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Yankees stadium is located in one of the least desirable places to live in all of NYC (other than Staten Island). I lived in the Bronx for a little while, and it wasn't so bad, but generally speaking, it's the last place most people look to rent. Especially that part of the Bronx. So rents there are cheap.

There are other places where you can find nice places with affordable rents. Washington Heights in Manhattan, or Bushwick in Brooklyn are other neighborhoods where you'll find lower rents and more space, plus better location than the South Bronx.

Affordable places are out there, you just need to look diligently, and when something pops up, jump on it. Good deals often aren't around for more than a couple hours.

$1200 for a two bedroom? Either you are going to be far from the City, in a shitty neighborhood, or in a dump. By a shitty neighborhood I mean dangerous, smelly and far from the subway.

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He heh, that's what I figured. I saw that alot of the roughly $1300 places were around Morningside Heights, etc. There were a few studios/1 bedrooms around Upper West Side and supposedly Upper East Side around that price too. One that fucking blew me away were these shitty studios in the St. Mark's area for $1100 whereby you share a bathroom with 6 other units! What the hell!?

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Man, I can tell you, NYC renting game is brutal. Craigslist is FULL of lies, do not believe anything you read. There was a great NYTimes article a few months ago about how people get hoaxed and bullied through Craigslist. Cleaning up NYC real estate page is Craig's top priority, that's how scammy it is.

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if it sounds too good to be true... then it probably is! if you want to live downtown somewhere hip, expect to pay no less then $1500 and find a roomate.

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I actually saw an article today about Craigslist listings in NYC. I can go to $1500 but hope not to. I don't mind a nice little studio, as my wife (another reason why I wouldn't really live with roommates) and I are both active and don't spend much time at home.

Can I get a decent studio downtown for less than/around $1300?

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England, I love me some NYC real estate so lets go:

The rental game here can be brutal, especially if your trying to find a new place from out of town. That said, I feel like people are blowing things a bit out of proportion here. You can still rent one and two bedroom apts in safe neighborhoods for between 900 and 1300 bucks a month. I'm not saying it's easy, but with some research, effort and footwork, it can be done.

The south Bronx is by no means one of the least desireable places to live in NYC. I lived there when i was 17. First place on my own. Then it was still pretty grimey, but now (esp. with the new yankee stadium project) more artists and Urban professionals (you) are moving up there. The apts are large and spacious in nice old pre-war buildings. All up and down the concourse from 149 to the 170's is really nice. And rushour, its literally 15-25 minutes to grandcentral.

Astoria is amazing...I'm not gonna blow it up anymore than that. 20-45 minutes to most of manhattan and south BKlyn.

I agree with Gnar on the heights (morningside, hamilton, and washington) again, you can find good deals here still. morningside is pricier, but a bit more convenient and safe.

Fuck Bushwick...yeah I said it. I have nothing against it as a neighborhood, but people need to hop off it's dick. Yeah it's cheap, yeah it's great for raw spaces and young artists, but it's only convenient if by "convenient" you mean close to bedford ave and the LES. Anywhere else and your kidding yourself. Its dirty, it aint "safe", and there are people who have been living there for years who hate you. The rising tide of obnoxious kids straight out of the easts finest liberal arts and arts schools who don't understand the dynamics of a traditional neighborhood are partly to blame for this.

Crown heights is nice...but alot better for brownstones than Apts.

China town is grimey, and alot of people say it "smells too much" for them to live there. but it is basically the LES and can be had for a couple hundred cheaper a month.

I could go on...but PM me if you got any specific questions.

If you can afford it, use a broker. It is often a good way to sort through the bullshit ans find yourself a nice place that will turn out to be a better long term deal well worth the finders fee.

Easy

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Definitely not trying to be negative, but that might be kind of a tall order... I found myself in the same position about 5 months ago, hoping to land a studio in a nice neighborhood for around that price. Hopefully you will succeed where others failed, but many of the Craig's list ads are of the "bait and switch" - also make sure you calculate broker's fees into your equation, because that can also kill you. I ended up paying 2 G's a month for a studio in a REALLY nice building with no broker's fees... I could have gotten into another place for $1750/ month, but with the brokers fees it would have actually been more expensive overall. Best of luck!

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Holy shit man, $2000 for a studio.....aarghh! That is nuts. Thanks for the tips; seems like it will involve alot of research.

