Looking to move to New York but im completely new to the area. (Crown Heights: real estate)
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A dream of mine has always been to move to New York. I've lived in Los Angeles my whole life and I want to start off fresh and new on the opposite side of the country. I have also heard New York City is really expensive. I am looking for at least a 2 bedroom and I know in the city that would cost an arm and leg. So I was thinking what about outside of the city.
Me being from LA I always got confused of the whole geography of New York. I understand there is NYC which includes the boroughs, so I had no idea of upstate New York. Forgive me to all those who are from New York. So my question is where is a good place to live that isn't NYC but still close? Or is it really worth it to live in NYC? I'm sorry I know my question is a little confusing, its just I want to live close to where all the action is, like Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens etc but not in it because it is too expensive.
Or on second note, I don't want to sound stereotypical either because I know people say LA is expensive as well but I know some good places to rent a house/apartment in a good area that isn't over the top expensive. So if there are areas in NYC that aren't too expensive please let me know, your answer would help me out so much. Thank you.
Right now, the Bronx is the best of the boroughs to find an affordable 2 BR apartment. I am assuming that price and amount of space are very important based on what you've stated in your post. Depending on what type of neighborhood you want to live in and whether you want to be close to Manhatan, the diversity of the Bronx might suit your needs. There are several threads on this blog that will provide you with lots of information about the many neighborhoods in the Bronx.
Queens also has a lot of areas that are not well-served by transit (buses only; no subways) and therefore those areas tend to be a lot less expensive than NYC areas that are near the subway. I suppose this would also apply to Staten Island too. One of the rules of real estate values in NYC is that areas near subways tend to be pricier. This is NOT a hard and fast rule, though.
I don't know Eastern Queens that well, but an area like Fresh Meadows might work. There are also areas of NJ that would be less expensive than NYC, but you'd still be able to travel into the city pretty easily. I don't know NJ well enough to recommend. There was just an article about Seacaucus in "The Hunt" column in the NY Times.
I also want to add that it's really impossible to give you any kind of decent advice without knowing how much per month you can spend on rent.
People will mention sections of Bronx and the Queens as being cheaper places to live than in Manhattan (obviously so). But in New Jersey, you have areas such as Jersey City that pose great transportation to New York City (such as the PATH Train or the Water Ferry); the area has continued to develop massively, with many condos and apartments being developed. A 2-bed room department might be good in that area; have heard stories of people moving into Jersey City for these reasons.
Coming from L.A., it must be hard to imagine how much NYC counts on public transportation. While you might end up living closest to a subway line, it's true that you can get better rental rates if you only live close to a bus line. The buses feed into the subway system, and you can transfer from one to another on the same ticket, one fare. So, as you begin to look around for neighborhoods to live, try to study the bus routes (google MTA, click bus) to see if they'll work for you, either for your entire commute or to be the first part of a commute.
Where I live, I can have a choice of 4 good subway lines but they require a 12 minute walk to the station. If, instead, I use a bus, I can choose between 2 bus lines and walk to either bus stop in just 2 minutes. My borough neighborhood of Crown Heights is called "transportation rich" by the powers-that-be in NYC, although that's really the only way it is "rich."
Since living here, I'm noticing how I'm starting to favor using the bus, so much that I now sometimes leave the subway early in order to transfer to finish up my ride home by bus. Total time spent commuting is longer when the bus is involved, because it stops every 2 blocks, but the ride itself is more pleasant.
Here are situations when I prefer the bus compared to subway: carrying packages, want to be online my whole way home, want to look out windows to see sunshine and architecture (daytime), better safety by shortening my distance to walk to home(very latenight). Basically, when I'm not in a hurry, I like the bus.
There are phone apps to predict exactly when a bus will arrive, so you can leave home to meet it exactly and not wait so long at bus stops. (Also true of subway trains.)
So if you find an apartment to consider that's got poor subway access but good bus service, don't dismiss it. It might be a way to save on rental.
The most important relationship will be where is your job located, relative to where you live. Find a job first, then study the transportation system (including bussing, as I've suggested), and get someplace to live that won't drive you nuts for the work commute. Or if the commute is long, figure you'll do what everyone here does: listen to podcasts, music or read e-books while you travel, to pass the time well.
If you live in one borough and work in another, you'll likely need to use subways for at least some part of your commute. Just see whether the last leg of your trip could happen by bus. That'll open up some choices for you when you choke on the costs of apartments located very close to the subway stations.
Last edited by BrightRabbit; 12-19-2015 at 07:36 PM..
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