NYC has everything. Does that include safe, cheap communal living for a gay male couple in their 50s? (New York: 2014)

[Charlestondata]

We'll get jobs once we get there if we can find a safe, cheap living arrangement where shared costs make it affordable. Queens might be our borough of choice. They say anything goes in New York. Has anyone in this forum ever heard of such living situations in NY? Or am I being unrealistic?

[NyWriterdude]

Yes, and it's called the homeless shelter and it's not SAFE!

You get what you pay for in NYC!

[ByronicCoward]

...lol "cheap"...and NYC..in the same sentence..

[Wells5]

Originally Posted by Columbiadata

We'll get jobs once we get there if we can find a safe, cheap living arrangement where shared costs make it affordable. Queens might be our borough of choice. They say anything goes in New York. Has anyone in this forum ever heard of such living situations in NY? Or am I being unrealistic?

Quite a few of these existed in the 60s and 70s: they were called communes. If you've seen the movie "Easy Rider" made in the late 60's, the main characters played by Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda were given shelter in a desert commune.

The only commune that I can find on the internet in NYC is called "GANAS." See link below.

GANAS - New York City

[Febtober]

Originally Posted by Columbiadata

We'll get jobs once we get there if we can find a safe, cheap living arrangement where shared costs make it affordable. Queens might be our borough of choice. They say anything goes in New York. Has anyone in this forum ever heard of such living situations in NY? Or am I being unrealistic?

You do *not* want to move here without a job already lined up.

[hhh3h]

My friend's brother is gay, and he lives in NYC. He sleeps on a cot on the floor of a very small but expensive dump that is shared between him and 2 other gay friends.

[joeymags]

Jesus dude. Read what you just wrote. Now go splash some water on your face and get your life together.

[BugsyPal]

It isn't so much sexual preference but the availability of employment for any person >40 in NYC that is going to be your worry.

Just as with the straights the gay community in NYC is very much divided into them that got versus them that don't. For every Michael Kors or Neil Patrick Harris or even the gay couple in in this link there are perhaps three or more "poor" just like everyone else, trying to keep on keeping on in a very high COL area. Beautifully Renovated, 1840-Built Chelsea Home Asks $16.5M - On the Market - Curbed NY

Do not let all the hoopla about equality and gay marriage in NYC/NYS fool you into thinking this place is some sort of heaven. While perhaps better then Podunk City USA there is still discrimination against gays. This can and is often heaped on top of racial, ethnic and age bias as well.

It is difficult for many older (and we are talking anyone >45 or so) persons to find work in NYC, and things do not always get better at 50 or over. What sort of educational level and employment background do you guys have? What sort of employment are you going to be seeking? Do you all have any savings to live upon until work is found? Health insurance?

If you have not lived or even visited NYC before be prepared for a culture shock of just how much it costs to live here. Even in a "communal" setting unless you manage to find a squat somewhere you will likely find your share of expenses is probably more than you budgeted unless you know the lay of this land.