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I visited a few apartments in the city a few weeks ago, and wow, most apartments seemed to be two of the following: either too old, small, or expensive.
What's Long Island City like, in terms of prices, area, proximity to some places in Manhattan, etc?
Also, if I lived in Astoria, would it be more difficult to have people come over to my place before/after going out on the weekends? How much is a cab from Astoria to midtown or downtown? thanks again!
I visited a few apartments in the city a few weeks ago, and wow, most apartments seemed to be two of the following: either too old, small, or expensive.
What's Long Island City like, in terms of prices, area, proximity to some places in Manhattan, etc?
Also, if I lived in Astoria, would it be more difficult to have people come over to my place before/after going out on the weekends? How much is a cab from Astoria to midtown or downtown? thanks again!
LIC and Astoria would allow you have a car, if that is a necessity to you. But you would be playing the alternate parking game if you decide to do so.
On an 80k salary, I do not recommend having a car and living in Manhattan because a huge percentage of your income will go to parking garages, insurance, fuel, payment and maintenance. Paying rent, dining out, entertainment and just living in Manhattan is going to take every cent of your salary. Now throw a car and its expenses in the mix and you'll be beyond broke. Most of my friends who live in Manhattan do not own cars because of convenience of having everything close by (supermarkets, clubs, movies, restaurants, job, etc.). Turns out they say it would be a waste to money to own a car, so they rent whenever they need one.
Also, if I lived in Astoria, would it be more difficult to have people come over to my place before/after going out on the weekends?
Yes, unless you are going out in Astoria.
You need to figure out what to compromise on. Take the car, insurance, upkeep, registration costs, parking and gas out of your budget and maybe you can afford an apartment in Manhattan that isn't too small or too old.
If you'll be working in Midtown, I'd recommend a condo on the LIC water front. You can get a nice studio in a modern condo with a doorman and a Manhattan view for less than $2000. If you're working in the FiDi, I'd recommend Journal Square in Jersey City for the same type of water front condo with a Manhattan view.
You can get into the city in 5-10 minutes from these two places and a cab from directly across the river in the city will cost you $10 or so.
The ratio of quality and size vs price of rent in modern apartments is higher in LIC and Journal Square than most of Manhattan. In Manhattan you'd pay at least 30% more for a comparable place.
I visited a few apartments in the city a few weeks ago, and wow, most apartments seemed to be two of the following: either too old, small, or expensive.
What's Long Island City like, in terms of prices, area, proximity to some places in Manhattan, etc?
Also, if I lived in Astoria, would it be more difficult to have people come over to my place before/after going out on the weekends? How much is a cab from Astoria to midtown or downtown? thanks again!
I reccomend against LIC - I lived out there and had a georgious apartment with an amazing manhattan skyline. That being said, the neighborhood is pretty boring. And If I was out in city late on a weekend, it was annoying getting back.
Though you can afford a place on your own, I think you should get a roommate or two. This does a couple of things. You can potentially get a very large place, and sharing with a roommate in my experience doesnt seem to cramp the space like I thought it would. Secondly, you are 22, get a rommmat to lower the cost a bit and live in your top choice neighborood
You may also want to check out Park Slope and Williamsburg in Brooklyn. They're both filled with younger people and would provide you with a good commute time into lower Manhattan. Plus, it's a tad less pricey than Manhattan so you could live on your own and have a very nice lifestyle. Good luck!
Yea, I don't know what I was thinking as far as having a car. So at this point i'm completely ruling that out.
I'd be working in midtown, so a commuting time of 15-20 minutes or less would be ideal. I'd like to spend about $1500, and wouldn't mind either a studio/1BR, or sharing with a roommate so total costs are about $3000.
What are you most likely to do, hang-out/have drinks at a friend's place in Manhattan, even if it's small and rather old, or a newer apartment with more space in Astoria/LIC? Also, I've read some areas LIC aren't that safe, is that still true?
What are you most likely to do, hang-out/have drinks at a friend's place in Manhattan, even if it's small and rather old, or a newer apartment with more space in Astoria/LIC? Also, I've read some areas LIC aren't that safe, is that still true?
For myself I rarely hang out at people's apartments, we almost always go somewhere to get together. Most of my friends live in small studios or apartments that have been converted so there isn't much of a living room. Plus some of them have weird roommates who aren't fond of having visitors over all the time... I do have one friend who does have a decent size space in midtown west so we sometimes go there but not often. It's NYC so the "old" thing doesn't bother me.
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