[Edited on April 23, 2011 at 11:28 AM. Reason : [wrong thread]

4/23/2011 11:27:34 AM

I realize that this is a super old thread but my job just assigned me for a tour in our NY office. Any suggestions on where to live? The office is in the Fort Lee, NJ area.

7/30/2013 11:10:01 PM

^depends - how long are you going to be there? corp apt? is quick access to the city a big enough deal for you to add more to your weekday commute?

7/30/2013 11:25:12 PM

I'll be there 2-3 years. I'll be on the hook for my housing. Quick access to the city would be cool and wouldn't be a big deal if it added to the commute. Parking within a reasonable distance is a must since I will have to use a company car for the commute. The wife doesn't know where she will work yet but I suspect that it will be somewhere in the city.

7/30/2013 11:40:32 PM

Hoboken? Pretty cool place to spend a few years, proximity to the Path/city, should be able to park nearby, decent nightlife if you don't make it into the city, etc. Quickest way to Fort Lee is via car and you'll have the light rail + bus as a backup.

[Edited on July 30, 2013 at 11:54 PM. Reason : .]

7/30/2013 11:50:31 PM

Fort Lee

I'm not going to lie dude that's going to be tough. You can't begin to understand how bad the traffic is up here and you'll really have no choice but to drive. It would really help to know where your office is. I doubt the light rail will get you close enough. If your wife is commuting into the city then Hoboken and Jersey City are great choices because of the Path/Bus options. You can save money by going further North in Hudson County - Union City or Edgewater. I seem to recall that qtmfred is in Edgewater but I'm not certain

[Edited on July 31, 2013 at 12:30 AM. Reason : nota bene]

7/31/2013 12:21:56 AM

^^I'm with you for that suggestion. That's what I would probably do.

7/31/2013 11:01:28 AM

I want to move to NYC so badly. I've applied to every job I can at NYU and Columbia.

If anyone knows anything in the grants (most exp.), project management, program management fields let me know!

Having a public sector geared degree is so much more limiting than I thought it would be.

MPA =/= MBA in the real world.

7/31/2013 4:04:14 PM

Quote :

"MPA =/= MBA in the real world. "

just out of curiosity, in what world were you attempting to equate them?

7/31/2013 4:06:31 PM

in the world of a hopeful college student with limited professional experience.

7/31/2013 4:28:41 PM

Thanks for all of the input so far. I'm pretty excited to get to live in the NY area for a few years but have no idea where to even start.

Quote :

"I'm not going to lie dude that's going to be tough. You can't begin to understand how bad the traffic is up here and you'll really have no choice but to drive. It would really help to know where your office is. I doubt the light rail will get you close enough. If your wife is commuting into the city then Hoboken and Jersey City are great choices because of the Path/Bus options. You can save money by going further North in Hudson County - Union City or Edgewater. I seem to recall that qtmfred is in Edgewater but I'm not certain"

I will absolutely have to drive to work due to having a company ride and using it a lot during the average workday. I'm sure the commute will be a nightmare but at least it wont be on my dime. The office is near the intersection of Executive Drive and Rt 4 if that helps any.

7/31/2013 8:21:58 PM

Quote :

"I want to move to NYC so badly. I've applied to every job I can at NYU and Columbia. "

Is there a reason you're limiting yourself to these two schools?

7/31/2013 11:57:02 PM

a work buddy of mine commutes from Fort Lee to NY Port Authority by bus. not too bad for him since our office is only a 10 minute walk from Port Authority. a number of subway lines connect to Port Authority as well. he sometimes takes the ferry or drives pending his plans or if he's feeling lazy... obviously more expensive to drive with tolls and parking.

Hoboken and Jersey City have the PATH Train for quick access to the city... Hoboken is a bit closer to Fort Lee though, and best to stay near Grove Street PATH if staying in JC.

Weehawken, West New York, & Hoboken by bus to the city are pretty quick too, so might be a good compromise if you drive to Fort Lee and your wife works in the city.

Hoboken probably has the most options to the city from NJ with the PATH Train, bus, and nearby ferries.

