Strategies for making Manhattan affordable (apartment, rent, condo)

[MikeNigh]

Some idea's I've had are...

1. buying property / investments outside of NYC where the cost vs rent profit is higher and have someone else manage it.
2. buying a "cheap" tiny studio and living in it until it's paid for then buy a second place and use the rent to pay for my maintenance fees. Also I would expect the value of the condo to increase significantly.
3. buy a 2 bedroom where I can even get accepted for the loan and then rent the second bedroom to help pay off mortgage and maintenance fees.
4. just buy a hdfc where i am barely under the income restriction.

[bachelor_g_u_y]

I think all these ideas are great. That is what I am looking to do.

Once I can live in NY with no stress to pay a lot of rent per month I think it will be all good

[texan2yankee]

We lived in Manhattan for years until recently. I found the following helped us make the city more affordable:

Eat, drink and entertain at home.
Shop for food in Chinatown.
Experience opportunities for low cost/no cost entertainment. There are tons of free/very low cost things to choose from every day of the week from art to museums to plays to opera.
Walk everywhere for exercise instead of joining a gym.
Craigslist can be a great source for everything from free goods to last minute cheap tickets.
Be a hair model for free haircuts.
Check out the thrifts. They have great deals on clothes, furniture, dishes, etc. I furnished my apartment years ago with beautiful furniture for very little money.


Our apartment rent was high, no doubt housing is the biggest nut in Manhattan. We had a beautiful, quiet apartment. We did not go cheap with our refuge as I found that, more than anything else, being comfortable in our apartment was crucial to our well being overall.