Moving from London to New York (Madison: apartments, rental, insurance)

[SheWoolf]

Hi All, apologies for posting up a new topic about this. I've been trawling through the older posts including the sticky but can't really find the info I need. I will be as specific as possible though!!

I've just accepted an accounting job in New York, but there's no relocation deal to be had so I need to figure this all out! The company are applying for my Visa and I expect to move within the next 2/3 months!

About me: I'm a 32 year old single straight woman and i enjoy shopping, movies, theatre, bars, gym and sportsbikes (motorcycles). I'll be working on Madison Avenue and earning $70k. I'm happy to share an apartment with 1 or 2 other professionals or live alone and my budget is between $1500 and $2000 per month. As a keen biker, my preference is to live somewhere with an easy commute (less than 1 hour with a short walk to the station) that has a garage or safe parking for a motorcycle.

What boroughs/areas will be best for this? I've heard that Hoboeken is good distance wise, does anybody here live there?

I'm also trying to decide what to do with my belongings. Is it worth shipping everything over? Everything doesn't actually consist of that much, if I bring things it would be a 3 piece suite, a massive bed, loads of clothes and shoes and motorcycle kit. I'd love to bring my motorbike over but am concerened at the cost, not with the actual transportation but the taxes and the regulations it will need to meet. Does anybody have any experince of this?

Oooh, that leads to another question, is it ok to drive on a UK licence over there? If so is it for a restricted length of time and will I have to take the car and motorcycle tests again?

Are apartments in NY usually furnished or unfurnished, is there a big difference in prece between the 2? I guess that will play a large part in my decision on bringing my own furniture over.

Phew, sorry for all the questions and if I've missed anything, please ask me

Sherrie

[Viralmd]

1500 -2000 will likely get you a studio apartment, but not furnished. That doesn't usually include electricity or cable TV or telephone.

Parking for ANY vehicle is something completely separate from your rent. You need to either find a building with a garage (and please note that not every garage has vacancies) or another garage (there are a lot of them). Take a look at www.bestparking.com for rates in various areas. Usually motorcycles cost less than cars to park, but you will need insurance and THAT is quite costly.

I think if you're going to share you might not want to bring over all that furniture, especially for a short secondement.

Hoboken is in NJ, not NY.

Also, wherever you choose to live (NY or NJ) you need to check with the
Department of Motor Vehicles about the validity of a UK license. These agencies (both NY and NJ) have online sites where you can find the answers to your questions.

[Chava61]

You might want to consider living in Queens in neighborhoods like Forest Hills or Rego Park, which have good subway service and the commute is under an hour.
I think you can drive temporarily (at least 3 months I believe) with your UK license if you have international driving license based on the UK one. NY & NJ have different rules/requirements about getting a local driver's license if you already have a foreign driver's license.
In NY most apartments for rent are unfurnished. But you decide to share the apt. may already have some furniture in it. Some apartments you have to pay for gas utility bill as well as electric, cable for TV and/or internet and landline tel. utilities.

[SheWoolf]

Thanks for the help so far, I need to make decisions on whether to live alone or share with others as lots of things will stem from that.

[KobeGirl]

If your salary is 70K, it's better to budget your rent as $1500. You need to pay for garage $150 in Queens $300? in Manhattan...
You can rent 1BR with $1500 in Astoria or Forest Hills. I(and my husband) are living in Forest Hills now. Our rent is $1500 for 1BR. In Astoria, rent may be a bit higher because it's closer to Manhattan. But there are lots rental apartment in townhouse there. It might be easier to find landlor to let you use their garage.

[SheWoolf]

Thanks Kobegirl, I've not come accross those areas before so will definitely check them out