You can check out HopStop.com to get an idea of commute times within the city, whether by walking, bus, subway.

With that said, I've been living in Hell's Kitchen for 9 years and have loved almost every minute of it. I walk or ride my bike to work everyday and the city has so much to offer with numerous conveniences at my finger tips. though I do miss having a car and being able to easily escape from the city for a weekend without worrying about renting a car or taking a train/plane.

hope this is helpful.

[Edited on August 1, 2013 at 1:16 AM. Reason : []

8/1/2013 1:12:06 AM

Quote :

"Is there a reason you're limiting yourself to these two schools?"

They're the main schools that have large medical research facilities. I'm in research grants management. I've looked at Fordham and some SUNY schools but they don't have near the amount of jobs related to grants.

8/5/2013 10:33:55 AM

seriously considering a move to NYC. Companies I would be looking at are mostly located in southern Manhattan and preference for the living location is around Prospect Park - Park Slope, Prospect Heights, Fort Greene, etc. I'd expect a 30-45 minute commute from this area depending on exactly where I lived and exactly where a potential employer was located. If the move happens, it'd probably be no sooner than 3 months before I started looking for positions but I'm just thinking about some stuff now anyway.

One question I have is surrounding finding an apartment. I know a lot of places have 40-50X rules. My concern is less about being able to afford the rent (I've made more than 50x the rents I'd expect to pay in this area for several years now working in SC) and more about how it works proving your income if you're moving there. Would it be common to accept tax returns/pay stubs for my current job plus an official offer letter for a potential new employer? Or would I need to be waiting until I had several pay stubs from a new employer to even consider looking at apartments there?

7/22/2015 5:20:25 PM

^You'd likely just have to show your old pay stubs and your new offer letter.

haha wow, I forgot about posting in this thread before. I ended up getting three offers from NYU a few months after ^^post for the same position and had my pick between the three departments.

I spent a few weeks up there apartment hunting and getting the lay of the land and decided it wasn't for me even though I could have afforded a place in Manhattan. The subway is a nice novelty when you're visiting, but depending on it for morning commutes would likely wear you down. Luckily, I got called for a good job in RTP and went with that instead although part of me wishes I did give NYC more of a try. Still have a blast visiting friends up there though.



[Edited on July 22, 2015 at 6:28 PM. Reason : .]

7/22/2015 6:24:19 PM

yeah hard to say regarding relying on the subway for daily commutes. I really dislike driving. I think I would trade 15-20 min drives for 30-45 minutes of walking and subway most days. Obviously I have no real world comparison on the 2nd to say for sure though.

I've been making great money and playing it safe in SC for 8 years. I know it's expensive but I'd be willing to save a little less for the experience of living up there for a while considering how much I've been able to save annually while working for my current company.

7/22/2015 9:00:58 PM

Quote :

"I think I would trade 15-20 min drives for 30-45 minutes of walking and subway most days."

What makes you think drive is quicker? I don't live in NYC but go there for work often and taking the subway around rushhour is always quicker than a taxi/Uber. I mean I guess if you live really far from a subway station but walking is good for you!

7/23/2015 11:26:15 AM

sorry, I should have been more clear. I was comparing a 15-20 minute drive that I've been accustomed to for 8 years at my current company to the walk+subway commute I'd be using in NYC.

I love walking - that's one of the things I'd be looking forward to in living in NYC. If I can walk, walk+subway, or bike almost everywhere I go I'd absolutely love that. I've been out of town for my current construction position for the past year and living in downtown Greensboro. And, even though it is not a great downtown, I pretty much only drive to work and back and then once I'm back at the apartment I only go to things that are within a ~2 mile walking radius. Besides it being Greensboro (and thus not a ton of options), I love the option to not have to drive anywhere.


[Edited on July 23, 2015 at 11:44 AM. Reason : ]

7/23/2015 11:40:40 AM

i love to walk too, and walked everywhere when I lived in downtown Sydney. However, it sucks when it rains or gets really hot (I guess in New York it could be really cold).