RAISED BY WOLVES -

Thanks man, that was an extremely informative post. Darkanimal also recommended Astoria for the price/quality. I guess I wouldn't weigh out the Bronx either. The only thing I worry about is that I don't really know how long I might be there (could only be a year, or it could be 5) so I want to make sure I am getting the "maximum" living experience. If that means having to pay a little extra I guess I wouldn't mind. I just want to be somewhere very safe where I preferably don't have to commute alot (I actually don't mind this if where I live there are lots of restaurants/bars within walking distance). Then again, at the price I am hoping to spend I know it will be harder.

I think the best thing to do, as was mentioned in other posts I read is to just get a broker so at least I know things are legit. Do you know of any good ones? What type of fees are we looking at for them? I actually would also consider buying in the $400,000 range (I only want to spend $1300 on rent because I am a cheap fuck; I can afford more if it means I can own :P ) but I will be damned if every listing I looked at in NYC didn't have a $500-700 "maintenance" fee on top of the monthly mortgage payment......jesus. I will definitely PM you if I do end up making the move.

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england-

there are very few neighborhoods within reasonable commuting distance of manhattan that are truly unsafe. The violent crime rate in New York is really really low for a city this size. So, you can live in whatever "sketchy" neighborhood you want and probably not worry about it too much. Then again, that doesn't mean you'll *feel* safe but that all depends on what you're used to.

As far as getting a deal- it's all a matter of legwork, but it's going to be exceedingly difficult if you are not actually here. You can definitely find a decent studio/1BR in the $1000-$1300 range. Much less than that is possible, but definitely a stretch and requires a lot of patience and an itchy trigger finger.

If you're looking for "maximum living experience", location is really going to matter and is worth paying for in my opinion. Be it a commuting to work consideration or just a happening neighborhood with good food and bars, you really should think about that. I mean, you can get a great deal and plenty of space in safe neighborhoods like Kensington, Brooklyn or Forest Hills, Queens, but you'll never want to be there.

For me, I'm willing to pony up for a convenient and fun location and amenities. The wife and I are paying $2200 for a nice 2BR in hipsterville. Compared to what I see other people getting around here now for the same price or more, I think it's a great deal.

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The south Bronx is by no means one of the least desireable places to live in NYC. I lived there when i was 17. First place on my own. Then it was still pretty grimey, but now (esp. with the new yankee stadium project) more artists and Urban professionals (you) are moving up there. The apts are large and spacious in nice old pre-war buildings. All up and down the concourse from 149 to the 170's is really nice. And rushour, its literally 15-25 minutes to grandcentral.

Astoria is amazing...I'm not gonna blow it up anymore than that. 20-45 minutes to most of manhattan and south BKlyn.

I agree with Gnar on the heights (morningside, hamilton, and washington) again, you can find good deals here still. morningside is pricier, but a bit more convenient and safe.

Fuck Bushwick...yeah I said it. I have nothing against it as a neighborhood, but people need to hop off it's dick. Yeah it's cheap, yeah it's great for raw spaces and young artists, but it's only convenient if by "convenient" you mean close to bedford ave and the LES. Anywhere else and your kidding yourself. Its dirty, it aint "safe", and there are people who have been living there for years who hate you. The rising tide of obnoxious kids straight out of the easts finest liberal arts and arts schools who don't understand the dynamics of a traditional neighborhood are partly to blame for this.

yeah man you know what's up.

edit. basically, stay out of brooklyn and most of manhattan save the heights. there are parts of the bronx that i would like to move to post college myself, like little italy, kingsbridge, woodlawn, etc. parts of wakefield are on the up as well.

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mwrenchd - Thanks man. Yeah, I hate to beat a dead horse about the "safe" thing. I don't fear my personal safety at all, so I would live anywhere. It is really my wife coming and going all the time that I think about. I am certainly an over-worrying guy. Too much Law & Order maybe? He heh.

It is good to know that most places are safe. I know that afterall, it is a damn busy city, and there are always people around. I guess I shouldn't even comment since it would only be a concern were I looking for a $500 a month place in the heart of a ghetto. It is also good to know that there should be decent places in my price range. $2200 is pretty damn good for a 2-bedroom. I have friends in San Jose who pay the same price. Actually, rents "seem" to be pretty similar between the Bay Area and NYC although according to "cost of living" calculators, rents are 40% higher in NYC. Maybe I am being fooled by Craigslist listings (which are alas, the extent of my knowledge). I am sure when I visit my brother in NYC in a couple of weeks I will get a better feel for things. Right now I am basically blind to how things work over there. Last time I visited was about 5 years ago.

