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Having trouble finding short term furnished, full apartment sublets in fun neighborhoods for less than $2000, and I still have to pay rent at school over the summer. I know I could live somewhere cheaper, but know that I'm going to be living somewhere less fun/cheaper (such as upper west/upper east/brooklyn) when I'm working for real anyways, and want to live somewhere trendy/fun for the summer. Am I being really stupid to pay ~2700/mo in rent total for 3 months? It's only for a few months, but just so. much. money.

I say hell yes that is stupid, but I slept on an air mattress in my brother's living room my 2L summer so I probably don't value the same things you do. I would save my money until you first know for sure you have a job. Splurging this summer is not just a dumb decision financially, but it also could lead to you getting distracted and churning out poor quality work. You don't have the job yet.

If you are set on a trendy area, I would try and find a room sublet instead of a full apartment. You shouldn't be there all that much anyway (you should either be at work or out experiencing the city), so you really don't need all that space or privacy. Then you can have a base in a better area without having to pay too much.

You can't take it with you man. But on the flip side, even as a summer associate you will hardly be spending enough hours in your apartment to justify that much money. I would just go with unfurnished and buy some cheap furnishings if you are looking for a fun area at lower cost

Pretty sure all of the dorms that people posted are in fun areas (the NYU dorms are in the trendiest part of MFH, and a couple of the SVA dorms are incredibly close to Union Square). Live in one of those.

I will probably be subletting my Brooklyn Law School housing for the summer. It's something like 1300. PM me if interested - fully furnished, large, in a great area blocks from many subway lines.

keg411 wrote:Pretty sure all of the dorms that people posted are in fun areas (the NYU dorms are in the trendiest part of MFH, and a couple of the SVA dorms are incredibly close to Union Square). Live in one of those.

I lived in the SVA dorms on Gramercy. Ended up being around $2200/month, but it was solid and in a great area.

LOL at Brooklyn being less fun. Only a law student would be gunning to live in midtown/murray hill for the 'fun' aspect.

If your concern is money AND a fun area, then yes, you should be looking in Brooklyn. There are VERY few areas of manhattan that are worth the cost at this stage in your career.

Yes. Check out the NYU dorms or for a share.

Your neighborhood doesn't really matter, though, in NY. You're never really that far from anything.

gnuwheels wrote:LOL at Brooklyn being less fun. Only a law student would be gunning to live in midtown/murray hill for the 'fun' aspect.

If your concern is money AND a fun area, then yes, you should be looking in Brooklyn. There are VERY few areas of manhattan that are worth the cost at this stage in your career.

Egregious Brooklyn trolling

If you are looking for a place with comparable cost to Brooklyn, then yes, it doesn't make sense. Most of those places in Manhattan would be way uptown and even further from where most offices (plus fun parts of Manhattan) are.

But it's not crazy to think a few hundred extra/ month is worth being in walking distance to work or some of the great Manhattan neighborhoods. It's definitely a personal preference

Lwoods wrote:Yes. Check out the NYU dorms or for a share.

Your neighborhood doesn't really matter, though, in NY. You're never really that far from anything.

a5L wrote:

Lwoods wrote:Yes. Check out the NYU dorms or for a share.

Your neighborhood doesn't really matter, though, in NY. You're never really that far from anything.

?? Okay, so slight hyperbole on my part, but I lived in the village, the east village, Chinatown, Tribeca, financial district, Spanish Harlem, and the Bronx and have crashed with friends who live in Hells Kitchen, the LES, and UES/Yorkville. Admittedly, the Bronx was a hike for stuff I cared about, but every neighborhood has stuff within walking distance...even my neighborhood in the Bronx, even Spanish Harlem. The financial district and Tribeca probably had the least, but there was still more than people have in most other neighborhoods in other cities. Living on the UWS isn't going to be awful. He might consider the commute, though (the ease more so than the distance).

OP: Think about which subway line your work is on. If you're out late at firm events, you'll probably get cars home every night, but your morning commute will likely be via subway. That's probably where I'd start in terms of the neighborhood search. And I don't blame you for not looking into the boroughs; people on craisglist are misleading about what neighborhood they're actually in all the time, and there's greater variance in the quality of neighborhoods in Brooklyn & Queens. The ad might say Williamsburg, but the place is really more Bed-Stuy.

The NYU dorm thing: it has its pros and cons. If you can get a room, it's easy to get stuff locked up and you can trust your landlord; most are in nice areas, too. I'm not sure it's that inexpensive, really, and you may find yourself living with undergraduates. You also have to apply ASAP. They might already be filled for the summer.

Keep checking for sublets on craigslist. There are always actors leaving to work summer stock regional theater, students leaving for summer internships, etc. You do pay a little more per month for a furnished place short-term than you would for a year-long lease unfurnished, but I don't think you need to go nearly that high. Good luck!