<p>oldfort, you can still get to/from NJ on the PATH on weekends. People in Hoboken aren’t affected. Those in Jersey City can go through Hoboken, instead of directly from JC to WTC. </p>
<p>My son & friends came home from the Upper East Side to Hoboken at 3am last Sunday. He had more problems figuring out which NYC subway was running at that hour (apparently it was only the local, or only the express, and they were on the wrong platform) than they had with the PATH.</p>
<p>He has a shorter commute to lower Manhattan than the people he works with who live on the Upper East or West sides, and if/when his office moves to midtown his commute will be a lot shorter than his coworkers who live in Brooklyn.</p>
<p>And that applies to nearly every residential neighborhood in NYC. That plus high garage/car insurance fees and other hassles associated with car ownership in NYC are reasons most New Yorkers who live near good public transit routes forgo having a car or in case of new transplants…opt to sell off/leave the car with their families. </p>
<p>Re: Bushwick, I very much agree with Cobrat who wrote
…(for various good reasons)…</p>
<p>I brought up Brooklyn neighborhoods only to rattle off several and to show that some make more sense than others. It’s a large borough where plenty of Manhattan workers live, all the way back to Jackie Gleason in the Honeymooners. I think with his budget he can find housing in some of the Western Brooklyn neigborhoods of Prospect Heights, Park Slope, Cobble Hll and others. Bushwick is “hot” and “coming next” but unlikely to make him happy with that long commute. Williamsburg covers a lot of territory, but is lively and beloved on the subway stops closest to Manhattan. Stay west in this borough and he could do well. </p>
<p>New Jersey via the PATH train is also a very popular alternative for young people, as others describe.</p>
<p>On Manhattan, there might be places on the Lower East Side, Greenwich Village or East Village where a much smaller square footage is available in same budget as the boroughs or NJ, if proximity means a lot to him. It’s a tradeoff – smaller space, closer to work. </p>
<p>I’m currently renting way up in Northern Manhattan, Broadway@168th St. There’s good space and the A express to get downtown in a half-hour. Manhattan neighborhoods north of 125th St. really open up for square footage: Harlem, Hamilton Heights, Washington Heights, Inwood have people working in Southern Manhattan, too. You just have to track the subway lines. I’m in a gut-renovated 2-BR apartment inside a 6-story elevator (no doorman) building from 1899 with a new kitchen and bathroom. It’s well within the OP’s budget. My neighbors include some who look like working college grads, but most are immigrant families from the Dominican Republic who’ve been here for decades. I feel safe on these busy, noisy streets until around 11 p.m. when all the family types go to bed. There’s not much here for clubs, toney restaurants or nightlife so the younger people here just come and go to work or play in other neighborhoods. I expect to be moving to Brooklyn in a few months but that’s because we bought a multi-unit townhouse in Crown Heights to be resident landlords there with our kids :)</p>
<p>Also, what about Staten Island, since he’s working in Southern Manhattan. I don’t know much about it, but others here do. </p>
<p>@paying3tuitions – it sounds like you are living where my daughter used to live before she moved to Brooklyn. I think she had a nice apartment, but at the time she was commuting to a job in Brooklyn Heights, an hour by subway each way. Not fun, though she did get a lot of reading done. But she has been much happier in Brooklyn – just an overall friendlier neighborhood with a lot nice restaurants and cafes in Crown Heights / Prospect Heights area. </p>
<p>One major issue is that if the Staten Island Ferry has issues or there’s traffic on the major bridges going in/out of SI, he’s going to have serious commute hassles. If he drives, he will need to contend with high parking garage fees in Manhattan along with bridge tolls. There are some express buses, but they are also affected by those bridge/traffic issues. </p>
<p>Moreover, most SI neighborhoods have a very suburban feel most young professionals working in NYC may find to be too quiet or troublesome to commute to…especially if they work exceedingly long hours into the wee hours. This even applies to several HS classmates who were born and raised in SI…they now all live in other boroughs. </p>
<p>Also, while there is a subway line on SI(The SIRT), it only runs on the eastern side of the borough and is completely separate from the subway system in the other 4 boroughs. You’ll still need the SI Ferry or other transportation options to get to other boroughs. </p>
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<p>I’m quite familiar with that neighborhood as it’s a popular place among friends who attended Columbia for undergrad/grad school. </p>
<p>Personally, I’ve felt safe walking around there even as late as 2-3 am after visiting them. Then again, I lived in NYC long enough to understand Washington Heights/Harlem/Morningside in the last decade is much more safe even in the wee hours than my old NYC neighborhood was even during the day 20+ years ago. </p>
