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Hi, all. Just to provide a little personal history as context for this question, I'm twenty-one and have split my time pretty evenly over the past few years between living in New York (Harlem first, then Bed-Stuy) and studying in England (Oxford, which is as expensive as Brooklyn but without any of the character). I'm moving to NY permanently later this year on an H-1B visa, and although my earnings, which should amount to sixty to seventy-five thousand annually depending on a few factors, would normally be enough to get by in a semi-decent area, my family back in the U.K. are having a few financial troubles, and it looks as if I'll be supporting them for the foreseeable future.
What that means is that I'm going to be dead broke for possibly the next ten years or so regardless of what I earn, so I'm looking for low-cost housing. A friend of mine currently living in Queensbridge is going to be out of town for six months to a year, and he offered to sublet me his apartment for a very reasonable amount. It's perfect for me since it's cheap, close to where I'll be working in Manhattan and pretty similar to the housing development where I spent most of my childhood.
My only concern is about the legality of subletting government housing. I know that it's technically legal, albeit with a bunch of restrictions, in Britain, but I can't find any information pertaining to U.S. regulations. Does anybody know whether or not it violates any laws? I know it's probably discouraged regardless of how legal it is, but I'd definitely rather be twenty minutes from my office than have to take the bus in from Newark every day, which is my other option at present.
Anyway, thanks a lot for your help. If anybody has any other advice about living on the cheap, it would be much appreciated.
Thanks for the links. It seems as if they were prosecuting the family for misreporting their earnings, but I figure it's best not to test my luck either way, particularly since they can revoke my visa for just about any infraction.
So, what's the word on Newark? I've heard bad things from most people, but it looks like my best option unless someone in my family wins the lottery in the next few months. The threads on this forum seem to confirm that it's not exactly a nice place to live. Has anybody on the board lived there in the past few years?
pay your rent on time and you will not have any problems with management. Your problems will be with your criminal neighbors, but that what you get for living 'cheap'.
Thanks for the links. It seems as if they were prosecuting the family for misreporting their earnings, but I figure it's best not to test my luck either way, particularly since they can revoke my visa for just about any infraction.
So, what's the word on Newark? I've heard bad things from most people, but it looks like my best option unless someone in my family wins the lottery in the next few months. The threads on this forum seem to confirm that it's not exactly a nice place to live. Has anybody on the board lived there in the past few years?
Newark is slightly better than Bagdad. do you really like to look over your shoulder all the time.
Newark is not thought of to be very safe. I have a friend who lives there. She lives very very close to a train of some sort that takes her to the city (I am not sure if it's PATH or a NJ Transit).
I believe the street is called NJ Railroad St. and she can see the train from her window. She does not feel at all safe and has already told me that when her lease is up (after living there 5 years) she will have to move out of Newark because if she basically doesn't feel it's safe to be any further at all from the train station in terms of walking home from the train at night.
I'm not sure that you are really considering all your options. What about a roommate situation? I think you can find something for $700 or maybe even less. A roommate situation also lets you split utilities, which can really add up.
Also there have been people on here who have recommended neighborhoods in the Bronx where you can get a studio for $800 or $900.
Why don't you figure out how much you can spend on rent and whether you would consider a roommate and then ask for suggestions for neighborhoods?
Thanks for the information, Henna. I've never once set foot in Jersey despite spending most of the past three years in New York, so I'm always glad to read first-, second- or even third-hand accounts of the place.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Henna
I'm not sure that you are really considering all your options. What about a roommate situation? I think you can find something for $700 or maybe even less. A roommate situation also lets you split utilities, which can really add up.
The situation is too complicated to detail thoroughly here, but I'll probably have to accommodate family members for most of the time I'm in the New York area. Even the most permissive roommates would run out of patience with someone trying to house three or four people in one room before long, so I figure I'll need my own place, even if it's just a studio with an extra mattress.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Henna
Also there have been people on here who have recommended neighborhoods in the Bronx where you can get a studio for $800 or $900.
Why don't you figure out how much you can spend on rent and whether you would consider a roommate and then ask for suggestions for neighborhoods?
I'm in an unusual situation in that I can afford $1700 a month (my current rent in England is roughly that) with my salary and secondary income, but every dollar I spend on housing is another dollar my folks back home go into debt. Consequently, I'm aiming to find somewhere as cheap as feasibly possible without having to commute more than ninety minutes or so each way. If there are places for under a grand in the Bronx, it means there's something even cheaper in Newark, which makes it a preferable option.
Talking of which, is there anywhere cheaper even than Newark within ninety minutes of lower Manhattan? I assumed it would be the least expensive area for the simple fact that it seems to have the worst reputation, but perhaps there's somewhere even more affordable in the general vicinity.
If you must look into Newark check out the Ironbound. The Ironbound is the most decent part of Newark and it is still really cheap. The neighborhood is basically half Portuguese and half Brazilian. It is one of the few areas left in Newark that isn't dangerous.
While you're checking out that area of NJ I would also reccomend the town of Harrison, which is next door to Newark. You can rent a 1br for about $800 there. The town is half hispanic and half white. The cops have complete control of the town, so there's no real crime to speak of, plus Harrison has its own PATH station.
Honestly, I'm not concerned by how rough the area is, so if I have to live in Newark, I'd rather find a place in the bad part of town and save my money. I never go out and rarely have visitors, so all I need are four walls and a roof. My one issue is hygiene, but no apartment is so dirty that it can't be cleaned up. I've lived in places with no electricity or running water in the past, so I'm really not too precious about accommodation.
Having browsed CL and various rental sites for most of the evening, it seems as if getting a two- or three-bedder in Newark and renting out the other rooms might be the way to go. I've seen three-bedroom apartments for $850 plus utilities, so even if my roommates (who would likely be relatives) could afford only two hundred dollars a month each, it would still be very, very cheap for me. If similar apartments are to be found in the same price range in Harrison, though, I'd obviously look at living there first. By the way, thanks for the tip there, Mead. I recognised the name but didn't know the first thing about the place.
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