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I don't think anyone here tries to scare potential transplants away. It's not just the expense, it's the housing obtainment process that is so daunting for someone from another area. It is not so complicated or bureaucratic in other places. The process of buying real estate here is much more complicated and takes longer. In other places, people don't use brokers to find rentals and that whole 40x rule plus boatload of documentation of proof is unique to NY too. If you have to show declared income 40x the rent, tnen you do need money to come here.
If you are are single and can go back home to your parents, I think most people advise to give it a try as long as you have a safety net and have some place to return.
But not all posters are like the OP, single, a twenty something, and self-proclaimedattractive (tongue in cheek) . Many of the posters seeking advice have children, 20 years of accumulated stuff from a living in a SFH, and all sorts of responsiblities and obligations. Roommates are not an option for many. Two single people sharing a 2 bedroom is not the same as a family of 4 living in a 2 bedroom and there comes a point in life where you grow out of living a college dormitory lifestyle. No doubt the OP skips those posts since she is not qualified to advise these posters seeking information.
I mean, NYC is expensive, but some posters act like you have to be in a high powered job making at least 200K to live in the city.
I'm FROM the city, born and raised in Manhattan. I currently live in Borough Park, Brooklyn. Not the sexiest neighborhood, but it's safe. I could afford to pay more in rent, but I like having spending money.
I wait tables for a living. I've seen people tell people who work in the service industry that they will not be able to afford living in the five boroughs unless they can tolerate living in the ghetto. That just isn't true.
I'm a waitress and I get my nails done about twice a week, go the hair salon every two months (to get a full sew in, about 350 bucks), get my brows done, eat out, and pay my rent and am paying for cosmetic surgery. Life in the city isn't cheap, but I don't see why people need to scare others into thinking they have to have an extremely high powered job to move to the city or prepare to live on the streets.
I thought the room you got a few months ago was in Bay Ridge, not Borough Park. Did something happen with the Bay Ridge one?
I mean, NYC is expensive, but some posters act like you have to be in a high powered job making at least 200K to live in the city.
I'm FROM the city, born and raised in Manhattan. I currently live in Borough Park, Brooklyn. Not the sexiest neighborhood, but it's safe. I could afford to pay more in rent, but I like having spending money.
I wait tables for a living. I've seen people tell people who work in the service industry that they will not be able to afford living in the five boroughs unless they can tolerate living in the ghetto. That just isn't true.
I'm a waitress and I get my nails done about twice a week, go the hair salon every two months (to get a full sew in, about 350 bucks), get my brows done, eat out, and pay my rent and am paying for cosmetic surgery. Life in the city isn't cheap, but I don't see why people need to scare others into thinking they have to have an extremely high powered job to move to the city or prepare to live on the streets.
It's a matter of tempering expectations. I don't think most people who move here understand what they are going to have to put up with when they rent at the bottom price within the range of market rentals. You are stating that it's easy to find a one bedroom for $1200 in Astoria. Since a really nice, ultra modern, doorman one bedroom in a top location goes for $2000 and up in Astoria, I would hazard a guess that the one bedrooms at $1200 have certain undesirable issues that most from out of town are not used to having to deal with.
While I don't agree with posts that state you must live in a bad area if all you have to spend is $1000-$1200 for rent (because there are plenty of safe, albeit unhip neighborhoods where you can still find housing for this amount), it is true that you have to make major (and probably unexpected) compromises in what kind of place and neighborhood you're willing to live in.
If you've never lived out of NYC, then you wouldn't know that in many places, people do not put up with sagging floorboards, unrenovated kitchens, inability to regulate heat, old buildings, broken doorbells, no a/c, leaky ceilings, etc. Everyone I know who pays on the low end for housing here in this city is making some sort of compromise with their living space and I think it's important for newcomers to understand this, especially if they are going to be seeking housing in the low end of the range.
Many out of towners are attracted by the lifestyle the city is supposedly known for and that's the expensive part. When someone thinks about moving to NYC I don't think images of eating a ham and cheese hero from the bodega down the block from their Ridgewood Queens apt is the first thing that pops into their head lol
But not all posters are like the OP, single, a twenty something, and self-proclaimedattractive (tongue in cheek).
What is that supposed to be a dig at me? Why would I do something like that, people here know what I look like...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Henna
I thought the room you got a few months ago was in Bay Ridge, not Borough Park. Did something happen with the Bay Ridge one?
Wow everyone here has an amazing memory. No, I'm just an idiot and knew nothing about Brooklyn and thought living next to Bay Ridge Ave meant I lived in Bay Ridge.
Everyone always talks about how exspensive the city is and how much $$ is needed to have fun in the city. I think its a matter of what you like. I have friends who find that their is sooooo much to do for FREE and cheap in NY that the exspense is grossly overated. They enjoy simple thngs like parks and exploring different neighborhoods, hanging with friends and pre-party before going out. Meeting tons of different people, takeing the ferry, going to Coney Island all on a $104 metro pass.
NY with the exception of rent (and there are ways around that) can be a very cheap/free city IF you know how to do it and can be happy doing it
Since a really nice, ultra modern, doorman one bedroom in a top location goes for $2000 and up in Astoria, I would hazard a guess that the one bedrooms at $1200 have certain undesirable issues that most from out of town are not used to having to deal with.
Other than being small and not having an elevator in your building, there's no crazy disadvantages to living in a 1200/mo one bedroom in Astoria. I've been in those 2000/mo Astoria apartments with doormen, ridiculously high ceilings and amazing views, and while those are all super nice amenities, I wouldn't say living without them is tantamount to living with "undesirable issues" unless you're super high maintenance or used to being pampered.
I really think non NY'ers aren't given enough credit here. They're expecting a lifestyle downgrade, and most of them that I've seen adjust to it super well. At one of my two jobs everyone I meet is a recent transplant (within a year or so) and they're scattered all over from Brooklyn to Sunnyside, Queens to Harlem, they all wait tables, they haven't starved and their ceilings haven't caved in yet.
Other than being small and not having an elevator in your building, there's no crazy disadvantages to living in a 1200/mo one bedroom in Astoria. I've been in those 2000/mo Astoria apartments with doormen, ridiculously high ceilings and amazing views, and while those are all super nice amenities, I wouldn't say living without them is tantamount to living with "undesirable issues" unless you're super high maintenance or used to being pampered.
I really think non NY'ers aren't given enough credit here. They're expecting a lifestyle downgrade, and most of them that I've seen adjust to it super well. At one of my two jobs everyone I meet is a recent transplant (within a year or so) and they're scattered all over from Brooklyn to Sunnyside, Queens to Harlem, they all wait tables, they haven't starved and their ceilings haven't caved in yet.
I didn't say that not living in a $2000 Astoria apartment is tantamount to living with undesirable issues. What I DID say is that there is a range of market rentals in every neighborhood. (In Astoria the range appears to be somewhere around $1200-$2000 for a one bedroom) and when you rent at the bottom of the range (i.e. $1200 for a one bedroom) that THAT is when you encounter undesirable issues.
It's ok if you don't agree with me, but I wanted you to understand what I said, and it seemed that you misinterpreted.
Many out of towners are attracted by the lifestyle the city is supposedly known for and that's the expensive part. When someone thinks about moving to NYC I don't think images of eating a ham and cheese hero from the bodega down the block from their Ridgewood Queens apt is the first thing that pops into their head lol
Actually that has been my favorite thing about living here is being able to get a huge, cheap ham and cheese whenever I want one.
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Why would I do something like that, people here know what I look like...