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in my opinion, downtown manhattan (below 14th st) and parts of brooklyn are the areas where you’ll want to spend most of your time. i am by no means saying that there aren’t a lot of great things to experience in other areas, but if you’re going to only be in new york for a short time, these are the areas that you’ll being heading to a lot of the time. just look at the ‘hoods mapped by sf and you’ll see, in general, what the most sought after areas are.

everyone seems to have different opinions concerning brokers. some people claim that they are necessary and will tell you to suck it up and deal with the fees. i personally think that it’s extortion. i was able to find my last apartment and the one i’m in now without a broker. speaking of fees, expect to pay first and last months rent, a security deposit, credit check/application fee, and 15% broker’s fee when you sign.

also, spend some time understanding the “real†boundaries between neighborhoods. not that the name of a ‘hood really makes the difference, but brokers will waste your time trying to sell bushwick as east williamsburg, and tell you that an apartment is in clinton hill when it’s really in bed-stuy.

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The south Bronx is by no means one of the least desireable places to live in NYC. I lived there when i was 17. First place on my own. Then it was still pretty grimey, but now (esp. with the new yankee stadium project) more artists and Urban professionals (you) are moving up there. The apts are large and spacious in nice old pre-war buildings. All up and down the concourse from 149 to the 170's is really nice. And rushour, its literally 15-25 minutes to grandcentral.

I don't know...if you are talking about Mott Haven, the whole SoBro thing....I don't really think it's going to happen. I've been up there and it is still far from a desirable place to live. It's basically the equivalent of Bushwick - cheap rents and lots of space for people who need it, i.e. artists. I certainly would not suggest to someone who is moving to NYC for the first time with his wife to look anywhere in the Bronx. Not before first exhausting all possibilities in Brooklyn and Queens.

Cosign Astoria.

And RBW is right about Bushwick. But the climate out there is changing fast, and whether people like it or not, it will eventually become the way Williamsburg is today - so if you are on the 5 year plan, it could be a good option.

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Guest StuckOnStupid
England, I love me some NYC real estate so lets go:

The rental game here can be brutal, especially if your trying to find a new place from out of town. That said, I feel like people are blowing things a bit out of proportion here. You can still rent one and two bedroom apts in safe neighborhoods for between 900 and 1300 bucks a month. I'm not saying it's easy, but with some research, effort and footwork, it can be done.

The south Bronx is by no means one of the least desireable places to live in NYC. I lived there when i was 17. First place on my own. Then it was still pretty grimey, but now (esp. with the new yankee stadium project) more artists and Urban professionals (you) are moving up there. The apts are large and spacious in nice old pre-war buildings. All up and down the concourse from 149 to the 170's is really nice. And rushour, its literally 15-25 minutes to grandcentral.

Astoria is amazing...I'm not gonna blow it up anymore than that. 20-45 minutes to most of manhattan and south BKlyn.

I agree with Gnar on the heights (morningside, hamilton, and washington) again, you can find good deals here still. morningside is pricier, but a bit more convenient and safe.

Fuck Bushwick...yeah I said it. I have nothing against it as a neighborhood, but people need to hop off it's dick. Yeah it's cheap, yeah it's great for raw spaces and young artists, but it's only convenient if by "convenient" you mean close to bedford ave and the LES. Anywhere else and your kidding yourself. Its dirty, it aint "safe", and there are people who have been living there for years who hate you. The rising tide of obnoxious kids straight out of the easts finest liberal arts and arts schools who don't understand the dynamics of a traditional neighborhood are partly to blame for this.

Crown heights is nice...but alot better for brownstones than Apts.

China town is grimey, and alot of people say it "smells too much" for them to live there. but it is basically the LES and can be had for a couple hundred cheaper a month.

I could go on...but PM me if you got any specific questions.

If you can afford it, use a broker. It is often a good way to sort through the bullshit ans find yourself a nice place that will turn out to be a better long term deal well worth the finders fee.

Easy

Chuuuuuuuurch!

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mwrenchd - Thanks man. Yeah, I hate to beat a dead horse about the "safe" thing. I don't fear my personal safety at all, so I would live anywhere. It is really my wife coming and going all the time that I think about. I am certainly an over-worrying guy. Too much Law & Order maybe? He heh.

