NYC Big Law- where to live Forum

[GreenEggs]

To be UMC you have to be solidly top 10% in your region. Top 22% is flat middle class.

How is top 22% being solidly middle class?

[Hikikomorist]

To be UMC you have to be solidly top 10% in your region. Top 22% is flat middle class.

How is top 22% being solidly middle class?

It's a big umbrella in terms of percentage of the population.

[Mr. nobody]

Any advice for Les/east village? What would it cost for a one bedroom?

[Cellar-door]

Any advice for Les/east village? What would it cost for a one bedroom?

Depends where exactly, what size and what kind of building, but probably just under $2,000 at the low end, with plenty of places between that and $2,500.

Edit- Accidental Anon.

[El Pollito]

Don't forget dat Second Ave subway

lolol

[Danger Zone]

Don't forget dat Second Ave subway

lolol

Thaaank you, was starting to think no one ITT actually ever lived here

[Nebby]

Don't forget dat Second Ave subway

lolol

Thaaank you, was starting to think no one ITT actually ever lived here

I don't think they're ever going to finish the northward stations

[VyingDestiny]

Yes, but you can live in the 60's or 70's on 3rd or 2nd, be 2 blocks from the IRT and walking distance to most of the Midtown East firms. With the benefit of tons of supermarkets, schools, laundries, daycares, etc etc . . . all the stuff that Queens lacks. Brooklyn's primary advantages are (1) being able to say you live in Brooklyn (a not insignificant point, but not worth what it costs IMO) and (2) nightlife / dining, which is vastly more important to someone who is single, in their 20s, and/or not working 250 hours a month.

When you move to NYC for biglaw, by far the most important thing to focus on is livability. You won't have the time or the mindset to deal with bullshit, including rodents, bugs, piles of trash in the summer, long commutes, and no goddamn dry cleaner worth a damn within 3 blocks of your house. The fact that the latest and sweetest bar or restaurant is an Uber ride away wont even move the freakin' needle if you are married.

You're being dramatic. No one who lives in Brooklyn Heights suffers from a lack of dry cleaners, I can assure you. There aren't anymore rats, bugs, or trash in Brooklyn than the UES. Nor has anyone thought Brooklyn Heights or, really, Boerum/Cobble Hill are that hip, at least not for about a decade or so. They're all full of people in their 30s pushing strollers. I wonder whether you've actually spent any time in these Brooklyn neighborhoods or if you just have a chip on your shoulder.

A lot of people who say they don't like NYC just don't like living in Manhattan and for those people, I'd just say, don't rule out Brooklyn. It's a little greener, a little lower lying, and a little calmer.

I fully agree as a former resident of Brooklyn Heights that it is a dead ringer for the UES. However, it is the exception that proves the rule. There are many more rats, bugs, and trash in Brooklyn apartments / neighboorhoods (other than the small number of new condos, vastly more expensive than new apartments on the UES (or anywhere else north of 42nd street)), because the housing stock wasn't built to support what now inhabits it. Townhouses split into apartments; railroad flats repurposed as luxury rentals.

Then we get into the lack of schools and adequate day care compared to the UES, which is all academic (pun not intended) when you're pushing strollers but becomes a real issue when your kid graduates (pun again not intended) to walking. Better hope your kid is smart enough get into Packer or St. Ann's, or convince yourself that that new Montessori school is worth a damn.

Just saying the phrase "just don't like living in Manhattan" betrays someone who basically has no knowledge of New York. "Manhattan" includes the condos on 6th in the 30s; it also includes the side streets of Carnegie Hill or the West Village.

I don't really care about whether or not people "like" Brooklyn more. I certainly would, all other things being equal. But other things are decidedly not equal if you work in a midtown firm. Uptown Manhattan offers better value, a shorter commute, better amenities. It facilitates you doing well at your work, which is the point of going to work at a NY biglaw firm in the first place. I get frustrated because I see non-native 20-somethings with no real NYC experience advising other 20-somethings in a way that will put hurdles in place for their job. It's not right that natives get a huge leg up because they don't make stupid living decisions guided by people whose NY experience is like the Florida Gator offense - 3 and out.

