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moving to new york city?

hey everyone, ok, so the time is soon that I will grad. from school, and will soon start college. So I now need to start looking for me an apartment in manhattan. ok, so i will either be going to NYU, Pace University, or City University of New York. Now, I really, really want to be in the city and not anywhere like Brooklyn, queens, bronx and etc. But if it came to it, I would move to brooklyn, queens, or harlem. Ok, now I have a maximum rent payment of $1,500.00. So, do you think I will be able to find an ok sized studio in Manhattan at that price. Will craigslist have some stuff in my price range? What do you all suggest? Do you think I will be better off coming to new york and looking for something myself than on the internet?? All advice is accepted. Also, how much money should I bring when I move. So far, I have $4,800.00 saved up, and my dad will give me like an extra $1,500.00 or so. Thanks you all!!!

Public Comments

1. Craigslist is confusing. last year we had a school project (middle school... haha) in which we had to find places to live, jobs, etc. (it was like a budget thing, we had to figure out how much we needed and stuff) and i couldn't find anything on craigslist. there are some nice places in queens, right by subway stations so you can get to the city easily. studios start from at least $1,000 a month. you don't even want to think of living in the city.. it's SOOO expensive, even a studio. And you should bring all your money, new york is really expensive. Just letting you know so you're not surprised... you'll probably spend at least $400 a month on food unless you plan on starving yourself.. and don't even think of getting a car!!! first of all ttheres so much traffic, and also it's expensive. get the monthly Metro-card pass, it is $81 per month and it's worth it. Try not to use taxis. You'll need a job too, when you don't have classes. search real-estate places like http://www.cityrealty.com/ or http://www.citi-habitats.com haha i realized my answer was kind of discouraging.. but don't worry because new york is amazing and it's soo worth it!
2. Craigslist is kind of incompetent. It's all a bunch of messy ads. You don't know if people are telling the truth or not. It's not very professional. Just look on regular rental sites. If you're looking to move to Manhattan, and plan on living anywhere below 110th street-ish, you're going to need at least $1,800-$2,000K per month. I don't know what kind of money you'll be making, but trust me, it'll cost a lot. A perk is you won't need to own a car, which will save you on a car loan, insurance and gas, but you'll need to spend on public transportation and more than usual on food, with no suburban-type supermarkers around. Basically, unless you don't mind living paycheck to paycheck, and don't have a couple roommates, you shouldn't move to Manhattan. You could move to Harlem, Washington Heights, Inwood or that part of Manhattan, but it's more like an outer borough. Most people don't work around there. There's generally less to do also. I'd suggest looking mostly in Brooklyn and Queens. Don't look in parts of Brooklyn close to Manhattan, like Brooklyn Heights, Park Slope or Carroll Gardens, because they'll be very expensive. Look more towards Bay Ridge, Sunset Park and Bensonhurst. It's more affordable. My friend rents out a decent one bedroom there for less than $1,000 per month and he has very good subway access. I won't be picking it out, because I won't be moving any time soon, but there's an apartment, that may interest or serve as an example for the cheapest and most affordable rent available. That's on 88 Street on the West Side, which is a nice area, but $1,800 is basically the cheapest you can spend, yet still have a bathroom and a full bedroom. You may as well just pay nearly half to live in an outer borough. Most people in Manhattan are transplants from other states who are in their late 20's and early 30's. The way how these people make it is either they come from money, they're very well educated and make a lot of money or they room with a lot of people and are okay with little space.