Moving to Manhattan for residency, looking for safe neighborhood/affordable (New York: apartments, to rent)
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I will be moving to Manhattan to start residency at Mount Sinai in July. I am going to be applying for the subsidized staff housing that they have this week and will list enough choices that they said I will probably get it. I have a couple of questions. First, can you help me rank these choices in terms of neighborhood safety? That is my #1 priority
306 E. 96th street: studio, $1600/mo, 13 minute walk
333 E. 93rd street: studio, $1250/mo, 17 minute walk
1740 Second Avenue: studio, $1250/mo, 17 minute walk
1245 Park Avenue: studio, $1600/mo, 4 minute walk
1249 Park Avenue: studio, $1450/mo, 3 minute walk
3 East 101st street: $1575/mo, 4 minute walk
From what I understand, the medical school is in upper carnegie hill which is north of the Upper East Side, but it directly abuts part of Harlem. 3 East 101st street appears to be in Harlem itself, so I thought safety might be an issue at this address. I would like the apartment to be in a place where I feel safe walking to/ from the hospital at odd hours, as well as walking around the neighborhood. It could be as late as 1:00 am when I'm leaving the hospital or as early as 4:30 am when I'm going to it. All the addresses above EXCEPT for 1740 second have a doorman, and I assume that having a doorman adds to safety? I google map'd the addresses and the farthest one is a 16 minute walk. Another one is 12 minutes and I believe the other ones are within a 5 minute walk of the hospital. It would be nice if the neighborhood had some amenities and it wasn't entirely residential, but it appears that all of the addresses above fit that criteria.
My second question is regarding affordability. I will be there for four years and my salary starting out will be approximately $56k and will probably increase at the rate of inflation for the three subsequent years. I'm unfamiliar with how much I would need to budget for utilities (heat or ac, digital cable, internet, no phone because I'll use my cell) and food in NYC. For transportation I'll just get an unlimited monthly pass for $104 a month. Can I afford to live in one of the subsidized studios if I get one? According to a quick calculation on an online tax website, I'll net about $40k after all the taxes. I'm a single guy with no kids so that helps I suppose. $1600 a month is the most expensive one and so that's $19,200 a year in rent. I'm postponing my $135k in student loans but I still want to try to keep my $135k in student loan debt from growing too much due to interest, so I'd like to pay $3600 a year to keep the total under $55,000. So I've spent $22,800 so far. Add the subway and that's $1250 a year, so $24,050 spent so far. By my math, that leaves me approximately $16,000 to spend on utilities, food, and entertainment. So it seems affordable, but am I missing anything? I didn't budget in saving because I don't plan on doing any saving. Maybe if I have money left over at the end of the year I will, but there's plenty of time for that afterward. The apartments seem like they are subsidized quite a bit, because I couldn't find anything on Craigslist within walking distance of the hospital that were this cheap. Most comparable studios seem to rent for $2400+. Thanks so much for any help you can give.
Id live at 1245 or 1249 park (96th)- close and a real neighborhood. Doesnt get sketchy until 99th/100th. You can walk west on 96th then north on 5th/madison to avoid the projects.
3 E 101 is attractive too for the pak closeness though i would figure out where the closest grocery store is.
You wont need a monthly metrocard (its $112 now) if you live within walking distance. Just pay per ride when you lv the neighborhood on your free time.
I don't think that I would have too much of an issue with any of the apartments listed, most are on the UES, and the one on 101st is at 5th Avenue, so the neighborhood is a bit different than areas to the east. Mount Sinai helps to stabilize the area. If you get one of the $1250 studios, that would allow you to put the $350 toward other items in your budget.
One point, however, Carnegie Hill is a neighborhood that straddles the UES and East Harlem. Mount Sinai is toward the northern end of the Carnegie Hill neighborhood, but it is in East Harlem. Anything north of 96th is East Harlem, and while it makes no difference for you in terms of schools or whatnot, the police precincts do change at 96th, and there are more challenges with respect to providing police services in East Harlem than on the UES, such that there is better response to minor annoyances, such as noise complaints, on the UES.
Generally, services and conveniences are not too far away on the UES, even in Yorkville, but in East Harlem, you may have more of a trek for restaurants, cleaners, shops, etc.
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Most landlords will want your income to be at least 40x the rent, which for a $1,600 apartment would be $64k. You might have to consider looking into parts of Brooklyn or further out. You might be able to pull off a $1250 studio but you're going to be facing a lot of competition for it.
I don't know much about that neighborhood, but in general I recommend living as close as possible. Given your hours, and the unreliability of public transportation at when you'll be traveling, it's best to have a quick walk and not have to worry about anything. So I would choose the ones on your list with the three or four minute walks.
You may be a bit pressed for cash, but it's not forever. If you look for cheaper rent you'll be way out in Brooklyn or Queens or the Bronx, and that won't be convenient at all. So just take the subsidized housing, and stay as close as possible. That's my advice.
For $3300 I can live across the river in one of Weehawken newly built apt and rent for $2k and get the best view of NYC. NYC does not have a good view of itself. The commute by ferry to NYC is only 10mins and you don't have to pay NY income taxes.
For $3300 I can live across the river in one of Weehawken newly built apt and rent for $2k and get the best view of NYC. NYC does not have a good view of itself. The commute by ferry to NYC is only 10mins and you don't have to pay NY income taxes.
If you don't mind taking the tax hit for living in Jersey and working in New York. Better off getting a place in Astoria, Green Point or Park Slope.
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