Living in NYC - all it's cracked up to be?- Page 3
Living in NYC - all it's cracked up to be?
#50re: Living in NYC - all it's cracked up to be?
Posted: 1/11/07 at 5:25pm
No, I am not going to move there first and get a job. I am going to try to find an area to live . . . .
look for a job there . . . get a job . . . then get an apartment. Right now, I am just looking.
Here's the thing I don't understand about craigslist. It gives you the city and the price, but does not tell you the name of the apartment complex. I look at apartments and then go to www.apartmentratings.com and see how people like living there.
Gothampc
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#51re: Living in NYC - all it's cracked up to be?
Posted: 1/11/07 at 5:32pm
"It's really not like that amanda--it's not like TAXI DRIVER or WELCOME BACK KOTTER anymore"
Nor is it like Sex & the City or Seinfeld. How did Carrie afford all those outfits (not to mention cigarettes) writing a column?
#52re: Living in NYC - all it's cracked up to be?
Posted: 1/11/07 at 5:49pmIt's not a TV show at all--it's a city.
#53re: Living in NYC - all it's cracked up to be?
Posted: 1/11/07 at 6:31pm
Orange, E. Orange, West Orange-just soso safety wise.
Amanda, the reason why apartments in Manhattan can go for $3000 for a one bedroom, and decent condos are almost one million for a small one is because people want to live here.
#55re: Living in NYC - all it's cracked up to be?
Posted: 1/11/07 at 6:35pm
Amanda, in honor of your avatar and signature:
STORIES FROM SPLITSVILLE
http://personals.yahoo.com/us/static/singles-life_splitsville-stories;_ylc=X3oDMTI5Mmp0YTAzBF9TAzI3MTYxNDkEX3MDOTY1MzE5NzMEc2VjA2ZwLXRvZGF5LWJyZWFrdXAtZ3VpZGUEc2xrA3NwbGl0c3ZpbGxlLXN0b3JpZXM
Vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra
Salve, Salve Regina
Ad te clamamus exsules filii Eva
Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes
O clemens O pia
#56re: Living in NYC - all it's cracked up to be?
Posted: 1/11/07 at 9:50pmI must say I'm amazed at all the replies! I don't think I've created a thread anywhere that has received so many responses. Thank you for your honesty and positive encouragement. You made this seem like a realistic goal. I come from friends and family that make living in that wonderful city sound like an impossible feat. I know it's not easy as pie (or cheap or anything like "Sex in the City" or "Seinfeld") but it is so nice to know that many people are happy there.
#57re: Living in NYC - all it's cracked up to be?
Posted: 1/11/07 at 9:53pmThis might not mean anything to this thread, but I think I found the apartment complex that I might be moving into in Philly in a few months (May-July area). HOORAH! Now it's time to save some money.
#58re: Living in NYC - all it's cracked up to be?
Posted: 1/12/07 at 12:17pmThank You for this thread. I have learned so much from Broadwayworld. This is Great!!!
#59re: Living in NYC - all it's cracked up to be?
Posted: 1/12/07 at 12:22pmspider - so glad you found something!!!
BroadwayBoobs: I'll give all of you who weren't there a hint of who took the pictures ...it rhymes with shameless
SOMMS: I knew it was Tink!
#60re: Living in NYC - all it's cracked up to be?
Posted: 1/12/07 at 12:40pmamanda, i was just jokin--i usually am--and i said TXAI DRIVER, not "Taxi." (does a half-assed Rev Jim impression)
#61re: Living in NYC - all it's cracked up to be?
Posted: 1/12/07 at 6:40pm
This is what I have learned!!
Washington Heights has reasonable Apartments
Astoria is a nice place to live
Bring lots of Money!!!!!
Dating for Women might be a problem
Lots of Gay boys for everyone....
I was born in L.A but have lived in Las Vegas, Reno, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, and now live on the coast of Oregon.
I would love to move to NYC, but I would first stay in Manhattan for 3 to 6 months to see if it was for me!!!
I have a friend who lives in Manhattan in the Fall and Winter and lives here Spring and Summer......But she is retired and rich!!!
#62re: Living in NYC - all it's cracked up to be?
Posted: 1/12/07 at 8:39pmCombining several of your lessons learned, if your friend is single and having trouble dating, I turn straight for retired and rich.
#63re: Living in NYC - all it's cracked up to be?
Posted: 1/12/07 at 9:52pmHaaaa Haaaaa....My friend bought her NYC Apartment in the 60's and paid nothing for it. Now she is 80 years old. I think she might have to sell her Apartment. It is close to China Town. When I see her again, I will ask her if she is interested in a Boy Toy!!!!!!!
#64re: Living in NYC - all it's cracked up to be?
Posted: 1/13/07 at 4:55am
" I am proof that you can find a clean apartment in a nice building for a great price."
Circumstances vary...
Does the original poster have great credit?
Is she willing to spend anywhere between weeks and months searching for her own place?
If she finds that roommates are a necessity, is she willing to live with someone who might ask her to compromise her core values - which could mean anything from keeping meat out of the kitchen to being dishonest about her ethnicity? (I am living proof that quite a few people renting out rooms in NY do not want housemates of certain ethnic or racial backgrounds. One even sent me away with the line, "I really like you, but you are black.")
