Moving to Manhattan with roommate. Gramercy? (Union, Greenwich: apartment, rent, credit card)

[saidso]

Everyone,

I have been reading this forums for awhile now and I just wanted to say that it has been an excellent tool in helping me make my move to NY.

I will be graduating from college in a month and will be starting a job in finance on July 1st. I will be moving up with a good friend from college who will also be in finance and we intend to share an apartment together. I just had a few questions before we begin the search:

1) I have been seeing many ads for places near Gramercy Park. If he is working near Rockefeller plaza and I will be in Tribeca (Greenwich St.) do you think this would be a good place in the middle?

2) Obviously we each need a room to live in. However, since we will be working so much we have been looking to just get a 2 Br. Share (with a wall put up). Is this advisable?

3) Can we get a decent 2br share in Gramercy for 2500-2600?

4) I am a bit confused as to how the verification process works. We will each be getting 10k signing bonuses and salaries of 70k and 60k respectively (+ year end bonuses but I assume this doesn't matter yet). Is this sufficient to show the landlord? I am assuming we will also need a credit check? Aside from student loans and a credit card I just got a month ago I don't really have any credit.

-Thanks again in advance. Again you all have been so helpful!

[willbo1]

Gramercy seems like it would work just fine for in terms of location. Not sure what the price range is in that area though. If you are getting a one bedroom and putting up a wall, I figure that is doable in your price range. You HR depts should be able to provide and employment verification letter stating your salary, etc. When I rented that was sufficient (also worked getting approved for a mortgage.)

Good luck and enjoy NYC! Don't hold back once you are there! =)

[saidso]

Thanks for the reply.

When we received our offers in October they did stipulate our salary so we should be good in that respect. Waiting for the signing bonus to clear to actually go up and start looking. With that in mind, would you all recommend getting a broker or going it alone? The top of our range is about 26-2700 max even though we technically could go above. We would just like to have extra money every month to actually enjoy the city and not be tied to our rooms.

Thanks!

[G.Costanza]

Originally Posted by saidso

1) I have been seeing many ads for places near Gramercy Park. If he is working near Rockefeller plaza and I will be in Tribeca (Greenwich St.) do you think this would be a good place in the middle?

2) Obviously we each need a room to live in. However, since we will be working so much we have been looking to just get a 2 Br. Share (with a wall put up). Is this advisable?

What you'll probably realize after seeing these places is that they are not on Gramercy Park or perhaps not even near it. "Gramercy," "Union Sq," "Chelsea" and "Tribeca" are perhaps the most frequently mis-appropriated names on craigslist.

Anyway, there's nothing wrong with faux Gramercy, but if you're living on 2nd ave or 1st in the 20s, it means walking to the 6 train which is a poor choice for both of you (connecting to the 4/5 to get to FiDi or walking from Lex to Rockefeller).

So I'd suggest:

• Midtown east nr 59th st: Take the 4/5 downtown and the other take the yellow line (N/R/W to 49th & 7th, a block to Rockefeller)
• Faux Gramercy if it's in the teens rather than 20s: Then you guys can walk to Union Sq to catch the 4/5 and yellow lines.
• Hell's Kitchen: Walk to Rockefeller and take the blue line (A/C/E) downtown.
• FiDi (financial district): Opposite of the above. Whoever has an easier commute can pay a bit more.

And yes, you guys are realistically looking at a 2BR "Flex" or "Convertible" with a wall put up to make the 2nd bedroom. There's nothing wrong with that and all your peers will be doing the same thing.

[saidso]

Thank you for the reply! I will start looking in those areas. Putting up a wall is no problem and we will only live like that for at most 2 years until we can start saving up salary and bonus monies to buy or rent nicer places. Union Square is interesting and a place I never thought of.

[crescent22]

40x rule - Your base salaries will be fine for a $2700 place. They will be fine for up to $3250.

You two should live in Chelsea and take the 1 in opposite directions. Good locale to experience NYC too. Close to many happening districts.

[saidso]

Thanks for the suggestion. Although we could theoretically go that high we don't want to spend such a large portion of our income on rent. This is NYC afterall and we want to have enough cash to enjoy it. Also, we will each be graduating with 5-600 per month in student loan payments, reasons why we want to stay at a 1300-1400 (per person) limit. I just want to live in a place where both he and I can have a reasonable commute and stay within our budget. Im finding this all very confusing (me working on Greenwich St. in Tribeca and him at Rockefeller)

Thanks for all your help

[G.Costanza]

Originally Posted by saidso

Im finding this all very confusing (me working on Greenwich St. in Tribeca and him at Rockefeller)

Thanks for all your help

Don't worry, you'll get the hang of the subway system quickly enough. I'm guessing you'll be on Greenwich just above or below Chambers? If you look at the MTA map or google maps (which can give directions via public transit as an option), you'll probably find the Chambers St stops on the A, C and 1 trains as your closest.

mta.info | Subway Map

Two of those three trains go towards the Rock as well (50th st stops for the C and 1 trains). So just look for places near those lines - HK/midtown west; Tribeca/FiDi, etc.