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My boyfriend and I are planning to move to NYC in the next year, and I'd love some advice on good areas to live for people our age (both 26).
We're moving from Boston (actually Somerville) MA. We are living in Davis Square in Somerville, MA in a 1 bedroom for 1550 a month right now. We LOVE it here, great restaurants, close to the bus and subway station, lots of young people, bars, etc. We're moving because of new jobs, but we'd love it if would could find the same type of fun neighborhood in NYC.
We'd prefer a 1 bedroom (or more, ha ha) but a studio is a possibility if it is large and livable. We'd really like to keep rent at 2100 or under, but up to 2300 per month is our absolute financial limit.
We'd need an area in Manhattan, or with a easy commute to Manhattan, and hopefully as safe as our neighborhood in Boston was.
I thought rents in Boston were high, but the rents I see in NY are blowing my mind! Being walking distance to a subway is very important.
Last time we visited NYC we checked out SoHo and really liked it...is there any chance of us finding a place there within our budget?
You're going to have to check Brooklyn or Queens. OR you can think about Inwood or Washington Heights in Manhattan. Off the beaten path, but with easy access, via the A train, to other areas in Manhattan.
Plus, there's usually a means test -40 to 45 times your monthly rent should be your annual income.
I would suggest the parts of Brooklyn that are closest to Manhattan. Brooklyn Heights, Park Slope, Cobble Hill, Boerum Hill, Fort Greene, Greenpoint, Williamsburg.
Try to learn the borders of the nicer areas as realtors love to blur boundaries. They might say an apt in Bed-Stuy is in Williamsburg, for example.
The parts of Brooklyn I listed can be really lovely. Depending on where you are working in Manhattan, your commute can actually be the same as if you were living (for example) on the upper east side near the river, or in Wash. Heights or Inwood.
The other thing is that if you stay in these areas of Brooklyn (except Greenpoint) there is generally subway access everywhere - every few blocks. It's not at all comparable to the very few subway stops in Somerville, Cambridge or even Boston.
If you plug in an address into google maps it will show you where the subways are located.
Reading past columns of "the hunt" in the ny times r.e. section may give you a better idea of what your budget will get you.
Park Slope, Greenpoint and Fort Greene are good alternatives if you want to live in Downtown Brooklyn. If you want to look in Manhattan, try non-broker properties on craigslist there's a lot available in Manhattan.
Well it ain't happening in Manhattan. And SoHo. Uhhhh nope..definitely not happening there. Start conditioning your mind to Queens or Brooklyn. There are very nice places within those boroughs as well. And as far as I am concerned, everywhere in NYC is fun. Believe me, if they have it in Somerville...they've got it tenfold here. I was living in a family neighborhood and fun was never more than a 10 minute bus ride away..at the very most. Now I live off the corner of the #7.
I don't understand why people keep saying no way in Manhattan. I live in the upper east side in an elevator building 1BR and I pay a bit more than you want to, but I do have an elevator and that's what i pay for. You can definitely find a walk-up 1BR for $2000-2300, but yes the problem is usually they require a broker fee, which is 10-12% of the yearly rent, so that does add several hundred per month, but if you already have it saved up, it isn't so bad. You can also find rentals in the UWS for similar prices. Check craigslist to get an idea, but also keep in mind that most places listed on craigslist aren't real or are already taken, but it does give an idea of price and size so you don't get shocked when a closet-sized studio goes for $1600.
As a MA native, NYC is very different than Boston. I moved here in 2007, and next year I am moving out to the burbs because I can't stand the prices here and the lack of having a car and nature.
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