Looking for advice on post-grad life in Manhattan (Inwood, Hamilton: best neighborhoods, real estate)

[Eddie24]

I'm graduating this spring and will be moving to NYC over the summer. I have two friends who I am planning to room with but we're still unsure about what kind of apartment we'll be able to afford in Manhattan. We all have slightly different salaries but are in the general $40-50k range and want to pay less than $1500/month per person in rent. Two of us are working downtown so we would probably want to stay away from areas like the UES and Washington Heights/Inwood since it seems like the commutes downtown would be long. I have heard great things about the East Village and Lower East Side, but are we being realistic thinking we can afford Manhattan at all, or should we be considering Brooklyn neighborhoods like Williamsburg instead?

Any advice about the best neighborhoods for recent grads or about apartment hunting in general would be much appreciated!

Thank you!

[joeymags]

You can't afford $1500 rent on a salary of $40k. Pretty good rule of thumb is your salary must be 40x your monthly rent. This is especially important for you given you likely won't have much / any savings.

[Eddie24]

So we should be trying for about $1000 each?

[aweitzm1]

I work on Wall Street and lived in the UES. The commute may seem long but it is actually a very short trip if you take the 4,5. Those trains are express and you can be downtown in about 30 minutes or less. When I lived there I had two additional roommates and the total rent on the apartment was $3200 a month. All of our salaries at the time were in the 40K - 55K range.

Also as the other posts said $1,500 on the salary range you mentioned is too much to pay in rent. You should try between $1,000 - 1300 depending on the salary. If someone can pay more in rent offer the biggest bedroom and have that person pay the most in rent.

[BinxBolling]

Agree with the above, try to keep your rent to $1,000 each or less. (Most landlords won't rent a more expensive apartment to you anyway.)

[Ping322]

40k-55k after taxes (depending on 401k, healthcare, etc.) is about 2100-3000 a month.

A friend just rented a big 3-bedroom in Hamilton Heights, w a nice sized living room, and they each pay around $900.

Even if you're the one making $55k, absolutely no need to spend a dollar more than $999 on rent. Live in Queens, etc. But SAVE MONEY!

[babo111]

Originally Posted by Eddie24

I'm graduating this spring and will be moving to NYC over the summer. I have two friends who I am planning to room with but we're still unsure about what kind of apartment we'll be able to afford in Manhattan. We all have slightly different salaries but are in the general $40-50k range and want to pay less than $1500/month per person in rent. Two of us are working downtown so we would probably want to stay away from areas like the UES and Washington Heights/Inwood since it seems like the commutes downtown would be long. I have heard great things about the East Village and Lower East Side, but are we being realistic thinking we can afford Manhattan at all, or should we be considering Brooklyn neighborhoods like Williamsburg instead?

Any advice about the best neighborhoods for recent grads or about apartment hunting in general would be much appreciated!

Thank you!

Here is some quick math breakdown for ya. 45k is salary and filing single taxes with no dependents. You are going to pay at least 1/3 to taxes (NYC, Fed, SSN, Medicare), subtract any benefits (health, dental, vision, etc.), and any contributions you will make for say 401K.

1/3 of 45k is 15k so you are already down to 30k a year which is roughly 2.5k a month before deducting any contributions and benefits. Let's not forget utilities either such as heating, electric, cell phone, cable, transportation, disposable income (beers! movies! clubs!), etc.

You definitely should keep it to maximum of 1k per person for housing costs. Lower if possible.

Since you guys work in downtown, I'll actually suggest living in NJ and look to towns that can connect you via Path. While it is not Manhattan or even NYC, you won't pay NYC income tax which is 2-4%, and Path is 24/7 so you can still access the night life. But this is to be frugal with your finances.

Just heads-up that parts of Brooklyn such as North Williamsburg, DUMBO, etc. are more expensive than Manhattan in rental prices.

[Eddie24]

Thanks for the advice everyone! I guess I really don't know much about taxes etc so I wasn't thinking about ending up with less money than my actual salary. Damn, real world problems...

Anyway, do you all have any other suggestions for specific areas where we might be able to find places for around $1000 per person that are also fun neighborhoods for young people? (I don't mean fun in the fancy clubbing sense but just that they have some good bars and restaurants and aren't too sleepy or boring. We are all from the suburbs and are looking to get as much out of "city life" as possible.)

[silverbullnyc]

Keep in mind you can walk, subway/cab anywhere thats "fun", most important is living where you can afford. I mean i know (and put a few people, im a real estate agent) in small 3br's in the east village, cause they wanted to live "downtown close to work" they were happy until i got one of their referrals an apt that was huge 3br for less price in the uws and they realized maybe wasnt such a good idea to live in sardines.

Ive had most recent grads/first timers/new students always want to live "near work/school" then one yr later they want to live far away from work.

[Eddie24]

Thanks for the answer, silverbullnyc. Since you're a real estate agent, what areas of Manhattan would you say are most affordable or the best value for young people with our budget? I wouldn't mind a bit of a subway ride to work but I am worried about going out downtown and having to spend a lot of money on cabs home in the middle of the night.