moving to NYC

[iAmBaronVonTito]

We paid $1200 for a three room very clean apartment.

jeepers!  when was this, jed?  in 2009, we're paying $1350 for a small 3-bedroom in tempe, az (which i imagine is cheaper than NY).

I think he meant 1 bedroom (3-room, bedroom being one of them), not 3-bedroom.

i was about to have a stroke, thanks, Thomas.  that's just not how we talk in the south(west).

[buffcoat]

We paid $1200 for a three room very clean apartment.

jeepers!  when was this, jed?  in 2009, we're paying $1350 for a small 3-bedroom in tempe, az (which i imagine is cheaper than NY).

I think he meant 1 bedroom (3-room, bedroom being one of them), not 3-bedroom.

i was about to have a stroke, thanks, Thomas.  that's just not how we talk in the south(west).

That's not how they talk anywhere.

[jed]

We paid $1200 for a three room very clean apartment.

jeepers!  when was this, jed?  in 2009, we're paying $1350 for a small 3-bedroom in tempe, az (which i imagine is cheaper than NY).

I think he meant 1 bedroom (3-room, bedroom being one of them), not 3-bedroom.

i was about to have a stroke, thanks, Thomas.  that's just not how we talk in the south(west).

It was from 2005-2008. It was a three room apartment because you couldn't distinguish a 'bedroom' from a living or dining room. All the rooms were in a row, no hall, railroad. If some slobs would have wanted to have a bedroom in the room we used as a living room it could have been a three bedroom apartment with no living room.

[iAmBaronVonTito]

while considering a move to LA, i went to craigslist to find a roommate only to find that i would be sleeping the living room (set up as a bedroom...with a public television).  needless to say, i gave up on looking for a roommate.

[senorcorazon]

while considering a move to LA, i went to craigslist to find a roommate only to find that i would be sleeping the living room (set up as a bedroom...with a public television).  needless to say, i gave up on looking for a roommate.

New York is filled with similar stories -- my most recent was when I needed to find a room to rent and found a space to split on craigslist with a kindergarten teacher/grad student...who forgot to mention her coke habit. Whoops.

[iAmBaronVonTito]

while considering a move to LA, i went to craigslist to find a roommate only to find that i would be sleeping the living room (set up as a bedroom...with a public television).  needless to say, i gave up on looking for a roommate.

New York is filled with similar stories -- my most recent was when I needed to find a room to rent and found a space to split on craigslist with a kindergarten teacher/grad student...who forgot to mention her coke habit. Whoops.

i had this problem when i found a room in phoenix in january with a girl in nursing school...who forgot to mention her slob habit.  Gross.

[cutout]

Looks like the consensus is we want to be near the express subway line so the commute from Brooklyn to Columbia is less painful. I've been looking via Google Maps at neighborhoods in the upper part of the borough like Clinton Hill, Fort Greene and Brooklyn Heights, but don't yet understand subway access. Is it realistic to get a one-bedroom place for under $1400 in one of those neighborhoods? It seems to be. I just want to make sure the place is not just affordable but in a fun area. Thanks!

[senorcorazon]

Looks like the consensus is we want to be near the express subway line so the commute from Brooklyn to Columbia is less painful. I've been looking via Google Maps at neighborhoods in the upper part of the borough like Clinton Hill, Fort Greene and Brooklyn Heights, but don't yet understand subway access. Is it realistic to get a one-bedroom place for under $1400 in one of those neighborhoods? It seems to be. I just want to make sure the place is not just affordable but in a fun area. Thanks!

Clinton Hill and Fort Greene - careful, parts of that neighborhood are great and parts of it (or what they will try to sell you on it) are between the highway and the projects, FAR away from public transport. But good neighborhoods, yes. Brooklyn Heights is great but you'd need a New York miracle to get a one-bedroom for that -- not impossible, just luck required.

[scratchbomb]

Looks like the consensus is we want to be near the express subway line so the commute from Brooklyn to Columbia is less painful. I've been looking via Google Maps at neighborhoods in the upper part of the borough like Clinton Hill, Fort Greene and Brooklyn Heights, but don't yet understand subway access. Is it realistic to get a one-bedroom place for under $1400 in one of those neighborhoods? It seems to be. I just want to make sure the place is not just affordable but in a fun area. Thanks!

Clinton Hill and Fort Greene, possibly. Although as cutout noted, parts of these neighborhoods are either not the safest or not too close to the train (or some combination of both). If you need to walk any more than, say, 10-15 blocks to get to the nearest station, it better be a really nice place.

Brooklyn Heights is very, very expensive, so it's unlikely you'd find something at that price. But it never hurts to look.