It is good to know that most places are safe. I know that afterall, it is a damn busy city, and there are always people around. I guess I shouldn't even comment since it would only be a concern were I looking for a $500 a month place in the heart of a ghetto. It is also good to know that there should be decent places in my price range. $2200 is pretty damn good for a 2-bedroom. I have friends in San Jose who pay the same price. Actually, rents "seem" to be pretty similar between the Bay Area and NYC although according to "cost of living" calculators, rents are 40% higher in NYC. Maybe I am being fooled by Craigslist listings (which are alas, the extent of my knowledge). I am sure when I visit my brother in NYC in a couple of weeks I will get a better feel for things. Right now I am basically blind to how things work over there. Last time I visited was about 5 years ago.

rents may seam to be similar, but it's deceiving. my sister and her boyfriend (for instance) pay a similar amount for their 2BR in SF as my girlfriend and i do in Brooklyn. However, they are across the st. from golden gate park; our location, while good, is not that good.

we just moved and are now paying 2 grand for a 1BR with a small office (ostensibly a 2BR and marketed as such) in South Slope/Windsor Terrace (that's brooklyn near the southern end of prospect park). but we looked at 26 apartments (!!!) before we moved, with many different brokers in nearly every neighborhood in brooklyn within striking distance to our offices in manhattan. we were looking every night after work, usually several places a night; i'm just not sure how you can do this well if you're not already here. in the end we finally focused on one neighborhood and called a big-time broker (Corcorran) and told them to show us the best place they had in our price range. The brokers fee was 12%, but that's still lower than manhattan fees, and we saw it as worth it, since we landed a great place. brokers can be very helpful (and useless at times), and i've used them on the last two places i've gotten in NYC.

and i agree that Bushwick is getting overrated. We almost took a loft out there, but it's far from things, and while i felt fine and safe, my girlfriend did not. Also, take a look at Clinton Hill, there are some deals there...

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I just went through a whole shiton of housing crap a couple months ago. Did the craigslist thing only to get the run around. Finally ended up paying a broker to find an awesome spot in the east village; my roomate and I each pay $1300 for a 2BR. You need at least a month (probably more) to find a decent place. Be vigilant.

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Corcoran covers the entire city. go to their website and find the local branch and call them directly. we thought they would charge high fees, but they were in line with the rest.

lots of individual neighborhoods have a few good unafiliated brokers as well. (like "aptsandlofts" in williamsburg/greenpoint or Alan Gerowitz/Mary Donahue in carroll gardens (by referal only)). but many of the smaller real estate places are getting bought by large firms...

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it's cheap up there because it's far from where the "action" is. those 15-25 minute commuting times are ideal and don't hold up at 3 am when you're trying to get home. if you want to maximize the intensity of your time in new york, lower manhattan is it.

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my above post was kind of useless; i should elaborate.

it's hard to find an apartment for less than $1500 in lower manhattan. $13-1400 will occaisonally get you a studio in the east village or lower east side, though the quality will vary. these pop up more in the off seasons (the peak seasons being august-september and january) and are always taken within a day or two of being shown, if not earlier. also, the e. village/les is particularly broker saturated. it's almost better to plan on paying the 10-12% broker fee and be pleasantly surprised should you manage to avoid it. finally, the brokers you'll be dealing with in this price range will probably be entirely useless -- that is, fresh-out-of-college idiots with shockingly little real estate knowledge, let alone any of the keys to the apartments they are trying to show you.

living beyond lower manhattan makes complete sense on paper: cheaper, better apartments, and so on. but if you end up spending all of your time checking out stuff in and around lower manhattan, you'll probably feel a little disconnected. and commuting does suck a bit.

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finally, the brokers you'll be dealing with in this price range will probably be entirely useless -- that is, fresh-out-of-college idiots with shockingly little real estate knowledge, let alone any of the keys to the apartments they are trying to show you.

this is ABSOLUTELY true. it's infuriating, you leave thinking, "why should i pay some dude for walking around knocking on a doors and hoping the current tenant is home..."