I stayed a week in New York last summer to attend a conference. I walked 40 minutes to the conference every day, and a couple days it rained like crazy and I was very thankful I brought a change of clothes with me. Not sure I would enjoy doing it every day, especially if I was wearing a suit.

7/23/2015 12:12:44 PM

Quote :

"However, it sucks when it rains or gets really hot (I guess in New York it could be really cold). "

It gets really hot and really cold in NYC.

7/23/2015 12:21:43 PM

Yeah I cancelled my parking at work and bike every day now. Take the light rail if it's pouring or incredibly cold (or the roads have ice/snow on them). I only drive my car on the weekends now. It's awesome. I've also been trying to do everything during the week with my bike too (groceries, going out, etc). Lots of freedom not having to deal with parking and obviously great exercise. My commute home is 3 miles but I've been doing a 15-20 mile route home along 2 greenways just for the longer commute increasing my commute home by about 5-6x for the extra ride.

^eh doesn't get too cold in NYC. Does get stupidly hot and humid though.

[Edited on July 23, 2015 at 12:23 PM. Reason : s]

7/23/2015 12:22:41 PM

based on the location of companies in southern Manhattan i'd be looking at, and the aforementioned neighborhoods in Brooklyn I was considering, I would expect the daily commute to be mostly subway with not much more than a mile cumulative walking from point (per one way trip). I'm sure weather can still suck sometimes, but that's not too high on my list of concerns with considering a move there. The rain on that kind of commute would be the worst. I could deal with the hot and cold.

7/23/2015 1:00:26 PM

I love Williamsburg, Brooklyn and Astoria, Queens. Have friends that live at both and have spent a lot of time there - both really cool neighborhoods. When I was timing a commute from Astoria to NYU it was easily an hour between walking and the subway. It's also dependent on delays and being lucky to catch the train at the right time. Also, during rush hour, I wouldn't plan on having a seat unless you're coming from near the terminus. I had thought it would be nice to just read book rather than sit in I-40 traffic on the way to work, but when you actually try it in the morning it's not very nice.

My friends up there have also complained that hanging out with people outside of your neighborhood can be frustrating. When I'm staying with a friend in BK/Astoria and want to meet up, they'll refuse to go to the other borough. If I'm lucky I can get them to meet in Manhattan somewhere, otherwise I have to go to them.

On the plus side - the food is amazing and it's surprising how nice and cheap produce is if you cook at home. And if you're single, the dating scene is great for guys and Northern girls are a lot more forthcoming.

7/23/2015 1:52:02 PM

Ugh yeah all my Brooklyn friends never want to leave Brooklyn despite how easy it is to get into Manhattan.

7/23/2015 1:59:45 PM

I don't remember or care to check what I've posted in this thread before, so sorry if I'm repeating anything.

First off, if you aren't afraid of biking, you can and should bike everyone you want to go in NYC. There are very few train destinations that aren't faster on a bike.

Second, after living in Manhattan since 2004 I've been in Park Slope for a few years now. I've also been mildly looking to move to a bigger place in Park Slope, Prospect Heights, Fort Greene, Gowanus, or Windsor Terrace for about 6 months so if you have any specific questions about the area I'll do my best to answer.

Concerning the proof of pay, you give them as much as you can. What people said so far would be good, but the bottom line is it's not like a law that you have to have so many pay stubs or whatever. You're putting together an offer package of rent and everything about yourself that you can. The landlord than makes a decision about how much they want to give you a lease. So as long as you think you've proven your income enough you should be fine.

7/23/2015 2:34:54 PM

Surprised at how much activity this thread has had since I bumped it. Good discussion though.

^^ I wonder if that depends on how long they've been there? I know a lot of times in any city, the longer people live somewhere, the radius they venture out seems to become smaller or more concentrated. And in a city that has so much, there is so much nearby in Brooklyn that I could see certain people just getting used to staying close to home. Who knows.

