Moving to NYC -- how much should I expect to spend on apt? Forum

[hds2388]

I'm moving to NYC after I graduate to begin working for a firm. I'll be making standard big law money in NYC, and my significant other will be coming along as well (she will be making roughly 70k in her field). We are looking at 1BRs+ the UWS, the Village (and West Village), Chelsea, and Brooklyn (Park Slope and Brooklyn Heights). I am hoping we can find a building with doorman, gym, etc. (trying to avoid a walkup).

How much should I be spending, and what kind of floor is there in this price range? (obviously there is very high ceiling). I've been looking around, but its hard to get a sense of the going rates without seeing things in person. Really just looking for people who know this process. Thanks to all with NYC experience.

[swc65]

It seems you're lookig for more than a hole I the wall. In those areas I would estimate 3-4k since you're looking for a 'luxury' building, at least what nyc calls luxury. If you're working in midtown/fidi why not try jersey on the path? Half as much in rent and you'd save 6k/year in NYC income taxes.

[hds2388]

It seems you're lookig for more than a hole I the wall. In those areas I would estimate 3-4k since you're looking for a 'luxury' building, at least what nyc calls luxury. If you're working in midtown/fidi why not try jersey on the path? Half as much in rent and you'd save 6k/year in NYC income taxes.

It's not a bad idea, but my s/o is in a field where proximity to work matters and her best job opps will be in manhattan/brooklyn. Also, really want to minimize my commute.

[Bronck]

a 1BR in a nice neighborhood with a doorman? That's going to be pricey, but with dual income it should be doable. The above poster is right, you'd be looking at a floor of 3-4k+.



Above image for NY Curbed: http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2012/12/1 ... y_much.php

Your firm probably has a suggested broker and may even pay the fee. If not, many people get apartments through brokers, and it can cost something like 10% of the year's rent.

ETA: FWIW, here's a somewhat older breakdown of mean rent differences between doorman and non-doorman buildings

[volsi]

Move to Queens off the N or the 7. There are plenty of nice buildings, you can get to Manhattan within about 20 minutes as long as you don't go too far out, and its really affordable. Astoria has great bars and restaurants. If you're willing to not have a doorman the price really comes down. No doorman /= Walkup.
It's not glamorous, and its not what your fellow associates will be doing. But as a native NYer I can tell you that spending 3k a month more just because you're afraid to cross a body of water (not saying this is you, but this applies to many) is a bad decision.
Don't discount the PATH as an earlier poster said - it gets you right into the city.

Also consider:
Cobble Hill (if your office is downtown)
Prospect Heights
Sunnyside

[hds2388]

a 1BR in a nice neighborhood with a doorman? That's going to be pricey, but with dual income it should be doable. The above poster is right, you'd be looking at a floor of 3-4k+.



Above image for NY Curbed: http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2012/12/1 ... y_much.php

Your firm probably has a suggested broker and may even pay the fee. If not, many people get apartments through brokers, and it can cost something like 10% of the year's rent.

ETA: FWIW, here's a somewhat older breakdown of mean rent differences between doorman and non-doorman buildings

Thanks, so much, for this. SUPER helpful. I think I want to cap what we at about 3k/month if I can (gotta pay back those loans at some point). It seems possible in some of these neighborhoods.

[hds2388]

Move to Queens off the N or the 7. There are plenty of nice buildings, you can get to Manhattan within about 20 minutes as long as you don't go too far out, and its really affordable. Astoria has great bars and restaurants. If you're willing to not have a doorman the price really comes down. No doorman /= Walkup.
It's not glamorous, and its not what your fellow associates will be doing. But as a native NYer I can tell you that spending 3k a month more just because you're afraid to cross a body of water (not saying this is you, but this applies to many) is a bad decision.
Don't discount the PATH as an earlier poster said - it gets you right into the city.

Also consider:
Cobble Hill (if your office is downtown)
Prospect Heights
Sunnyside

Thanks for this, also!

I lived in Cobble Hill this summer (LOVED IT!) and am also considering prospect heights. Really, I'm considering anywhere in brooklyn that is: (a) on the D or F, and (b) reasonably fun. My firm is midtown/midtown west (in the 50s on 6th-7th), and so I am actually leaning brooklyn because it is just WAY more my style.

I do love astoria, and would gladly live there. My issue with having a doorman, gym in building, etc. is it will provide me some needed conveniences (like dry cleaning, packages, etc.) that will make the long hours slightly more tolerable.

[Bronck]

Thanks, so much, for this. SUPER helpful. I think I want to cap what we at about 3k/month if I can (gotta pay back those loans at some point). It seems possible in some of these neighborhoods.

Sorry about one of the charts above, it was for a 2BR. Here's a breakdown for 1BR doorman v. non-doorman:

[Tiago Splitter]

Financial District has what you are looking for. Easy access to Brooklyn and Midtown, and newer buildings with gyms.

[Pokemon]

Move to Queens off the N or the 7. There are plenty of nice buildings, you can get to Manhattan within about 20 minutes as long as you don't go too far out, and its really affordable. Astoria has great bars and restaurants. If you're willing to not have a doorman the price really comes down. No doorman /= Walkup.
It's not glamorous, and its not what your fellow associates will be doing. But as a native NYer I can tell you that spending 3k a month more just because you're afraid to cross a body of water (not saying this is you, but this applies to many) is a bad decision.
Don't discount the PATH as an earlier poster said - it gets you right into the city.

Also consider:
Cobble Hill (if your office is downtown)
Prospect Heights
Sunnyside

Thanks for this, also!

