NYU c/o 2018 Forum

[mustapha_mond]

Do you currently bike from Brooklyn to Manhattan? I'd be looking at doing that too. I've mainly lived in cities/towns with fairly good biking infrastructures though and am worried about safety

I'll also note that Citibike, New York's bike share program, is a fantastic way to get around lower Manhattan. I use it to commute from East to West Village every day and it's about 10 minutes, and the cost is only around $100 for the year. NYU has several bike stations on campus, one of which is right between Vanderbilt Hall and Furman Hall (so, on top of the library).

I wouldn't rely on Citibike to bike between Brooklyn and Manhattan (the bikes aren't the best for bridges), but in my opinion there is no more convenient way to get around downtown when the weather is nice.

[tk17]

Do you currently bike from Brooklyn to Manhattan? I'd be looking at doing that too. I've mainly lived in cities/towns with fairly good biking infrastructures though and am worried about safety

I'll also note that Citibike, New York's bike share program, is a fantastic way to get around lower Manhattan. I use it to commute from East to West Village every day and it's about 10 minutes, and the cost is only around $100 for the year. NYU has several bike stations on campus, one of which is right between Vanderbilt Hall and Furman Hall (so, on top of the library).

I wouldn't rely on Citibike to bike between Brooklyn and Manhattan (the bikes aren't the best for bridges), but in my opinion there is no more convenient way to get around downtown when the weather is nice.

+1

I forgot about Citibike. It's also nice to not have to store a bike in your tiny apartment.

[AOT]

Cool, thanks guys.

I have a bike so I'd bring it up with me, it's pretty small too so no much of a storage issue there. Biking is my favourite way to get to know a place, so it's great to hear that there are plenty of possibilities.

[Skool]

What are people thinking for housing? Is on campus the way to go if you're trying to make connections?

I live in the East Village and can't justify the prices NYU charges just to be a few blocks farther west. Anyone interested in getting an apartment? PM me!

I found a few 1BRs near the law school for about the same as campus housing (<$1,900).

As for me I'm looking at the Upper West Side. Somewhere close to Broadway (bus runs down Broadway directly to the school) or Central Park West (seems the B & C trains run directly to/near the school).

Yeah, my partner and I are thinking upper west side/harlem/washington heights for the first year, then Jersey City for the rest.

I saw rates of 2900 for a small one bedroom family/partner housing unit. I could get a two bed room for a little north of 2k if not less and certainly a 1 bed room for less on the upper west side/harlem/washington heights.

Aside from being so close to the law school it doesn't seem worth it to us.

[tk17]

What are people thinking for housing? Is on campus the way to go if you're trying to make connections?

I live in the East Village and can't justify the prices NYU charges just to be a few blocks farther west. Anyone interested in getting an apartment? PM me!

I found a few 1BRs near the law school for about the same as campus housing (<$1,900).

As for me I'm looking at the Upper West Side. Somewhere close to Broadway (bus runs down Broadway directly to the school) or Central Park West (seems the B & C trains run directly to/near the school).

Yeah, my partner and I are thinking upper west side/harlem/washington heights for the first year, then Jersey City for the rest.

I saw rates of 2900 for a small one bedroom family/partner housing unit. I could get a two bed room for a little north of 2k if not less and certainly a 1 bed room for less on the upper west side/harlem/washington heights.

Aside from being so close to the law school it doesn't seem worth it to us.

Washington Heights is far.

All of my friends who live there think it's awesome. And it's relatively cheap (for now). And it's right across the GW bridge from some nice, outside-of-the-city hikes and bike rides.

That being said. It's at least 30 minutes on the train. That doesn't include walking to and from the station, waiting for the train, train delays, etc. You're easily looking at a 45-60 minute one way commute (longer late at night when trains start running every 20 minutes). I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want to have that long of a commute every single day.

[Skool]

What are people thinking for housing? Is on campus the way to go if you're trying to make connections?

I live in the East Village and can't justify the prices NYU charges just to be a few blocks farther west. Anyone interested in getting an apartment? PM me!

I found a few 1BRs near the law school for about the same as campus housing (<$1,900).

As for me I'm looking at the Upper West Side. Somewhere close to Broadway (bus runs down Broadway directly to the school) or Central Park West (seems the B & C trains run directly to/near the school).

Yeah, my partner and I are thinking upper west side/harlem/washington heights for the first year, then Jersey City for the rest.

I saw rates of 2900 for a small one bedroom family/partner housing unit. I could get a two bed room for a little north of 2k if not less and certainly a 1 bed room for less on the upper west side/harlem/washington heights.

Aside from being so close to the law school it doesn't seem worth it to us.

Washington Heights is far.

All of my friends who live there think it's awesome. And it's relatively cheap (for now). And it's right across the GW bridge from some nice, outside-of-the-city hikes and bike rides.

