to qualify, so I got in. Basically, its like housing projects for middle class people. They started in the 1950s, and stopped building them in the early 1980s. They were always privately built and operated, with tax breaks as incentives.

It works like this. They have waiting lists for each size apartment. There are two lists for studios, two for 1 bedroom apartments, and so on. Each size apartment has a list for insiders and outsiders. New York law requires that after three apartments are assigned to insiders (people already living in the complex,) the next apartment must go to an outsider. Insider lists for studios are very small. When an outsider list gets small, the complex places an announcement in a newspaper for openings. To qualify for an opening, you submit an application and a processing fee, usually for $100. They then hold a lottery. If you don't get selected, your money is refunded. If you do get selected, you are now on a waiting list. Your income has to be in the acceptable range when you first get on the list, and it still has to be in that range when you are finally selected. Once you're in, however, it doesn't matter how much you make.

There are more details (like its only open to New York residents,) but that's basically it.

Rudey, I looked into apartments that are lower rent and from what I have gleaned low income can mean anything. The highest low income I have seen is over $150,000 for a family of three or four. The NYC Housing Development Corporation has information about Middle Income New Housing Opportunity Program.

Family Size:
1 $30,000-$117,180
2 $40,000-$152,040
3 or 4 $48,000-$157,000

Russ answered as I was typing. :)

If you have 1 person in your family and are making 117,180 you're in the lower bracket? This is amazing.

-Rudey

New York's housing market is completely out of whack because of the government. I'd be willing to give up my apartment if New York repealed all subsidized housing and market controls, and simplified the process for real estate developers. That way we would see a more rational pricing structure. Because that won't happen, I'll just continue to enjoy the benefit that my ridiculous taxes help to subsidize. :)

Are there any vacancies in your building? :)

Well, my building was a Mitchel-Lama rental (as opposed to a co-op.) They fulfilled their 25 years in the program, and withdrew from the program. As part of the withdrawl, all existing residents were able to get an Enhanced Section 8 voucher. My apartment is now $1,700/month, but the government pays for $1,200 of it. I pay $500/month (including utilities.) In October (when they'll resume filling vacancies,) you'll be able to get a studio in my building for $1,700/month. :)

:( $1,700 is too much.

God I can't wait to move to NY.

Russ was very lucky in getting this deal. I cannot emphasize ENOUGH however how much these type of programs are really unaccessible right now. Even if you by some stroke of luck get in touch with a program like this it will take YEARS to get an apartment this way. I deal with housing issues daily with my clients and I just want people moving to NY to be informed that housing programs for lower-middle income people is really not a realistic option. Just renting a room in some pretty ghetto neighborhoods costs people at least $450 a month and that is with sharing a kitchen/bathroom. People that do get the low-middle income apartments are not moving anytime soon so that is another reason why they are so scarce. I am sure if Russ decides to give up his apartment tommorrow, either it will go up to the going rate rent, go co-op or there will be a wait-list 20 miles long for this apartment. One of my biggest pet peeves that I see happen so much especially to lower income people is when well-meaning but uninformed people tell them to just go get housing this way. It really does not exist. Moving to NYC (or any urban environment for that matter) takes a great deal of planning. It can be very stressful if you can afford it, let alone if you cannot and are uninformed that there is affordable housing available. I am confident that Mullet will find something in her price range it will just take a bit of time, research and planning. AGAIN programs like these are not realistic in these times and in this city!!!!! Happy Friday everyone :D