^Thanks. I'm definitely not afraid of biking. I rode bikes all the time as a kid and biked around State's campus a lot my first two years (when I lived on campus). It's been a while but I definitely see myself having a bike up there at some point if I moved there. I appreciate the heads up that you've been looking to move to the same areas I was interested in. I love the Prospect Park area and being on that West side of the park around Park Slope is definitely where I had targeted. I'll come back with some more specific questions later. I did take note of the fact you've been looking for a new place for 6 months...Although already having something I'm assuming you can maybe be a bit pickier? I don't know how long I would expect to look for a place after making the move and crashing/long-term airbnb'ing temporarily.

One quick question in terms of just daily lives: what's the grocery store and gym situation there? Access to grocery stores are always key to me when living in a walkable area. On the gym side, I will miss having a nice home gym (and probably having to sell stuff I've had for years). Are the gyms around that area super busy? Pricey? I know those are pretty minor questions in the grand scheme of things...

7/23/2015 3:09:58 PM

Get some panniers for your bike and you can always bike to the grocery store oh and please wear a helmet. I don't understand bikers (especially in NYC) that don't wear a helmet. It's just plain stupid. As far as gyms go they're everywhere but are going to cost you a bit more than in NC although you can probably find something for cheap ($50 or more) but can easily pay a few hundred dollars if you want a fancier athletic club.

I second the Prospect Park / Park Slope area. That's where most of my friends live. Most of my clients are near midtown so it's a haul to get over to Brooklyn but still relatively quick.

7/23/2015 3:23:41 PM

ugh yeah. it would be painful to pay for a gym after all these years but I don't need anything fancy. I definitely would plan to wear a helmet. I always did growing up with bmx and mountain biking and even biking around my neighborhood but never did on campus. The last time I rode a bike about 6 months ago, I was quite drunk and was riding it on streets in Greenville, SC where I currently live. It was not smart: a truck had to slam on their brakes in front of me to avoid some pedestrians and I narrowly avoided running into their bed and in the process almost flipped over the handle bars but ended up salvaging it up and over a curb onto a sidewalk I definitely could have ended up as some brain splatter on that one. Never again even for short rides in traffic.

And I know that area around Park Slope is not cheap but I really like it and am OK spending a bit more to live in that area. My current company has been very good to me, especially over the past few years.

7/23/2015 4:19:34 PM

Biking - When I first moved up here I didn't wear a helmet. After getting hit by a motorcycle and flipping over the handlebars in the middle of an intersection a helmet was purchased. I've been in 3 or 4 more minor mixups since then, but yeah, clearly it's a good idea and if you're not a slightly crazy rider like me you probably won't get into a crash. Also the bike share is expensive but in my mind totally worth it. I own 3 bikes and still find I almost get my money's worth from using the shares whenever I'm out without a bike and want to ride somewhere.

Gyms - like everyone's said, there are all sorts of options. The cheapest are the NYC rec centers. If you happen to live near one and don't mind old equipment the memberships to these is $75 a year last I checked. Next level up would be the smaller independent gyms that you can generally get into for 40-50 a month, but again, there aren't a ton of these and it would be all about convenience. There's also a couple YMCA's in Park Slope that have a ton of stuff and decent prices. Then from there NYSC is the cheapest of the chain gyms, probably could get a rate of like $75 a month I'm guessing. Also just like everyone else there's like 10 crossfits per 5 blocks radius now, so you could go that route if you prefer. Since having a kid I've just been going to the park and using the pullup bars and stuff there since it doesn't pay for me to join a gym right now

Apartment shopping - Yeah, we're in a very big 1 bedroom right now with our own backyard, basement, and laundry. We pay $2600 a month and don't pay for utilities. If you've been looking at apartments at all in the area you'd see we have a pretty incredible deal. We had a kid 6 months ago and need another bedroom, so basically my search has been, "I need exactly what I have plus a bedroom for not a lot more money". Basically I'm searching for that one owner who has a great space and doesn't realize he should be charging a whole lot more for it. We won't HAVE to move for another year maybe...at the point we're forced to move there are like 4 or 5 apartments we've seen that would work. So bottom line, my long search is not indicative of a terrible apartment market, just that we're being super picky.

