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I am a recent YOUNG 20 something college grad (female) who has had my heart set on living in a city. I could throw up the next time someone tells me it's not like Sex and the City. I KNOW! HOWEVER: College was the best times of my life and I'm not ready to settle down. ANTI: marriage, families, kids, babies, old people. I am aware of the "real world," working and that LIFE IS NOT COLLEGE. But I just cannot seem content with moving anywhere bc I have these ideas of what it may be like to live in NYC, Chicago, Boston, San Fran etc. I am moving by myself (no family/friends/significant other), seeking an entry-level position w/ a bachelor's degree looking for career opportunity, vibrant social scene/entertainment, nightlife... meeting young professionals like me, making new friends etc. What are the realities of these in NYC and cities alike??? Considering what I just mentioned with transportation, cost of living, safety----
Any stories, similar experiences, advice/suggestions???
Am I dreaming up a fantasy? Or should I settle for the 'burbs because life is life no matter where you live.
Yes, you ARE dreaming a fantasy. If you have an entry level position, you'll be lucky to find roommates and will be grateful to just do your job and go home at the end of the day. Want to party? It'd better be on someone else's dime, because you won't get paid enough to pay for it.
If you have an existing social network (high school or college friends) who are willing to room with you it will be easier. However, I'm sure it can be done without. Checkout the shares section on craigslist for rents. Good luck NYC is a ***** lover.
Controversially, I reckon NYC is about the best city in America to be young, poor and naive. After all, you don't need a car, which saves money. There are lots of free things to do, great museums, superb restaurants (not all of them expensive) and the world's best arts scene. You won't mind living in a cockroach-infested room in a house run by a crazy central European lady. You will hate your job and otherwise have a great time.
When you start thinking about having kids, move to the burbs.
does anyone have any previous experience with moving/finding a job? My parents and I are having issues on how to interview etc. in a city that is hundreds of miles away. Finding an apt. without a job, $$$, seems dangerous.... Find a job then move? or move and then find a job?
does anyone have any previous experience with moving/finding a job? My parents and I are having issues on how to interview etc. in a city that is hundreds of miles away. Finding an apt. without a job, $$$, seems dangerous.... Find a job then move? or move and then find a job?
Be realistic & look at the economic reality of 2007. NYC is obscenly expensive. Housing prices & rents in NYC (and the surrounding suburbs) to quote what someone said on the CT board about So Cals prices are so absurd that they are silly. Not to mention the hoops you have to jump thru (and the amount of cash you need upfront to rent an apartment).
It is probably the best market for Landlords, Real Estate Brokers, & Co-Op boards in the last 100 years. Every apartment that has a vacancy has many people competing. The housing bubble is alive and well here, but there is a rent bubble as well despite record construction. It will be very difficult to find an apartment anywhere in the 5 boros of NYC or even on Long Island or NJ if you are not making at least 45 times the monthly rent & have a FICO score in the mid 700's
Many native NY'ers are moving OUT of NYC because of the cost of living but also because of the disney like self absorbed atmoshpere which is like Las Vegas or LA but with ugly scenery & bad weather.
If you are like all these uber trendy entitled well off 20 somethings that you find in most of Manhattan (and Brooklyn and Queens as well) and have a six figure wall street job offer set up, and parents who will happily use their connections to get you a job & an apartment (as well as pay off the Broker & Landlord) then by all means come to NYC. You will have the time of your life. Life will be one big party filled with drinking, cocaine & meth use, spending thousands a month on designer clothes & shoes, and living in this bubble.
You can find what you are looking for in virtually every major US city. Find an area where you will make some good money, have a high quality of life at home, and housing is worth the price.
Houston? Dallas? Atlanta?
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