<p>DS (21) decided to bail out of his job in CA and is due to start mid-March in a finance company (sigh) that seems to be located close to the southern tip of Manhattan. He’s thinking of perhaps $3K for an apartment, and since he’s giving me his car, he’ll need to be close enough to the subway. No one in our family has spent any real time there, so we’re not familiar with where to look and what to seek or avoid. He’s been well advised that he could have to work very late, so it would help to keep out of neighborhoods known to be very dangerous. </p>
<p>For rentals such as what he’s seeking, and in the time frame - a couple of weeks - what is practical? Is the best way to go about it on the web, the rental sections in the newspaper, or are they agents who do this that someone can recommend?</p>
<p>Some general apartment questions:
Are apartments readily available in his price range?
Are unfurnished units the norm? They said they would pay for the move and we would like to know what to ship and what to dispose.
Are most leases for 12 months and what is the typical initial outlay - rent/how many month deposit/anything else?</p>
<p>Appreciate any other advice or things that a newbie should consider.</p>
<p>Despite its reputation, Jersey City actually has some really nice areas along the waterfront, and rents are much more reasonable than in the city. D2 has moved there and her commute to midtown has been cut in less than half of what it was when she lived in Manhattan.</p>
<p>How many bedrooms are you looking for? 3 grand will get you a one bedroom in Manhattan. if you are a dad of 3 you might need to raise your rent allowance. More like 5 grand a month.</p>
<p>How close to his workplace does he want to be?</p>
<p>$3,000 is the low end of doable in some decent areas of Manhattan for an unfurnished one-bedroom. I know of places in the very east 20th St. area that rent for that. Still a bus or subway commute to far lower Manhattan but reasonable. I did that commute myself at one point. </p>
<p>Leases can be one, two or three years. One month’s deposit generally required, plus a broker’s fee if you work through a broker. </p>
<p>Time will be of the essence in this case but will they cover any temporary housing while he looks?</p>
<p>JEM, I don’t think he cares to be walking distance to his workplace. If he’s close to public transportation, that would be sufficient. Are there any other places than east 20th st area that you’re aware of for this price range? They’ll be paying a signing bonus (which to us non-New Yorkers is huge), but nothing specifically to reimburse temporary living expenses.</p>
<p>I’ll check with him on the locations suggested by all three of you - I don’t believe he’d even considered NJ - but it’s a good thought.</p>
<p>ok you should be fine. you will love it . no place in Manhattan is “very dangerous” there are too many people everywhere. Check out Stuyvesant Town (area mentioned by JEM). you can get a nice apt for 3 grand and the commute downtown is not bad. If you will be working in Manhattan you might as well live there and enjoy its hustle and bustle. Jersey City is fine but it’s not Manhattan.</p>
<p>Jersey city and Hoboken are very accessible to downtown by way of the PATH. Very nice places for young professionals. Brooklyn, as well. I wouldn’t recommend Staten Island because it is much less accessible.</p>
<p>As a former New Yorker, it is my opinion that it is crazy to pay that much rent.</p>
<p>The sexy choice is to live in Manhattan. The smarter choice, at least to start out, is to take the advice of others on this thread and look at Jersey City. There is a place called Newport that has nice high rises, with a quick PATH train into the city.</p>
<p>In the meantime, he can find a girlfriend who lives in Manhattan.</p>
<p>My daughter lives in Brooklyn. Rent for a fairly spacious 2 bedroom unit is roughly $1500 (d’s share with a roommate is $750/month). Subway entrance is just around the corner. She is in Bed Stuy --your son might be more comfortable with Park Slope or Clinton hill – a little more expensive but still a lot less than downtown Manhattan. For a job downtown, the commute by subway from Brooklyn would probably be faster than trying to commute from uptown. </p>
<p>Padmapper.com is a really useful tool to get a sense of rental prices by neighborhood. Use that in combination with Google maps street view to get a sense of the overall neighborhood. </p>
<p>The parts of Brooklyn I mentioned are safe, including my d’s Bed Stuy neighborhood-- though your son probably would be happier the other areas I mentioned. (D’s neighborhood is more run down. )</p>
<p>I appreciate all your pieces of advice. I’m really very peripheral in this decision; given the timing, I only want to gather some info from those who are familiar with the area that will save him from wasting time looking at places that aren’t a match. If I do hear his objection about “not living in Manhattan”, I’m glad I can mention the one about finding a honey in Manhattan.</p>
<p>Dad-For finance NY is the place to be. Also for a young professional the Big Apple will be so much fun and completely different than the laid back life of Cali. Stress the importance of saving money and recommend having a roomate or two just to share expenses. But if he can afford $3K, he’ll live decently. Having a job in Finance in this economy is something to be celebrated. GL BTW it’s called downtown and all the new fashionable places are south of midtown not far from downtown.</p>
<p>Is his company not paying for a broker? In my experience (admittedly limited to a few friends) finance companies typically pay for a broker (who will find and show him apartments in his price range).</p>
<p>Have him look at streeteasy dot com. It has most rentals listed. Many young people want to live around Chelsea, Gramercy, Union Square, Village. If you use the site I mentioned above, you’ll see those place listed as such. For 2500 he could get a decent studio, nothing fancy. For a one bedroom he would need to spend 3500-4500. He could get better pricing around Murray Hill (east 30-40), Upper east side or Upper West side. Almost every subway goes down to Financial center. I don’t like it down there because there is nothing there at night and with Sep 11 I am just not fan any more. Most brokers charge 1 mon rent as a fee.</p>
<p>When my D took a job with a bank as a first year analyst, they gave her sign on bonus to cover her moving expenses. She had to pay for the broker fee and moving expenses, but the bonus more than cover for all of that. She is currently sharing a junior four (dining alcove converted into another bedroom) with someone in banking too. They both work very long hours, so they never see each other. D is going to get her own place once the lease is up this June. </p>
<p>Rentals go very fast, so your son will need to decide on the spot. I would suggest for you and him to come to NYC for a long weekend to get it done. You won’t be able to do it long distance. Depending on his credit, salary and asset, you may need to co-sign.</p>
<p>What does Battery Park City look like these days, in terms of rent and availability? (I know what it “looks” like ) I lived there briefly and walked to Wall Street, but it was a long time ago.</p>
) I lived there briefly and walked to Wall Street, but it was a long time ago.</p>