[Edited on July 23, 2015 at 4:50 PM. Reason : ymca]

7/23/2015 4:49:05 PM

thank for the info! That is a good deal on the apartment...

I'd probably be looking at ~$2,000 and one bedroom as well. I've glanced a little bit just on apartments.com just to get a general idea of pricing vs size, amenities, etc.

7/23/2015 6:04:18 PM

One tip for apartments that I've learned this time around, well actually kind of a non tip...years ago everything was on Craigslist, there was no need to look anywhere else

Apparently that's not the case anymore. So now there is no true "master" website that just has everything. Most brokers seem to keep the best listings on their own sites at first before posting to the other sites. I've heard good things about apartments.com and streeteasy.com, but the ones I like the most lately is nakedapartments.com

It's got the best search, selection, and options to contact the brokers IMO

7/23/2015 7:33:39 PM

How much do you need to make to live alone in a decent place in Manhattan ?

7/23/2015 8:44:10 PM

^i imagine that is going to depend a lot on what you consider 'decent', exactly where in manhattan, and how much or how little you're looking to save after all your expenses.

^^ thanks. I'll poke around on there a bit tonight just to get a better sense of what I'm looking at in those areas.

[Edited on July 23, 2015 at 9:06 PM. Reason : ]

7/23/2015 9:04:54 PM

Live alone in Manhattan? Personally, I wouldn't consider it for under $150k but really to make it worth it I think you need to be closer to $250k.

7/27/2015 9:58:52 PM

He's married...so there's two salaries.

7/27/2015 11:10:30 PM

^^ I'm not sure if those are serious numbers or not, but a quick search can give you a better idea:

Assuming you don't want to live in Harlem and would prefer a better neighborhood, it looks like you can get a studio that's not terrible for around $1800 / month, no fee. To qualify for that much rent you need to make 40x, so that's 72k / year. Of course that means the majority of your money's going to rent, but it's definitely possible if you're smart about your food, not taking cabs everywhere, etc. Plenty of people in NYC do this

But even assuming you don't want to just barely qualify, you could make 100k, pay 1800-2000 / month in rent, and be comfortable month to month.

7/28/2015 9:58:59 AM

I think he's talking more about Manhattan which is significantly more expensive than other areas like Brooklyn. I think the average rent is closer to ~$4k:

http://www.mns.com/manhattan_rental_market_report

With that being said a co-worker of mine has a decent 1 bedroom in the upper west side for $2500. He splits it with his GF though.

Living with a roommate / significant other would make it quite a bit easier though. Also not having a car payment / car insurance saves you quite a bit too. My GF and I both have car payments and insurance which probably total $800-850/month. That's a big chunk that could be used for rent.

7/28/2015 11:24:18 AM

So was I

http://newyork.craigslist.org/search/mnh/nfa?max_price=1800&query=studio

7/28/2015 12:11:05 PM

Pretty much everything on Craigslist is agents trolling for clients with fake stuff.
I wouldnt use it to run comps or get a market overview.

7/28/2015 1:03:37 PM

Quote :

"Pretty much everything"

Is a gross overstatement

There are plenty of bad postings on Craigs List, that doesn't mean it can't be used. Here's another website if that helps:

http://tinyurl.com/q4sjg6u

I don't know how to say this without coming off as a pompous asshole, so I'm just going to say it anyways. I moved here in 2004, my first job paid 35k. It wasn't until I got a raise to something like 45k that I was able to live on my own without help in a studio that cost $1650 a month. Yes, the time value of money has changed and so have rents. But I've also moved around NYC about 8 times since then, lived all over Manhattan, and am very familiar with what it costs to live in the city and what rents are these days. It is not hard to find a decent studio in a decent neighborhood for under $2k / month. If you make 80k / year you're bringing home around 4k / month after taxes, etc. So that's 2k per month to love on after rent. You're not having champagne and eating at Peter Luger's every night, but that's plenty of money to live on if you're careful.