That being said. It's at least 30 minutes on the train. That doesn't include walking to and from the station, waiting for the train, train delays, etc. You're easily looking at a 45-60 minute one way commute (longer late at night when trains start running every 20 minutes). I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want to have that long of a commute every single day.

Yeah, this is the ongoing conflict in my home. Even after taking account of the distance, I value my money more. My significant other values her time more (she has her own graduate program further south).

Obviously Upper West Side or something further south is preferable, but almost all of my living expenses will be debt financed. I'm inclined to put my faith in the A train and minimize costs.

[tk17]

Since people are starting to talk about where to live and apartment hunting, I added the following to the OP. If anyone has any other resources they'd like to include/share, let me know.

Off Campus housing resources:
Information on all of the many NYC Neighborhoods: http://www.streetadvisor.com/search/cit ... y-new-york
Craigslist alternative: http://streeteasy.com/
Craigslist alternative #2: http://www.nakedapartments.com/
Craigslist alternative #3: http://apartable.com/

General information about looking for an apartment in NYC (including brokers, no fee apartments, neighborhood guides, etc.): http://www.urbanedgeny.com/apartment-guide

[tk17]

Yeah, this is the ongoing conflict in my home. Even after taking account of the distance, I value my money more. My significant other values her time more (she has her own graduate program further south).

Obviously Upper West Side or something further south is preferable, but almost all of my living expenses will be debt financed. I'm inclined to put my faith in the A train and minimize costs.

Have you looked into Long Island City, Sunnyside, or Woodside in Queens? Those are pretty decent places to live, and apartments aren't too pricy there (comparatively). If you SO is going further south than NYU, maybe look into Prospect Heights, Crown Heights, Clinton Hill, or (some parts of) Bed-Stuy in Brooklyn?

[Skool]

Yeah, this is the ongoing conflict in my home. Even after taking account of the distance, I value my money more. My significant other values her time more (she has her own graduate program further south).

Obviously Upper West Side or something further south is preferable, but almost all of my living expenses will be debt financed. I'm inclined to put my faith in the A train and minimize costs.

Have you looked into Long Island City, Sunnyside, or Woodside in Queens? Those are pretty decent places to live, and apartments aren't too pricy there (comparatively). If you SO is going further south than NYU, maybe look into Prospect Heights, Crown Heights, Clinton Hill, or (some parts of) Bed-Stuy in Brooklyn?

These are all places I would be looking at if it were completely up to me. Her program is at Columbia, so living in Brooklyn or Queens would piss her off given the potential commuting issues. And I apologize for my confusing use of "farther south".

Do you have an opinion on Realtors?

We have some friends in the city who recommend using realtors. Their argument is something along the lines of, "well if you use craigslist or naked-apartments, you're fairly likely to be hit with stealth or outright realtor charges eventually (that's just the nature of apartment shopping in new york). Why not outright hire somebody and have them work for you instead of working for the land lord."

[tk17]

Yeah, this is the ongoing conflict in my home. Even after taking account of the distance, I value my money more. My significant other values her time more (she has her own graduate program further south).

Obviously Upper West Side or something further south is preferable, but almost all of my living expenses will be debt financed. I'm inclined to put my faith in the A train and minimize costs.

Have you looked into Long Island City, Sunnyside, or Woodside in Queens? Those are pretty decent places to live, and apartments aren't too pricy there (comparatively). If you SO is going further south than NYU, maybe look into Prospect Heights, Crown Heights, Clinton Hill, or (some parts of) Bed-Stuy in Brooklyn?

These are all places I would be looking at if it were completely up to me. Her program is at Columbia, so living in Brooklyn or Queens would piss her off given the potential commuting issues. And I apologize for my confusing use of "farther south".

Do you have an opinion on Realtors?

We have some friends in the city who recommend using realtors. Their argument is something along the lines of, "well if you use craigslist or naked-apartments, you're fairly likely to be hit with stealth or outright realtor charges eventually (that's just the nature of apartment shopping in new york. Why not outright hire somebody and have them work for you."

Ahh... I WAS confused by the "further south," but it makes more sense now. I couldn't think of a school that was further south than NYU.

Check out the first page of this thread. I went on a bit of a tangent about brokers. The tl;dr synopsis is that I used one and I had a great experience with her. Paying the fee was a kick in the pants, but we ended up paying below-market rent for our nearly-perfect apartment and the rent didn't go up last year, so the fee turned out to be a good investment in the long run. But we got lucky. A friend used the exact same broker and had a much less positive experience with her.

I'd recommend trying to do both (if you're willing). Look on your own, but also reach out to a broker who has amazing Yelp reviews and see if they have anything for you. See what works first.

[Skool]

Thanks for the advice. I checked your original post too, and it's comforting to hear that recommendation from a stranger. I guess I will start saving for broker fees. I was also advised that the best way to cut brokers out of your apartment search is to walk in to the rental offices of buildings you want to live in and see what they had available. I guess we'll try some mixture of the two.