The level of self-righteous egoism in this post is mind-boggling. You have one perspective. You do not have the only perspective. Do you really lack the self-awareness to know that lifestyle values can be weighed differently by different people? Uptown Manhattan will offer a better commute, but "better value" and "better amenities" is entirely debatable. Please stop attempting to inflate the importance of your opinion by attaching the irrelevant title of "native NY-er" to your posts.

[Mr. nobody]

Any advice for Les/east village? What would it cost for a one bedroom?

Depends where exactly, what size and what kind of building, but probably just under $2,000 at the low end, with plenty of places between that and $2,500.

Edit- Accidental Anon.

isnt that a little low? id rather not live in alphabet city

[bretby]

Queens near the river is expensive as shit. Going into Astoria only drops the price slightly from riverfront LIC. You don't want to be any further out in Queens than LIC/Astoria if you want a reasonable commute (and to still live in the city). I guess you could consider Ditmars, the N could take you straight to work from there.

Disagree about LIC/Astoria - I think Sunnyside is a great neighborhood and just as convenient as Astoria, but cheaper and cleaner.

[Anonymous User]

Could someone please confirm that it truly takes 45 minutes to 1 hour to get from 77 hudson st in JC to Grand Central?

[Danger Zone]

Queens near the river is expensive as shit. Going into Astoria only drops the price slightly from riverfront LIC. You don't want to be any further out in Queens than LIC/Astoria if you want a reasonable commute (and to still live in the city). I guess you could consider Ditmars, the N could take you straight to work from there.

Disagree about LIC/Astoria - I think Sunnyside is a great neighborhood and just as convenient as Astoria, but cheaper and cleaner.

And a way worse commute.

[Danger Zone]

Could someone please confirm that it truly takes 45 minutes to 1 hour to get from 77 hudson st in JC to Grand Central?

We already did.

[dixiecupdrinking]

Queens near the river is expensive as shit. Going into Astoria only drops the price slightly from riverfront LIC. You don't want to be any further out in Queens than LIC/Astoria if you want a reasonable commute (and to still live in the city). I guess you could consider Ditmars, the N could take you straight to work from there.

Disagree about LIC/Astoria - I think Sunnyside is a great neighborhood and just as convenient as Astoria, but cheaper and cleaner.

And a way worse commute.

Depends where you're going. If your firm is near 42nd Street it's basically indistinguishable, although the 7 can suck.

[bretby]

Queens near the river is expensive as shit. Going into Astoria only drops the price slightly from riverfront LIC. You don't want to be any further out in Queens than LIC/Astoria if you want a reasonable commute (and to still live in the city). I guess you could consider Ditmars, the N could take you straight to work from there.

Disagree about LIC/Astoria - I think Sunnyside is a great neighborhood and just as convenient as Astoria, but cheaper and cleaner.

And a way worse commute.

Depends where you're going. If your firm is near 42nd Street it's basically indistinguishable, although the 7 can suck.

Just as convenient in my experience as Astoria - you just switch to the N/R at Queensboro Plaza.

[1styearlateral]

Could someone please confirm that it truly takes 45 minutes to 1 hour to get from 77 hudson st in JC to Grand Central?

Yes.

[Wearthewildthingsr]

if my firms in fidi, would you recommend living in fidi, brooklyn, village or UES? I honestly have no clue where to start.

I also don't want to live in Jersey so that's out.

[Nebby]

if my firms in fidi, would you recommend living in fidi, brooklyn, village or UES? I honestly have no clue where to start.

I also don't want to live in Jersey so that's out.

All sound good except UES. You could live on the UWS though and catch the 2/3 at 72nd. It's a ~25 minute ride to fidi and may be a little less expensive

[Anonymous User]

What can I expect to pay to live in FiDi? It would be nice to have something safe and clean, but I'm not picky beyond that. I don't care if it's a fun/cool place.

[Nebby]

What can I expect to pay to live in FiDi? It would be nice to have something safe and clean, but I'm not picky beyond that. I don't care if it's a fun/cool place.

Craigslist and Padmapper will answer this for you