I lived in Cobble Hill this summer (LOVED IT!) and am also considering prospect heights. Really, I'm considering anywhere in brooklyn that is: (a) on the D or F, and (b) reasonably fun. My firm is midtown/midtown west (in the 50s on 6th-7th), and so I am actually leaning brooklyn because it is just WAY more my style.

I do love astoria, and would gladly live there. My issue with having a doorman, gym in building, etc. is it will provide me some needed conveniences (like dry cleaning, packages, etc.) that will make the long hours slightly more tolerable.

Midtown is much easier to reach from Queens/Astoria than Brooklyn. I cannot imagine there being no luxury buildings in the area with gym and the other conveniences you want. Also, some of my friends live in Roosevelt Island; it has a lot of luxury places without the expense of Manhattan.

[piccolittle]

Move to Queens off the N or the 7. There are plenty of nice buildings, you can get to Manhattan within about 20 minutes as long as you don't go too far out, and its really affordable. Astoria has great bars and restaurants. If you're willing to not have a doorman the price really comes down. No doorman /= Walkup.
It's not glamorous, and its not what your fellow associates will be doing. But as a native NYer I can tell you that spending 3k a month more just because you're afraid to cross a body of water (not saying this is you, but this applies to many) is a bad decision.
Don't discount the PATH as an earlier poster said - it gets you right into the city.

Also consider:
Cobble Hill (if your office is downtown)
Prospect Heights
Sunnyside

Thanks for this, also!

I lived in Cobble Hill this summer (LOVED IT!) and am also considering prospect heights. Really, I'm considering anywhere in brooklyn that is: (a) on the D or F, and (b) reasonably fun. My firm is midtown/midtown west (in the 50s on 6th-7th), and so I am actually leaning brooklyn because it is just WAY more my style.

I do love astoria, and would gladly live there. My issue with having a doorman, gym in building, etc. is it will provide me some needed conveniences (like dry cleaning, packages, etc.) that will make the long hours slightly more tolerable.

Midtown is much easier to reach from Queens/Astoria than Brooklyn. I cannot imagine there being no luxury buildings in the area with gym and the other conveniences you want. Also, some of my friends live in Roosevelt Island; it has a lot of luxury places without the expense of Manhattan.

Plus you get to take a cable car to work.

[volsi]

I do love astoria, and would gladly live there. My issue with having a doorman, gym in building, etc. is it will provide me some needed conveniences (like dry cleaning, packages, etc.) that will make the long hours slightly more tolerable.

Why not just join a gym by work? I really enjoyed having an Equinox membership while being a SA.

[Theopliske8711]

Astoria = great gyms and/or boxing/muay thai places. I recommend the latter.

[volsi]

Midtown is much easier to reach from Queens/Astoria than Brooklyn. I cannot imagine there being no luxury buildings in the area with gym and the other conveniences you want. Also, some of my friends live in Roosevelt Island; it has a lot of luxury places without the expense of Manhattan.

Plus you get to take a cable car to work.

The luxury RI places are nice. My best friend lives in the non-luxury RI buildings and it's a totally different world. RI is very segregated income-level-wise right now, so you have yuppies in the high rises and also that dude that has no legs and wheels himself around the island on a gurney while screaming at people. He's usually by the subway stop and not the tram station, though.

[hds2388]

All these ideas are good! Thanks everyone. Hadn't even considered RI.

The reason for the gym choice is that having one at home saves me the trouble of packing a bag. It's not make or break and there's an NYSC and equinox nearby to my law firm. I just prefer the at home deal.

[bld17]

Where do you find listings for non-doorman buildings? Online it seems like it only shows doorman buildings.

[moonman157]

tag

[ManOfTheMinute]

Harlem. Super cheap, lots of money left to pay back your loans

[JamMasterJ]

I don't know how to search explicitly non-doorman, but a decent proportion of street easy doesn't have them/are significantly below the neighborhood average price.

[JamMasterJ]

Harlem. Super cheap, lots of money left to pay back your loans

working that much and wasting that kind of time on the commute sounds like a bad idea, especially if OP's firm is in the FiDi

[anonymcoffee]

brother and his SO live in Astoria by the subway and work in Manhattan - Astoria is the place to be, it truly feels like Manhattan, is affordable, and less touristy haha. The city is big as is so unless you're living a few blocks down from work you'll still have a commute - you can commute and at the same time save money and get all amenities you're looking for. Also consider space, I know you're worried about doorman and building, but 1BR for one price will be a different size in the city vs. out of the city

[kryptix]

For 3k you can be in a luxury building in LIC 1 stop away from Manhattan (and only like $20 by cab when you need that)... Depends on where you work. If you work in the Financial District, the PATH from Jersey City will get you there in 20 minutes and you save thousands in rent and taxes, your monthly rent will be ~$2000-2500 for a 1 bedroom and Jersey tax is ~5% lower when you count both city and state tax.

I'm actually considering a move from Flushing to Jersey City post graduation (Flushing 2 Bedroom with doorman no gym you can get for ~$1800 per month but its a long commute, perks are that dinner will cost you $6 at the Chinese places for a nice meal).

[starrydreamz3]

Financial District has what you are looking for. Easy access to Brooklyn and Midtown, and newer buildings with gyms.

TITCR - look at 2 Gold Street they're going to be pretty empty since Hurricane Sandy and it's one of the nicest buildings around (while still being affordable). Also it's right next to Fulton Street subway station so you have like 5 subway lines within walking distance.

[Total Litigator]

I would also guess that the average rent for an apartment building with a doorman in NY is skewed upwards by some extreme outliers.

[nealric]

For the love of GD don't blow money on a doorman as a first year. Should be able to get a nice 1.5 bedroom in a prospect heights brownstone for less than 2500. Only thig a doorman is really good for is accepting packages - have your packages sent to work.