Moving to New York...Help Wanted

[zokbarjazz]

OOT,

I will be moving to New York City in the near future. I am excited about the move; not as excited about the moving process. I have some questions and would appreciate any advice:

1. Where to live? Which neighborhoods are safe and affordable? Brooklyn? The East Village? My current means of income is poker, by which I should be able to live comfortably, even in New York, but I don't think there's much on the upper east side that I can afford.

2. How should I go about finding housing? Craigslist is so overwhelming, but I don't know of better ways to go about it. Anyone moving in the next few weeks? /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

Uh, I guess those are my main concerns right now. There is also a chance I will be taking classes at NYU, so convenience in getting to those classes could be an issue. And if any of you past/present New Yorkers can think of anything else I should know please impart your wisdom upon me.

Thanks much,

Jeremy

[bdk3clash]

Things you need to figure out are how much you want to spend per month on rent and if you want roommates or not. If you could provide this info people could give some specific suggestions. Parts of Brooklyn are great, others not so much. The East Village is awesome but pretty expensive for the most part.

[brettbrettr]

Vague question, but I'll try...

Park Slope and Brooklyn Heights are 2 good neighborhoods (at least, when I move back to NY that's prob where I'm headed.)
You can get a hell of a lot more space in Brooklyn than you can for the same money in the city...Also depends on if you're living alone, roomates etc.

East Village one bedrooms prob run $1500+/month and specialize in being small. If you're going to be spending a lot of hours home, playing party, you might go batty in a small place so it might not be a good scene.

I think these days Upper East side is one of the cheapest places in Manhattan--short of washington Heights and other uptown neighborhoods--and you can probably find some good places there. The downside is that the upper east side sucks.

As far as commuting to NYU, I don't think you should worry about it at all. If there's only a chance you'll be taking classes then at most you're talking about a 20 minute difference in commute from any of these spots and if you spend a lot of time at home better to have a better place than a shorter commute.

[zokbarjazz]

I think my maximum would be $1500, but less would be better. I currently live in DC in a 5-person group house, and it has worked out pretty well. I think I would prefer to live with other people around my age (22), but this is very dependent on the chemistry I would have with said housemates. However, I would not be opposed to living alone, as long as it was in a neighborhood/building that had a social scene of some sort.

[zokbarjazz]

Brett,

Thanks for the info. Re: spending time at home, if I get a place by myself, I'm not going to want to be spending too much time at home when I'm not "working", as that could get lonely. I would be much more likely to want to spend time at home if I lived with roommate(s) who I enjoyed hanging out with...

So I guess it's less about the size of the place and more about whether or not I'd be living with people/the vibe of the neighborhood.

Also, why does the upper east side suck?

Jeremy

[IndieMatty]

wow, ill answer this tomorrow, ive lved all over here for 7 years

[zokbarjazz]

Thanks dude....drink some water...

[IndieMatty]

I am .50/100 is a dissapointment 31014, UES sucks in theory because it is "fratty", but as a non fratty guy I lived on 78th and second for 2 years, and pulled more butt then a guy who is probably 20 pounds overweight has any right too. If you are >25 thats a lot of fun.

[zokbarjazz]

[ QUOTE ]
...and pulled more butt then a guy who is probably 20 pounds overweight has any right too. If you are >25 thats a lot of fun.

[/ QUOTE ]

It's not fun if you're under 25? /images/graemlins/confused.gif

[IndieMatty]

ummm,,,imeant over 25...the bars are all like 20 -24 I'll go there occasionally. Actually zokbar..PM I'll shoot my email or aim, I actually am quite knowledgeble as far as apartment [censored], I'd be happy to help. (apt hunting is like a pet fetish of mine). PM me with your deal.

[IndieMatty]

UWS PWNS!