[Edited on July 28, 2015 at 1:32 PM. Reason : asdf]

7/28/2015 1:32:00 PM

I guess I consider decent a lot more than that. Our combined income is closer to 150k and I would not live in Manhattan unless we made at least 200k combined. Although you'd have to probably pay me way more than that to live in NYC. It's fun to visit but wouldn't be fun to live in long term. I have too many luxuries that don't exist in NYC.

I just did a salary calculator for cost of living compared to Denver, CO and it said we'd have to make $310k to be comparable to our combined income of $150k here.

[Edited on July 28, 2015 at 2:01 PM. Reason : s]

7/28/2015 1:58:37 PM

NYC is all about how much compromise you're willing to trade in for having all of the things that it's great for here. It's not for everyone, and if you want a nice apartment and some other things that are tough in the city than it's probably not for you unless you're making a ton of money. I won't ever contest that, and having a kid right now we're in a constant state of trying to figure out whether we want to stay here or not.

I guess I just assume that people know this stuff. People that live here expect to have a much smaller than average and less "nice" apartment, minimal outdoor space, probably no washer dryer, maybe no dishwasher, and no car. It's an inherent understood compromise for most people looking at NY

7/28/2015 2:08:27 PM

Yeah I go there enough for work and for visiting on the weekends that I get some of the NY city feel and experience. That's enough for me. Typically for day to day I prefer wide open green spaces in the mountains.

7/28/2015 2:24:09 PM

i've looked at those salary comparison sites too but I feel they are a bit exaggerated at times. I also have talked to friends who live/lived there to get an idea of various costs and set up a budget based on those discussions and what we normally spend. I keep detailed budgets in excel and have used Mint for about 8 hours so I track very closely where all the money goes. As far as Brooklyn goes, it looks like if I took my time I could snag a 1BR for 1800-2000 in the areas I'd like, even if it's not large.

In general, it seems to me - based on my own situation, if 401k contributions and after-tax investments were dialed back, the lifestyle changes wouldn't be drastic at all, save for the fact the apartment would be much, much smaller than our house (*). Of course, currently in SC we are both maxing 401ks, maxing Roth IRAs, and investing a healthy amount into taxable accounts and have been for years. From what I looked at, I figured if I could still max a Roth IRA and contribute 10% to a 401k, I'd be happy to give up the rest to appreciate living in NYC for a few years.

*I understand moving to an apartment in NYC would mean having to store or get rid of things like foosball tables, nice home gym equipment, excess guitars and gear, some of our furniture collection (i'm a furniture nerd and we have a house full of nice furniture that I love) etc.

[Edited on July 28, 2015 at 2:27 PM. Reason : ]

7/28/2015 2:25:11 PM

Call me crazy but I definitely think the cost of living is exaggerated. When I was looking, I found 1BR apartments in and around East Village for $2,000 that are in some ways nicer than my condo in Raleigh. I'm not saying it's viable to make $70k or less and try to live there permanently, but if you're going just to experience it for a year or two and aren't looking to put away a lot of savings each month, you can definitely live comfortably if you've got a solid emergency fund in your savings in case anything does happen to come up out of your typical expenses.

7/28/2015 2:29:55 PM

1 bedroom in the East Village for $2000? I highly doubt that.

7/28/2015 3:03:37 PM

hahah 8 years* not hours.

And yeah ^^ that's kind of my thinking. The plan would be to live there for a couple years. If it was enjoyable and I thought it was financially sustainable enough then awesome, otherwise I could move somewhere cheaper again. A couple years' worth of higher rents and a little higher cost of living isn't going to kill me.


[Edited on July 28, 2015 at 4:00 PM. Reason : ]

7/28/2015 3:32:30 PM

^^http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/fee/5135222842.html

http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/aiv/5139306508.html

there are more on there...

[Edited on July 28, 2015 at 4:24 PM. Reason : .]

7/28/2015 4:23:06 PM

good example of craiglist. first one is not available and the second is from a tenant and she has no idea wtf is going on.

I work in real estate in NYC and craigslist will waste your time.

[Edited on July 28, 2015 at 6:18 PM. Reason : !]

7/28/2015 6:05:14 PM