A sublet might be a good option. The program is for fall/spring plus 2 summer semesters, one this summer and one next or 2 next summer. They are a newlywed couple so out of the roommate stage if possible.
According to young relatives living in NYC, a lot of young people in the arts with minimal income are moving to Queens. There are the various online services, such as roommates.com. There is probably a FB group for the Teacher’s College. They might be able to find a room in a shared apartment. S now knows people who have such apartments where he could get a room for $600-800 per month. Renting an apartment themselves is also going to require a lot of money up front, and probably a lease for at least a year. And a guarantor.
Is there any possibility that you could take their dog for some period of time so that they could use I House? BTW, if memory serves, I House also requires some guarantee that someone has the money to pay them. I think H and I had to send an investment account statement showing that the fund were there.
I can’t be all that helpful, but would suggest that they start off focusing on public transportation to and from Columbia.See http://web.mta.info/nyct/maps/subwaymap.pdf You will note Columbia to the left and a bit above the block letters of the word Manhattan. What matters in NYC is how long it takes you to get somewhere by mass transit.I suspect that many of his courses will be at night. Take this into account.
Next, do the obvious. Look at this. http://facilities.columbia.edu/housing/intro-ocha-3 Note that he should register to use the site ASAP if he hasn’t already.
Then look at www.hopstop.com to get an idea of how long it takes to get from Columbia to any apartments they see advertized.
Personally, I wouldn’t suggest Brooklyn to someone going to Columbia, especially in a program which will probably require a lot of night classes.
They might want to check out Inwood. http://www.nakedapartments.com/nyc/inwood-apartments-manhattan-nyc
Is his spouse going to be working? If (s)he already has a job, talk to human resources about housing.
For a commute to/from Columbia, I’d be more wary of living in Queens than parts of Brooklyn unless you don’t mind transferring…sometimes more than once and possibly having to deal with late night service changes/outages due to track servicing/fasttrack maintenance work in the subways. As someone who experienced this, it still can be a hassle to deal with the train transfers and delays at night.
Incidentally, due to fasttrack maintenance, one cannot use E or F trains to get to/from Manhattan after 10 pm for the last several days so one must take the 7 to make the connection to the Queens branch of those trains at 74/Roosevelt Ave. Found this out when I was commuting home around midnight a few days ago from an event at Columbia.
If the Brooklyn neighborhood is near the 2 or 3 or the A line, the commute can actually be very quick during rush hour though subways do tend to get slow late at night(Usually after midnight…sometimes 10). The A will quickly get you to 125 st from which you can take a local back to 116 or you can even walk it and the 2/3 will go express to 96 where you can transfer to the 1 for the last few stops.
Also, I’d completely leave off neighborhoods far from the nearest subway station like Bayside or some dependent on only one subway line like the 7 as if there’s maintenance/service issues on the line, you’re commute will be long and miserable.
In fact, neighborhoods like Bayside are so inconvenient for commuting to/from Columbia/anyplace unless you have a car* that I’d scratch them from consideration altogether. It also won’t necessarily be budget friendly judging by what I’ve observed about the real estate market there because so many families with young kids are eager to move in for the excellent local public schools…especially the HS.
- I dated a woman from Bayside and transportation issues was a serious issue on both sides. She had issues with parking in many NYC neighborhoods not like her own and getting to/from her place was a serious hassle on public transit even though we're in the same borough.
This varies by building. Some buildings don’t allow pets. My building is one of them unless one lived there since before that regulation was passed to be grandfathered in.
I’m passing along all of this information and it’s been very helpful. Thank you all! He is very appreciative. I think we will offer to keep the dog if necessary, but I don’t know if they would take us up on that offer.The wife doesn’t have a job yet because they are still working on her visa as she is not American - lots of stresses! My S has never really dealt with the practicalities of living here since he left for his job overseas shortly after graduating and learned how to deal with renting, insurance, etc in a foreign country. Lots of experience living independently for sure, though, and he’ll soon be getting a crash course. Since living in NYC is so different than our situation here, I told him I knew the CC community could help.
For some fun reading, check out to the New York Times column “The Hunt” - it’s house hunters (mostly apartment hunters) in NYC, in real life.
I would also check up near the medical center/Cloisters and even in Harlem.
My son lives in Washington Heights and loves it. It’s a neighborhood worth checking out.
Agreed. However, the area is gentrifying and rents are rising there along with Harlem/Morningside Heights.
Washington Heights north of 181st and west of Broadway (a/k/a Hudson Heights, f/k/a Fort Washington until about 20 years ago; f/k/a before that, informally, as Frankfurt on the Hudson) – where I’ve lived since 2010 – gentrified some time ago (and was never, ever what you’d call a poor neighborhood), but the rents are still approximately half (or at most 2/3) of what they would be 100 blocks south. And it’s all half an hour, or at most 45 minutes, to midtown on the A train – which I have no problem taking, or walking home from, at night, and is definitely less unsavory than certain stations on the 1 train further east, such as the totally creepy 168th Street 1 station. You will definitely run into the 40x monthly rent annual salary requirement (unless you’re willing to pay a year’s rent in advance), but most landlords accept guarantors.
What about Riverdale? You can get a studio for low 1000. If they can’t a one bedroom, they can live in a studio. It is luxury to live in a one bedroom. My daughter work in banking, she couldn’t afford a one bedroom on her own, she had to share a convertible 2 bedroom with a friend for 2 years.
http://streeteasy.com/for-rent/riverdale
Streeteasy is THE site to search for real estate in NYC. For rentals, you may need to work with an agent to see some listings before they hit the internet. But at the same time, you would get priority if you are not working with an agent because then the listing agent will not need to share the commission.
Unfortunately, rental is the most expensive between May-Sep because all the new graduates coming into the city.
Good luck.
The Bronx has so many lovely neighborhoods. Riverdale is one of the best.
Just a follow-up for you guys. S and wife and dog are safely arrived. They moved up on the waiting list for student housing and were able to get a one bedroom - pricey buy convenient. They found a sublet for the 2 summer months. Everything is falling into place. When I can’t help, I turn to this forum. Such a wide range of experiences. Thanks!