Living in New York or Washington D.C. or Sandiego? (Philadelphia: sublet, apartment)

[eunsol.lee]

Hi everyone
I am a Korean girl who is going to the states on april and will stay there for a year and a half.
Because I was chosen as a participant for Korean -American Government Internship Programme. So I will get J-1 visa....

I really don't know where to go and where to live



My financial situation gonna be...

- Korean government will give me money $1400 per a month while I go to the English institute...
- If I do un-paid internship, they will give me $700 only per a month during the internship and if I do paid internship, then they won't give me any money.... (Internship will be after 4~5 motnhs English course)
- I only saved $2000... so can bring this much money
- I am looking forward to do part time work before internship...(not sure...)



Internship fields I'd like to challenge are... (I majored in tourism and business as double major...)

- Marketing
- Tourism




In this situation, I can work anywhere in the U.S. but have to decide where to go and study business English in these three cities; New York / Washington D.C. / Sandiego...




I am not from Seoul... from local area... so I have an illusion for city life lol
I used to live in London and I really loved there!
I go to Seoul almost 2~3 times a week .. cause I think there are so many things to experience and have fun and learn!


So, I feel NY more... but the only one problem is money.
Also Sandiego sounds good... cause I heard the living cost is much less than NY... and better to have fun my life there..... (?)
(I am lacking of information yet...!)



So I made two plans....


Plan 1
Go to NY, and find part time work there.... and spend a year and a half there in a row but visit westcoast for holiday later.... or before I come back to Korea



Plan 2
Go to Sandiego, and go to the institute there... and save moeny(?), and then find internship in NY.. and later move to NY....




I actually don't know much about the states well and still studying about the U.S.... so please help me !
where would be nicer to go and live for me?
can I overcome the financial problem in NY if I go there?


Thank you so much!

[crescent22]

San Diego would be difficult because you lack a car and likely lack a driver's license. It's possible with their trolley but you would feel constricted without one.

If you have been to London, you know how expensive it is, and New York is about as bad. I think it's possible to rent a room sublet for maybe $800 in some neighborhoods of Brooklyn and use the rest for meals, but it's difficult and you still will not have a lot of money to have fun.
This was an article I remember on the subject:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/01/ny...anted=all&_r=0

Washington sounds like a good compromise- there is a good young crowd of educated government interns or workers and you can get around easily without a car and it's cheap.

[Chava61]

Originally Posted by crescent22

San Diego would be difficult because you lack a car and likely lack a driver's license. It's possible with their trolley but you would feel constricted without one.

If you have been to London, you know how expensive it is, and New York is about as bad. I think it's possible to rent a room sublet for maybe $800 in some neighborhoods of Brooklyn and use the rest for meals, but it's difficult and you still will not have a lot of money to have fun.
This was an article I remember on the subject:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/01/ny...anted=all&_r=0

Washington sounds like a good compromise- there is a good young crowd of educated government interns or workers and you can get around easily without a car and it's cheap.

This sounds like good advice.

[NooYowkur81]

I would have thought a program like that would have given you some more money or at least helped you a bit more with your living situation. Might want to look into the Korean areas in Flushing. Perhaps there is someone over there willing to accomodate you at a price within your budget.

[bmwguydc]

San Diego and DC are about equal in cost of living, actually. Compared to NYC, DC can be less expensive, but it's not cheap in comparison. To parts of Manhattan, sure, parts of DC are inexpensive, but it's not a Philadelphia level inexpensive for a major city, especially the better residential parts of the District. $2100 will not go very far each month in DC, either, so careful budgeting would be in order.

In New York, you could look for a roommate in Queens, for example, where you can find a situation that would be less expensive than Manhattan. DC is a bit different because some parts of the city are not ideal residential areas for those who do not know the city well, and even then, there can be Metro-accessibility issues, but usually you can take the bus to where you need to go, or to a Metro station. You will pay $104 for an unlimited subway fare card in New York, but $230 every 28-days in DC, and you will pay extra if you need to transfer to the bus in DC. San Diego has the MTS, but it's primarily a bus system, with some trolleys, and is not as comprehensive as NYC.