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I'm practically crying because I don't know where to live or if I should live with someone [ more importantly, where would I find this someone]. I need to move within 20 days.
Salary $60k. Maximum rent: 1,200.
Requests: Safe-ish (no one will make an active effort to stab me, but totally okay with a "wrong place wrong time: death), 40 minutes or less commute to the Hell's Kitchen area, relatively walkable, extra credit for a young, diverse neighborhood.
On a related note: is $60k enough for one person, no consumer debt, moderate student loan (15k), no car, relatively thrifty?
I'm practically crying because I don't know where to live or if I should live with someone [ more importantly, where would I find this someone]. I need to move within 20 days.
Salary $60k. Maximum rent: 1,200.
Requests: Safe-ish (no one will make an active effort to stab me, but totally okay with a "wrong place wrong time: death), 40 minutes or less commute to the Hell's Kitchen area, relatively walkable, extra credit for a young, diverse neighborhood.
On a related note: is $60k enough for one person, no consumer debt, moderate student loan (15k), no car, relatively thrifty?
Landlords will expect you to make 40x the monthly rent, so in fact you would qualify for a $1500 if you feel comfortable going up that high.
If you want to live alone, there are plenty of neighborhoods where you can get a studio for $1400. In Queens, my neighborhood (Jackson Heights) has studios around the $1400 mark and it's easy enough to get to Hells Kitchen in 40 minutes. You may rather look first at Astoria, which is the popular choice in Queens with new transplants and it may be also possible to get something for $1400 there as well. You might also look at Sunnyside.
There should be plenty of short-term sublets available at this time of year if you want to go that route. Craigslist is the obvious answer, but I have heard people getting mixed results with that. What about networking through friends on FB and maybe alumni groups? Most likely you have a friend of a friend of a friend who needs to rent a room out.
Upper Manhattan might work for you -- I just don't know it well enough to suggest where or what the rents are. Also parts of the Bronx could work, but I also don't know the Bronx. Basically all I know is Queens and Brooklyn, and most parts of Brooklyn (for an entire apartment) that you'd want to live in are going to be too high for your budget.
And yes, I believe $60K is enough for someone in your situation. Obviously you should try doing a budget (search on the word budget on this forum).
Tell us about yourself. Where I / we would recommend a white yuppie fresh college grad may be different than where we would recommend a muslim that wears a full body burka.
Requests: Safe-ish (no one will make an active effort to stab me, but totally okay with a "wrong place wrong time: death), 40 minutes or less commute to the Hell's Kitchen area, relatively walkable, extra credit for a young, diverse neighborhood.
These days, most neighborhoods in NYC are safe-ish so that is the easiest requirement. However, people really need to relax the commute time requirements. A thirty to forty minute commute is a luxury most of the time. If you can't budge on that requirement, expect to pay luxury prices.
Welcome to the forum and, first of all, don't cry, because this sounds like a wonderful opportunity.
I'm going to assume that you're fairly young, so I'll suggest that you definitely start by rooming with someone. What might be ideal is if you can find a summer sublet, whether a share or not, perhaps a student or teacher who's away for the summer. Craigslist is a good source, but of course remember to be cautious - never take something sight unseen, never pay cash.
For your immediate arrival, the first week or so, there are some cheap-ish places kind of like rooming houses - especially if you happen to be female. If you do a search in this forum, you should be able to pull up some past posts about them.
Are you OK with roommates? If so, you'll be more than fine. I expect you can find a room in a decent apartment in a nice neighborhood for <$1000/month.
Keep in mind that Manhattan is not where the young, fun people live or hang out anymore. They're now to be found in Brooklyn (Williamsburg, Prospect Heights, Crown Heights, Bushwick, etc) or Queens (Astoria, principally.) The in-demand neighborhoods in Brooklyn can be more expensive now than much of Manhattan, but Astoria generally costs less because Queens doesn't have the marketing spin that Brooklyn does. I'd personally recommend Astoria as a great starter neighborhood for NYC - it's very close to Midtown Manhattan, has good train access, and has a nice mix of ethnicities, good restaurants and bars, etc.
People generally find roommates on Craigslist these days. The other way is to mine your personal network for connections. Do you know anyone in NYC who can help put you in touch with friends/coworkers/acquaintances who are looking to fill a vacancy?
One thing to keep in mind is that, because housing is in such scarce supply in NYC, you generally can't search too far in advance - apartments and rooms don't sit around for weeks or months like they do in many other cities. So your three-week time window is actually ideal - you can spend a week or two to find a place, then move in right away.
I'm happy to answer specific questions that you might have, if you want to send me a DM, or else just fire away on the thread.
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