[tk17]

Thanks for the advice. I checked your original post too, and it's comforting to hear that recommendation from a stranger. I guess I will start saving for broker fees. I was also advised that the best way to cut brokers out of your apartment search is to walk in to the rental offices of buildings you want to live in and see what they had available. I guess we'll try some mixture of the two.

No problem. Good luck!!

[FloridaCoastalorbust]

My SO will probably be at Fordham in the Bronx. So I'm trying to find a spot that makes our commutes as easy as possible. Upper West Side seems to split the difference equitably. Any other suggestions?

[tk17]

My SO will probably be at Fordham in the Bronx. So I'm trying to find a spot that makes our commutes as easy as possible. Upper West Side seems to split the difference equitably. Any other suggestions?

UWS is much closer to NYU. Fordham is way up there. I'd look at something in West Harlem, off of the D if possible, if you want to be equitable. But UWS wouldn't be too bad.

[FloridaCoastalorbust]

My SO will probably be at Fordham in the Bronx. So I'm trying to find a spot that makes our commutes as easy as possible. Upper West Side seems to split the difference equitably. Any other suggestions?

UWS is much closer to NYU. Fordham is way up there. I'd look at something in West Harlem, off of the D if possible, if you want to be equitable. But UWS wouldn't be too bad.

Is driving for commuting completely out of the question in NYC? Not to NYU. But from UWS to Fordham, for example. Yea it's a bitch, but too big of one to be realistic?

[tk17]

My SO will probably be at Fordham in the Bronx. So I'm trying to find a spot that makes our commutes as easy as possible. Upper West Side seems to split the difference equitably. Any other suggestions?

UWS is much closer to NYU. Fordham is way up there. I'd look at something in West Harlem, off of the D if possible, if you want to be equitable. But UWS wouldn't be too bad.

Is driving for commuting completely out of the question in NYC? Not to NYU. But from UWS to Fordham, for example. Yea it's a bitch, but too big of one to be realistic?

But where are you going to park it? Not at Fordham, but at home?

Whenever I'm driving out of the city I hate my life until I get out. It's miserable. But lots of people commute via car. So it's not out of the question. Parking is going to be tough. Spaces are hard to come by (I personally have spent more than an hour looking for a space on a couple of occasions), and you have to pay attention to the alternate side parking/street sweeping days, which is often twice per week. Insurance is also through the roof for cars in Manhattan.

So it's possible, but I sure wouldn't want the hassle.

[ChemEng1642]

Arghh so I probably won't make it to NYU's ASW on Thursday until 5:30...is it too late at that point for Thursday or should I just go straight to Friday?

[mac665]

In response to everyone's thoughts about realtors/brokers, I have lived in NYC for 9 years and went to NYU undergrad as well. I have paid for on-campus housing as well as off-campus housing and have lived in 5 different apartments in the city and in Brooklyn, none of which were found through a realtor or broker.

Honestly, I've always found that the broker fee is too expensive and unnecessary. There are tons of great places to be found online. I do understand using a realtor/broker if you can't make it to the city in person and/or have limited time here, but other than that, I'm not sure it's a thing that has to happen.

If you're looking to live in Brooklyn, I definitely echo the recommendations for Clinton Hill, Bed-Stuy, Crown Heights and Fort Greene. I also love Prospect Heights, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace and Cobble Hill/Carroll Gardens. I live in Brooklyn now and will definitely stay here when I start at NYU.

I'm happy to give any more recommendations/thoughts if anyone needs any more help!

[mac665]

My SO will probably be at Fordham in the Bronx. So I'm trying to find a spot that makes our commutes as easy as possible. Upper West Side seems to split the difference equitably. Any other suggestions?

UWS is much closer to NYU. Fordham is way up there. I'd look at something in West Harlem, off of the D if possible, if you want to be equitable. But UWS wouldn't be too bad.

Yeah, if you want to be on the UWS, my fiance's family lives in Morningside Heights, up by Columbia, which is beautiful. You can get some decently priced housing (for NYC, anyway ) past 100th St along the A/C and B/D lines.

[phillywc]

Arghh so I probably won't make it to NYU's ASW on Thursday until 5:30...is it too late at that point for Thursday or should I just go straight to Friday?

for my asw last year, there was a bar review that you got to go to and that was helpful to kinda figure out the social scene of hte school

[Auxilio]

Just got my offer. Significantly less than I was hoping for if I am being honest.

PM for details.

[Four Winds]

Was offered zilch from NYU. Ouch.

[jemthey17]

Was offered zilch from NYU. Ouch.

Weren't you offered a Darrow? I'm surprised by this. Sorry.

[try.honesty]

Was offered zilch from NYU. Ouch.

Sorry about that

would you (/auxillo) mind sharing when your application for FA went into the final review stage?

[Auxilio]

Was offered zilch from NYU. Ouch.

Sorry about that

would you (/auxillo) mind sharing when your application for FA went into the final review stage?

It went into final review on February 22nd (although oddly it is now showing as final review March 2)