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Hi, I'm basically after some information about living, renting etc in midtown manhattan.
My wife and I are from the UK. We are in our 40's, white, no children and I suppose we are middle class but very down to earth.
It looks likely that my wife will have to transfer from her job in London, England to Midtown Manhattan in the New Year. This may be for only 6 to 12 months.
Is it feasable to rent a decent 1 or 2 bedroom apartment in Midtown Manhattan for $1500-2000 a month? Is it safe (as much as a big city can be). Are these types of apartments noisy as in loud music from neighbours? Can we get fully furnished? Anything else we should bear in mind?
We like the idea of being able to walk to the office, Central Park and have all the benefits of the nightlife etc. Without having to commute from NY, CT, Westchester, particularly as It will probably be short term.
Thanks in advance for comments and info.
I know you're throwing the question out to Americans, but you don't need the qualification 'London, England', I guess they can figure it out for themselves.
I know you're throwing the question out to Americans, but you don't need the qualification 'London, England', I guess they can figure it out for themselves.
Just making it clear, there are cities called London in the USA too. Thanks for the friendly welcome...
Hi, I'm basically after some information about living, renting etc in midtown manhattan.
My wife and I are from the UK. We are in our 40's, white, no children and I suppose we are middle class but very down to earth.
It looks likely that my wife will have to transfer from her job in London, England to Midtown Manhattan in the New Year. This may be for only 6 to 12 months.
Is it feasable to rent a decent 1 or 2 bedroom apartment in Midtown Manhattan for $1500-2000 a month? Is it safe (as much as a big city can be). Are these types of apartments noisy as in loud music from neighbours? Can we get fully furnished? Anything else we should bear in mind?
We like the idea of being able to walk to the office, Central Park and have all the benefits of the nightlife etc. Without having to commute from NY, CT, Westchester, particularly as It will probably be short term.
Thanks in advance for comments and info.
No. Studios in midtown will rent for over $3000 a month. You will have to expand your search to upper Manhattan or the outer boroughs for that rent.
Will your wife's employer reimburse you for housing expense? You'll need it. Your best option is to find a furnished sublet but expect to pay a minimum of $3500 per month and up to $7,500 for an nice apartment near Central Park.
A walk-up type apartment in an older wood interior framed building can be noisy, The older mid-rise masonry and steel apartment buildings are quieter especially if the LL has installed thermopane (double glazed) windows.
Hi, I'm basically after some information about living, renting etc in midtown manhattan.
My wife and I are from the UK. We are in our 40's, white, no children and I suppose we are middle class but very down to earth.
It looks likely that my wife will have to transfer from her job in London, England to Midtown Manhattan in the New Year. This may be for only 6 to 12 months.
Is it feasable to rent a decent 1 or 2 bedroom apartment in Midtown Manhattan for $1500-2000 a month? Is it safe (as much as a big city can be). Are these types of apartments noisy as in loud music from neighbours? Can we get fully furnished? Anything else we should bear in mind?
We like the idea of being able to walk to the office, Central Park and have all the benefits of the nightlife etc. Without having to commute from NY, CT, Westchester, particularly as It will probably be short term.
Thanks in advance for comments and info.
Hi Ventrata -- I saw your post in the Connecticut forum as well. The short answer to your question here about a 1-2 bedroom apartment for $1500-$2000 a month in Manhattan is a definite NO. You would not get a proper 1 bedroom for that money at all, let alone furnished. A decent unfurnished 1 bedroom apartment (i.e. no 4th floor walk-ups that are actually studios) will start at about $3,000. If you do decide to continue to look in Manhattan, the Upper East Side is a good neighborhood in terms of value, housing stock and safety. But it is indeed still Manhattan in terms of prices and you would need to alter your criteria (i.e. opt for a studio, or extend your budget). I know you mentioned not wanting to commute from Westchester or CT but the truth is, commuting is a part of life for people living in NY -- even for those who live in the City itself (being that you are from London, you can likely relate).
Many of us would like to be within walking distance of Central Park, enjoying nightlife, etc, but your price-range requires a compromise somewhere. And that's OK. There are some good compromises if you are open to exploring other areas.
That said, I don't think you need to go all the way out to Connecticut (as you'd mentioned considering in your post on the CT forum, which I also read). Westhcester is a good middle-ground if you'll consider it.
You can find a very decent 1-2 bedroom apartment for rent in a condo or coop building in Westchester and have the best of all worlds. Many of the towns have nice downtown/"main streets" and the Metro North takes you directly to the City. While the nice Westchester towns are very expensive to buy in, you can find a rental there within your budget (as you are not looking to rent a house).
I would look at Scarsdale (a number of multi-unit buildings along Garth Rd., close to the train station. I've seen a number of units for rent around there on Craigslist), Larchmont, Pelham (Village near the train station), Harrison.... Mamaroneck and New Rochelle are a mixed bag safety-wise, but the parts that abut Larchmont are nice and have rentals. You can also look at towns along the Hudson: Hastings, Dobbs Ferry, Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow. Tarrytown will likely have more rentals, I would think. White Plains is a larger city and there are mixed areas in terms of safety. However, there are also many nice parts and lots of rentals to choose from.
All of these towns in Westchester will put you within 30-40 minutes to Grand Central by train, which is nothing by NY-commute standards.... You will also get beautiful topography, some peace and quiet, and very easy access to the City. You will also be well positioned to explore other parts of the area (Connecticut, Upstate NY/Hudson Valley, etc).
If you are certain you would like to remain in the City, then perhaps consider parts of Brooklyn. In your price range a SMALL one bedroom in Park Slope or a better selection of 1-2 bedrooms in Bay Ridge, OR a nice 1 bedroom in Forest Hills in Queens is also another option, but also a 30-minute commute by subway. Those neighborhoods will afford dining/night-life options and general safety. But if you are also concerned about noise and not wanting to commute, it can take you equally as long to get into Midtown on the subway as it would from Westchester and it is a less-pleasurable commute (subway vs metro north).
Last edited by DLMTAG; 09-30-2014 at 07:01 AM..
Reason: typos/clarity
Many thanks for all the detailed and very useful information.
We are gathering information just to see what we can get and where. We have no info from wife's employer yet about the package and if or how much they will pay towards accommodation. The more we know then the better she can negotiate. They want her to go to sort a big mess out so hopefully they will pay up. Plus it will be really good for her career, and an adventure for us both.
Wife currently commutes from Colchester to London and takes about 70 mins door to door so she's used to commuting but would rather cut that time in half if possible.
Have considered Stamford, CT and Tarrytown, Westchester. I would be happy with either I think but thought I would ask about Midtown Manhattan to save my wife having to commute at all.
We also have to consider if it's worth renting out our place in England for the 6 months or not and what happens if they need her to stay a year or more. Too many variables and my brain hurts!
Thanks again.
Do you know what they will be paying her? That's a HUGE consideration.
No, we have no info yet. I don't even know what they pay her here in London,
Once we get all the figures we can then moved forward with more detailed planning.
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