As for clean apartments... well, you better hope they stay clean. I have faced swarms of ants, bedbugs, cockroaches, mice and pigeons as a resident. And I'm not a particularly sloppy guy - I just lack the funds for thorough pest control. Moving isn't an easy solution. I lived in two apartments on the Upper West Side, one in Park Slope, one in Downtown Brooklyn and one in Harlem before I decided to begin my "indefinite leave" from the city late last month...
I already miss Broadway, the big delis and the subway, but hey, it's sweet to be stressed about things like random losing my Internet connection here in Chicago as opposed to getting physically assaulted by Craigslist roommates (it happens), or being covered with dozens of bedbug bites and not having anywhere else to go thanks to the fact that you're living in a city where 20 young people compete for one Texas Chainsaw Massacre-ish room.
Oh, and one thing Chicago has on NYC:
LINCOLN PARK. A true cross between the East Village and Park Slope but much more affordable. (Then again, the neighborhoods surrounding Lincoln Park aren't generally cool and convenient. You pay for proximity in NY whether you're living in Queens, Brooklyn or Manhattan.)
Updated On: 1/13/07 at 04:55 AM
#65re: Living in NYC - all it's cracked up to be?
Posted: 1/13/07 at 6:15amI've never encountered bedbugs and I've lived here going on 4 years (East Village, Upper East Side, and now Upper West Side). What exactly *are* bedbugs? Did you ever consider going to the emergency room?
-Kad
"I have also met him in person, and I find him to be quite funny actually. Arrogant and often misinformed, but still funny."
-bjh2114 (on Michael Riedel)
#66re: Living in NYC - all it's cracked up to be?
Posted: 1/13/07 at 6:52am
Vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra
Salve, Salve Regina
Ad te clamamus exsules filii Eva
Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes
O clemens O pia
#67re: Living in NYC - all it's cracked up to be?
Posted: 1/13/07 at 2:28pm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bedbug
They were an epidemic this past summer and fall. I actually saw people scratching at the distinct bites (three red bumps in a row) on the 1 train. Very disgusting. Supposedly the bedbugs do not "discriminate" but, for the record, I encountered mine in a Hamilton Heights apartment!
No, I didn't go to the emergency room. I just laundered and steam cleaned everything, took a lot of medication, used my own extermination kit, and - ultimately - moved out. Problem solved.
Sidenote: Why do people say NY is "the" city for being independent? You can live by yourself and own your own home in most other cities...
Updated On: 1/13/07 at 02:28 PM
#68re: Living in NYC - all it's cracked up to be?
Posted: 1/13/07 at 6:08pmThis might be a silly question but how do you use Craig's List appropriately to find an apartment you want? I seem to get everything and anything when I search it.
#69re: Living in NYC - all it's cracked up to be?
Posted: 1/13/07 at 6:51pmI find craigslist to be very confusing
#70re: Living in NYC - all it's cracked up to be?
Posted: 1/13/07 at 7:09pm
Craigslist is just really hit or miss. You have to be prepared to take huge risks with it - same for NYC on the whole.
Note that many people renting out rooms will not add you to the lease. You have to trust the leaser to use your rent money fairly and return the security deposit at the end of your stay. I did have one incident where I returned to a sublet to find the locks changed. What followed was one of the craziest nights of my life.
So Craigslist-based living agreements can be huge liabilities. It may be worth it if you are that desperate to live in NYC.
My career and personal life can develop just fine in other cities, so I'll probably only live in NYC again if I'm spectacularly rich and already have my own home somewhere else.
#71re: Living in NYC - all it's cracked up to be?
Posted: 1/13/07 at 9:26pm
Note that many people renting out rooms will not add you to the lease. You have to trust the leaser to use your rent money fairly and return the security deposit at the end of your stay.
In other words, just use common sense.
-Kad
"I have also met him in person, and I find him to be quite funny actually. Arrogant and often misinformed, but still funny."
-bjh2114 (on Michael Riedel)
#72re: Living in NYC - all it's cracked up to be?
Posted: 1/13/07 at 11:03pmSometimes common sense isn't enough when choosing a roommate. Best to make a list of friends who live in the city and are willing to let you take the sofa, or better yet, have money set aside for a hotel or train ticket.
#73re: Living in NYC - all it's cracked up to be?
Posted: 1/14/07 at 1:26am...Or just get your own place.
-Kad
"I have also met him in person, and I find him to be quite funny actually. Arrogant and often misinformed, but still funny."
-bjh2114 (on Michael Riedel)
#74re: Living in NYC - all it's cracked up to be?
Posted: 1/14/07 at 1:31am
Living alone in NYC would have been ideal for me but, given competition for studios and the undesirable locations of the affordable ones, it was not realistic.
Another piece of "common sense" advice for living in NY: Get a job that pays 50K+ and make sure you fill out your W2 forms in a way that's most immediately beneficial to you. (Most people aren't aware of the significance of "allowances" on the form. Find out before you move.)
Updated On: 1/14/07 at 01:31 AM
#75re: Living in NYC - all it's cracked up to be?
Posted: 1/14/07 at 1:33am
...Duh. 
-Kad
"I have also met him in person, and I find him to be quite funny actually. Arrogant and often misinformed, but still funny."
-bjh2114 (on Michael Riedel)
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