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So I might be moving to NYC first by myself, and my family might follow after me. But I have some newbie questions.
1.) If I wanted to rent a room instead of an apartment, would I still have to prove the income-40x-rent thing? Or what's the process?
2.) If I would have to prove income-40x-rent, how would I do it if I'm planning to start my own business once I get to NYC? I have my tutoring business right now, but of course, I'll have to start over with new clients once I move, so...how would that work?
3.) Any recommendations for how to find good roommates? I'd ideally love to find roommates in my same age range with some common interests, etc. Or even somewhere to find people who are also -just- moving to the city at the same time to share an apartment with? I've found a lot of websites online for roommate finding, but I don't know if you guys have any other way of going about it that I might not know of.
4.) How much do you guys think I should have saved up initially before the move, for just myself? I'm not a big spender, but I do want to get out and enjoy what the city has to offer, of course. What's a safe bet to have saved for the first few months as I'm establishing my business?
It sounds like you need to come with lots of money, because you're going to have to offer a lot up front for rent if you have no income.
The getting-a-room thing will work by your presenting yourself as charming, sane, reliable, with a comfortable bank account. I have no idea how the starting-a-tutoring-business thing would work, but suggest that you have a back-up plan.
You don't mention your age, nor do you mentioning your interests, so it's hard to answer your third question. I'm assuming that you're fairly young. Once upon a time, people found roommates via work or friends, which worked pretty well. Unfortunately, it sounds as if neither avenue will be open to you. These days, people find roommates via the internet, which doesn't seem to work as well, so that roommates are discovered to be neurotic, messy, or insolvent. I suggest that you ask your parents for guidelines on that.
It sounds like you need to come with lots of money, because you're going to have to offer a lot up front for rent if you have no income.
What's your definition of "lots" though?
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The getting-a-room thing will work by your presenting yourself as charming, sane, reliable, with a comfortable bank account. I have no idea how the starting-a-tutoring-business thing would work, but suggest that you have a back-up plan.
Hm, anyone else have any info/tips about this? Surely plenty of people move to NYC as freelancers or as entrepreneurs starting their own businesses?
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You don't mention your age, nor do you mentioning your interests, so it's hard to answer your third question. I'm assuming that you're fairly young. Once upon a time, people found roommates via work or friends, which worked pretty well. Unfortunately, it sounds as if neither avenue will be open to you. These days, people find roommates via the internet, which doesn't seem to work as well, so that roommates are discovered to be neurotic, messy, or insolvent. I suggest that you ask your parents for guidelines on that.
I'm 20, and some of my interests are: writing (would be great to room with fellow aspiring writers, of which I'm sure there are many in NYC), TV/film, anime/roleplaying/other nerdy things like that, working out, exploring (well, it'd be nice to have roomies that would actively like to go explore the city together; I think it'd be ideal if they had just moved to the city too, so we could embark on it together)...
My parents have never had roommates before and really have no idea how I'd go about finding good ones. Is there at least some type of website or something where I can find others planning to move to the city that I could try to talk to/connect with ahead of time? I haven't found any such thing so far but it seems like it would be helpful.
One reason for you to have your own i.d. here is so that you don't impinge on each other's image, so to speak. If, for instance, you ask dumb questions, it would tarnish people's view of your mother. If you present yourself as 20, and your mother asks a question down the line, people will wrongly think she's 20.
I have no idea how much money you'd need. Others can answer that better. Thousands, certainly. You may be stuck having to offer to pay six months rent upfront.
Yes, of course, people move here as freelancers. But they often have back-up plans - for instance, someone may plan to start a design company but will start by taking a job with a corporation. (That also provides an avenue for meeting people and learning about the city.) You don't mention what kind of tutoring you do, so for all I know, maybe it's something highly specialized in great demand. But if it's only general academic tutoring, I imagine there are tons of people already doing that and, forgive me, but I wonder if you, at 20, have a college degree.
For roommates, personally, I think the most important thing is to avoid the internet. Talk to them on the phone and meet them at length in person. Listen to everything they say. It's tough to be aware of all the nuances at 20, but do your best. See if they're straightforward or are avoiding your questions. Find out about their income Find out their hours, their social lifestyle. And whenever you find someone - make sure it's all in writing.
1. You may or may not need 40x (or guarantors with 100x) if you're planning to sublet a room from the main lease holder. You will have to prove to be nice, clean, not crazy/ drama queen, and to have enough in the bank that the roommate will be confident you won't stiff them.
You won't be able to prove 40x income even on your existing job since its not in the tri-state area. Landlords want to see paystubs (or an offer letter) with a tri-state based company/ office OR your 1040's proving you make that much while living in NYC if self-employed.
2. Honestly, I wouldn't move without $10k ++ saved in cash. You may end up blowing through $5-6k in upfront rent. I moved to NYC about 10 years ago with $8k and it was SHOCKING how quickly it went (and I had a decent paying job lined up before moving). You need at a min about $2k a month to exist in NYc between rent, bills, cell & Internet, metro card, health insurance, groceries, and a light entertainment budget.
3. Who do you tutor? High school? College? (at 20, shouldn't YOU be in college?) what subjects?
NYC is VERY competitive academically so to find clients with deep pockets so you can get paid a good hourly rate you'll need the "pedigree" to break in to those circles, esp with high school kids. I'm afraid you may be naive to the field you're wanting to break into in the city.
4. Roommates are often found through friends-of-friends, college alumni message boards, etc. I'd start by emailing everyone you know to say you're moving to NYC and looking for a roommate. You never know if a friend in Seattle or Des Moines has a cousin/ summer camp friend/ sorority sister, etc in Manhattan who is also in need of a roommate.
So I'm gathering that I should try to get at least some entry-level job ahead of time to prove I'll be making money, even if I plan on quitting as soon as I get my businesses up and running to an extent where I can feel comfortable I'll be making enough? Sounds reasonable. Although it raises different concerns: 1.) How will I have the time to tutor and get clients if I already have another full-time job? I don't think a part-time would pay enough to cover 40x rent but maybe it would? 2.) My mother has already been applying to jobs in NYC and not getting any response. And she's obviously way more qualified and experienced than I am, so I don't know how I'll manage to secure even an entry-level job from out-of-state when there are millions of locals just as willing to perform the same basic tasks. Thoughts?
As for what I tutor, I tutor anything English-related and also help students prepare college application essays, etc. I went to UC Berkeley for a year before withdrawing because I couldn't afford it but I ended my stay there with a cumulative 3.86 GPA and memberships in honors societies, etc. I got a perfect 800 on the SAT Writing, a 740 on the Critical Reading, 730 on Literature. I guess that most UES families will want someone who graduated from the Ivies (falsely assuming they're smarter or better tutors by default), but with my qualifications, shouldn't I be able to secure a decent amount of clients in a city of millions of students? It's not as if I'm just a high school graduate with mediocre test scores who is hoping to be a full-time tutor. But perhaps I am just being naive.
I do have a back-up business plan, however, in advertising copywriting. I have a list of clients already from that, and it pays well. I would prefer not to work in that industry, but that's another option for sure, especially since I can find clients from anywhere and not just in NYC.
EDIT: Oh, and Cida, my mom made only one post on here and probably won't make any others. If you think my questions are dumb, so be it. But my mother doesn't know the answer to these questions either, or I wouldn't be asking them in the first place, so I doubt I will be impinging on her image.
Last edited by SweetSpunSugar; 06-30-2012 at 04:49 PM..
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