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just to give some personal insight...i live in morningside heights/ upper west side by Columbia University....not really a "trendy" neighborhood in the sense that it's not downtown/ or brooklyn...but I love the fact that when I get home I'm leaving all the hustle and bustle behind me...this is not really a commercial area, although there are plenty of good restaurants and bars....there are a variety of smaller boutiques and larger stores in the 70's-80's...this area is mainly built by families, students, and old timers...there are also a lot of pre-war apartments here =P

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just to give some personal insight...i live in morningside heights/ upper west side by Columbia University....not really a "trendy" neighborhood in the sense that it's not downtown/ or brooklyn...but I love the fact that when I get home I'm leaving all the hustle and bustle behind me...this is not really a commercial area, although there are plenty of good restaurants and bars....there are a variety of smaller boutiques and larger stores in the 70's-80's...this area is mainly built by families, students, and old timers...there are also a lot of pre-war apartments here =P

A very good friend of mine goes to Columbia.....I have heard it is pretty rough in certain parts around morningside heights.

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if you go towards the east...between the areas of from around columbus to central park west it's more "ghetto" then there's average to upper middle class which would be avenues like broadway/amsterdam(sometimes)/riverside drive...then there's also west end avenue which would be relatively upper class in some areas...this neighborhood has everything from projects ( low income buildings ) to townhouses (high income) so it would depend what avenue you end up on lol

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I lived in Morningside Heights for 2 years while my wife was in law school before moving to Brooklyn (and just started back at school up there myself in August). It's fine. Nothing rough about it at all. Around the university and towards the river is nice if boring - definitely a starry-eyed ivy league bubble of east coast prep school kids and professors' families. Heading east past Morningside Park gets rougher if by rougher you mean blacker but unsafe is an exagerration.

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I don't know...if you are talking about Mott Haven, the whole SoBro thing....I don't really think it's going to happen. I've been up there and it is still far from a desirable place to live. It's basically the equivalent of Bushwick - cheap rents and lots of space for people who need it, i.e. artists. I certainly would not suggest to someone who is moving to NYC for the first time with his wife to look anywhere in the Bronx. Not before first exhausting all possibilities in Brooklyn and Queens.

the entire Bronx is going to happen in a big way. in a biiiiiig way. Brooklyn and Queens are eventually going to exhaust their supply of 'it' neighborhoods, and Staten Island will not support urbanization. urban sprawl is going to do its work no matter what. it is a logical impossibility that people won't eventually come streaming up north the way they did to brooklyn.

however, let's not get it twisted, because that fucking sucks. but considering that a friend of mine just sold a a house near yankee stadium for 550,000 dollars that he bought two years ago for 100,000 dollars, i think that i should get into real estate and make some fucking money off of the fact that one day, i'm going to have to tell my poor aged mother that she can't live in her apartment anymore because some schmuck from michigan wants in.

also, RAISED BY WOLVES speaks more truth about NYC than anyone should ever be able to, and i want it known that i respect this guy like i respect the third rail on the subway.

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onemancult, i agree with the bronx, alot of puerto rican organizations have been referring to it as the final frontier of gentrification in the city, specifically in the south bronx...rents are constantly being raised in the city, and unfortunately real new york people who's family have lived here for decades, and who do not care about being hip, are slowly being pushed out of their homes.

-----

and also there are other places in the bronx that are not as ''undesirable'' as the south bronx, such as riverdale & kingsbridge

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the entire Bronx is going to happen in a big way. in a biiiiiig way. Brooklyn and Queens are eventually going to exhaust their supply of 'it' neighborhoods, and Staten Island will not support urbanization. urban sprawl is going to do its work no matter what. it is a logical impossibility that people won't eventually come streaming up north the way they did to brooklyn.

however, let's not get it twisted, because that fucking sucks. but considering that a friend of mine just sold a a house near yankee stadium for 550,000 dollars that he bought two years ago for 100,000 dollars, i think that i should get into real estate and make some fucking money off of the fact that one day, i'm going to have to tell my poor aged mother that she can't live in her apartment anymore because some schmuck from michigan wants in.

so true... especially considering the extensive transportation options in the area. it's easier (and in some cases quicker) to get to many parts of the bronx than some of the "it" neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Queens. you can get to yankee stadium from union sq. in 20 minutes, and i'm always surprised that more people don't know this.

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I'm sure you're right about gentrification in the BX, and you're also right that it sucks, but it is sort of inevitable. But it's not going to happen this year, or even next year.

Basically, although there are plenty of beautiful, spacious apartments in post-war buildings and cheap rents, I wouldn't recommend to England that he move there. For two reasons: because for what he wants to spend he can do better in terms of location, and because people there are (obviously) wary of people like him moving in, and he may not be welcomed with open arms.

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