Subways will look intimidating at first, when you're not used to taking them or transferring from one train to another. But it's something you get used to very quickly. Just by doing it every day, you'll pick it up by osmosis.

[Shaggy 2 Grote]

Fort Greene rents went through the roof about 3 years ago, but they might have calmed down a little.  You probably won't be able to find anything decent for under $1600, though.  Clinton Hill is a little better, but also a little further out, and can be sketchy sometimes - our old upstairs neighbors moved there and tell us about shit like young teenagers throwing stuff at their 6-year-old son, or open gang brawls in the street.  It does vary a lot block by block, though.

In terms of proximity to Manhattan, though, subway access matters a lot more than how close you are on the map (within reason; Coney Island or Rockaway are going to take forever to get you into Midtown, let alone 115th street).  If you must live in Brooklyn, try to get something off of the A (Boerum Hill probably has some good deals, especially by the Hoyt-Schermerhorn stop) or the 2/3 (Prospect Heights and Crown Heights come to mind, though both are fairly far out).

[senorcorazon]

Just saw this today, and it might help explain the commute when checking places out: triptropnyc.com -- you can just type in "columbia university" and then starting typing in other areas. The nice part is that takes into account proximity to subway stops, etc. It's like a visual hopstop.com (which, by the way, will become your lifeblood along with the mta.info service alerts page - save yourself A LOT of trouble by just checking that out, especially on the weekends).

[cutout]

Thanks senorcorazon, that's pretty awesome. It guessed correctly that the Clinton Hill area to Columbia was about 60min, which is what others have told us.

BTW, I think I erred a couple times when I said Brooklyn Heights which is no doubt expensive; what I meant was Prospect Heights.

I'm really appreciating the advice. Not to wear you guys out, but I'm also curious if any of  you have lived on the lower east side. A friend just moved there and I know he only makes a middlin' salary so I'm wondering if prices there haven't dropped. I'm going to find out his exact address.

[Spoony]

I will second Prospect Heights and Astoria. Also, the commutes going to be a little longer on the 7 train, but check out Woodside,  Queens.

I'm not a fan of Sunnyside, Queens, but it's cheap also.

Rents will be coming down a bit while the real estate market is gut-shot, so you have that working for you. Remember to look at any place and if you're skeeved by the location, follow your gut, because your realtor is a fucking liar. Go to neighborhoods and look for local weekly papers. The kind of Pennysavers you see in diners or grocery stores. There will always be local listings there. Most neighborhoods have their own.

Look me up when you get here. Always great meeting new FOT's. This board attracts some great people.

[scratchbomb]

I will second Prospect Heights and Astoria. Also, the commutes going to be a little longer on the 7 train, but check out Woodside,  Queens.

I'm not a fan of Sunnyside, Queens, but it's cheap also.

Rents will be coming down a bit while the real estate market is gut-shot, so you have that working for you. Remember to look at any place and if you're skeeved by the location, follow your gut, because your realtor is a fucking liar. Go to neighborhoods and look for local weekly papers. The kind of Pennysavers you see in diners or grocery stores. There will always be local listings there. Most neighborhoods have their own.

Look me up when you get here. Always great meeting new FOT's. This board attracts some great people.

The good thing about the 7 is that, in general, it runs very well during weekdays/rush hours. Weekends are a whole other story (although that's true of pretty much every subway), but it's very reliable during the hours you'd probably need it the most. All in all, it'd probably be no longer of a commute than taking the A from somewhere in Brooklyn. Plus, if you live in/near Woodside, you can grab an Express train that'll get you to Penn Station super-fast.

[break]

The Ditmars/Astoria Blvd/30th Ave area of Astoria has the M60 bus which goes directly to Columbia via the RFK Bridge/Harlem.  The timetable says 20 minute trip (which sounds highly improbable given real world conditions).  I've heard it can get pretty crowded at times with people heading to/from LaGuardia though.  You'd also have the N train there but you would have to take that down to Times Square to pick up the 1 train for Columbia.  You can find a good Astoria web community here:  www.astorians.com

The important thing is to honestly evaluate your wants and figure out what compromises you are willing to make.  You can find amazing deals for $1400 but those often require luck or lots of legwork.  The Lower East Side can be fun but also crowded, expensive, and loud.  If you are going out every night it might be worth it.  However, if you are a person who works the 9-5 and wants a place that is quiet after 11pm Sun-Thurs it might be a hellhole.  The bigger, nicer apartment in a neighborhood that is more remote/less "hip" may be worth having to take a ride on the subway a couple nights a week to go out someplace fun.  All depends on your lifestyle.