<p>Both my sons work in Lower Manhattan and live in Brooklyn. One is in Clinton Hill and takes the C (slow but mostly reliable), while the other is living in Ditmas Park and takes the Q and transfers to the 2/3 (I think) at Atlantic Terminal. The latter son thinks he will move closer in, maybe the South Slope, next fall. His current situation is a sweet deal for him financially so he was willing to take on the extra commute. Neither considered living in Manhattan because they knew they could get much more for their money (even now) in Brooklyn. As an earlier poster also noted, they were swayed by the vibrant neighborhoods and easy access to great food and nightlife. </p>
<p>Got back from our weekend in Manhattan tonight. My D is sold on Murray Hill, or parts of Kipps Bay. She loves being able to walk to work, and to easily be able to get to the subway. We were able to view several apartments in no fee buildings. I made calls to the management companies setting up appointments. It gave her a good feel of what to expect and approximate price ranges. Several of these leasing agents took down her name and info and told us they will give us a heads up if something opens up for her time frame. The others told us to follow up with them closer to the move in date. She has 5-6 buildings she would be OK living in. Some more than others. Thanks for all the tips given here. I’m sure I will be asking more questions as the move gets closer. </p>
<p>Both are good locations with great access to many vibrant areas of other boroughs. Some within Manhattan such as Union Square/Village areas are within what I’d consider comfortable walking distance. </p>
<p>Murray Hill is a safe neighborhood but I would suggest a doorman building for a young girl moving into the city for the first time. Most of the buildings in that area are doorman, but there are walk-ups and “buzz-ins” scattered around. </p>
<p>Agree with oldfort about avoiding ground floor apts. That was my rule of thumb 20+ years ago and the same break-in concerns exist today. (Probably a bit worse during the crack epidemic.) I also avoided blocks that had a public school or church as I did not like the empty ‘store front’ feel at night.</p>
<p>Doorman building offers safety and someone to accept delivery of packages, dry cleaning, etc.</p>
<p>Parking? My son in Hoboken sold his car and got a Zip Car account, which he rarely uses. “Only 20-percent of Hoboken residents own a car – the same percentage as Manhattan households.” </p>
<p>Similar to Manhattan, in much of Hoboken I’d also avoid ground level apartments, after the flooding they had with Sandy.</p>
<p>I definitely agree with you that a doorman building is a must as well as staying away from a first floor apartment. Way back when, many years ago, when I was just out of college, I had a guy try to break in my first floor apartment. I will worry enough about her being in NYC and those are 2 requirements I have along with an elevator building. </p>
<p>Ok, getting ready to book airfare for June. How many days did it take you to find a place, get approved and sign the lease? I know condos and coops are longer, so hoping to avoid them. Trying to figure out how long we will need to plan for this trip. We plan on coming during the week. Do you think 4 days would be enough? I rather figure too many days than not enough. </p>
<p>Four days is doable, but you would need to have appointments all set up. When we moved back from overseas, we came back over for a long weekend, saw 10+ apartments in 2 days, went back to one and had the lease approved and signed next day. If you have time and money, stay for a week, then you won’t feel as rushed. My older daughter also found her apartment in 2 days. There are only so many apartments in one’s price range, location and size. If you find something you like, don’t wait.</p>
<p>I watched “Selling New York” yesterday on HGTV and was amazed at not only the apartment price tags, but the monthly fees involved after purchase. There was an apartment for sale at 2.8 million or so (not surprising), but the MONTHLY “maintenance fee” was $11K!. PER MONTH!! What the heck? Is that typical or even close to being typical for an apartment in NYC?</p>
<p>Doesn’t sound that unusual considering an acquaintance who owns a similarly valued apartment close to the UN reported paying over $20k/month for maintenance. </p>
<p>Both are likely luxury apartments in highly desirable Manhattan neighborhoods. </p>
<p>The other story covered on that episode was a woman looking to move from a beautiful large home in the suburbs or countryside (can’t remember exactly) back into Manhattan. Her original budget had been 3-4 million the year before, but she hadn’t been able to find what she wanted at that price point. She was ready to start looking again and had upped her budget to 6-7 million. She ended up purchasing one for 7.9 million. They didn’t reveal what the monthly maintenance fee on that one was; I can only imagine.</p>
But she has been much happier in Brooklyn – just an overall friendlier neighborhood with a lot nice restaurants and cafes in Crown Heights / Prospect Heights area. </p>