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from paris to new york


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in march/april, i'll be moving from paris to new york for 12 to 15 months for work.

so i need you people to advise me on :

- where to live? where to look for furnished rentals?

- where to go out

- what are the deals with metrocards, mobile phones etc...

basically i will address my questions into this thread as they arise, but you are more than welcome to freely contribute

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live in the east village. my old apartment was 190 east 7th street. half the building was yuppies like me, half was models for TRUMP, NEXT, SELECT, etc.

eat pretty much anywhere. stay away from the upper east side, that shit is lame.

drink anywhere. meatpacking district is pretty lame too. best parties in NYC are private parties.

metrocards are simple, just get the monthly card for unlimited uses. phones are GSM standard so you can use an unlocked european phone(for example, I use an armani phone) with a lot of the carriers. I recommend t-mobile for the city, but ATT is for iphones, and verizon which has the best coverage uses the android phones.

that's about it dude. enjoy living in NYC.

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Where to live:

There's a ton of good places to live, even in places like queens and brooklyn. It mostly depends on where you are going to work. People in NYC have the longest average commute in the country, so the closer train-wise you are to where you're gonna be working, the less time you'll spend wasting in trains going back and forth from work. Most of the major subway lines run north-south along manhattan, and brooklyn has two major transportation arteries: The L/J lines which run into brooklyn from downtown-ish, and then north-south manhattan lines which run from lower manhattan or chinatown into southern brooklyn. Queens is largely the N/R/W lines, the 7, or the E/F which run from midtown into queens north and east, respectively.

I don't know that I totally agree with RandR about the upper east - there are some good eats there for sure. But there is a major division between the east and west sides once you get above a certain point. People who live below the park are much more willing to move east/west than those that live above it. Think of it a little bit like east and west germany, but without the communism and the wall, heh.

You will eat largely where you live, at least on a day-to-day basis. So the major questions here are:

1) where will you be working? Figure out where that is and then look here: http://mta.info/nyct/maps/submap.htm at what lines will get you to work without having to transfer from one line to another. Transfers kill you. Also it's better to have access to more than one subway line in case they're running badly on weekends or late night (which happens all the time)

2) Once you decide what are reasonable areas for you to live, think about rent. You shouldn't be spending more than 35% of your after-tax income on rent, or you'll be living the rice and beans diet. If you can, try and stay below that. I know people who pay 50% of their post-tax income to live in trendy neighborhoods, but I don't think this is a good idea if you're only here for a year. You'll miss out on having extra money to shop, sight-see, party, etc

3) Once you know your income level and the areas you wish to live, look at villagevoice.com and newyork.craigslist.org to get some idea of what kinds of places you can get in the areas you're interested in for the price you can pay. Take both with a little grain of salt because NYC is a breakneck place for real estate. If it looks too good to be true, it probably is. Many listings that say no fee have a fee, or are listed by a broker when they say they're not. You're going to REALLY limit yourself if you stick to furnished only. Most apartments in NYC come unfurnished. If you don't care about having a lot of space, get a studio somewhere that's central and then you don't even have to worry about getting a lot of furniture. There is an ikea in brooklyn (http://www.ikea.com/us/en/store/brooklyn) from which you could probably furnish an entire studio for $500 or less.

4) Consider using a broker. You're coming from far away and you don't want to spend weeks and weeks looking for a place. You also don't want to be in a position of having to choose a place sight unseen, so I would recommend that you ship whatever possessions you're bringing from france directly to a storage facility somewhere so that you can spend the first week or two staying in one of the hostels in NYC (http://maps.google.com/maps?oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=nyc+hostels&fb=1&gl=us&hq=hostels&hnear=nyc&ei=0WM_S-KuKsfHlAegk7yiBw&sa=X&oi=local_group&ct=image&resnum=1&ved=0CCoQtgMwAA) and looking for an apartment. Then once you have secured one, you can move the stuff out of storage at your leisure. The advantage to using a broker is that they'll be able to show you 10 apartments in one single day in the area that you want to live, but the downside is they'll charge a fee. Usually one-months rent or 10% of a years rent, depending. Always ask what the fee is up front.

5) Consider brooklyn seriously. Prices are about the same as manhattan, but you get much more space. The atlantic avenue/pacific street station is the best train station in the entire system (lines are: 2/3, 4/5, N/R/Q/W/M, D/B, and LIRR if you ever need it plus A/C/G and F are also within walking distance of that station) , and will get you to any place below 14th street in less time than your buddies who live uptown.

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Where to eat:

depends on what you like. Give me some idea and I'll give you recommendations. :)

Where to drink:

Agree with RandR. Just about anywhere. If you want cheap, cheap can be had. If you want swank, swank can be had. If you want strippers, that can be had. etc etc etc. Depends on the vibe, crowd, and pricepoint you're looking for.

metrocard:

Comes in two flavors: regular and unlimited. Unlimited is $89/month and lets you go anywhere on any of the MTA trains as much as you want, but only every 15 minutes. Regular metrocards are based on a $2.25/ride fare but you get a 15% bonus for every amount you buy above $8. This makes getting full fares annoying. If you go the regular-ride route I suggest that you buy your cards in increments of either $23.50 or $45 - that way you wont end up with cards that have $0.35 left on them. :) With regular metrocards you're allowed to transfer from a bus to a train or vice versa within one hour of the first swipe.

Mobile phones: I suggest that you get an account with a regular provider, and not a prepay. If you have a GSM phone then you can probably use it here with AT&T or T-Mobile. Otherwise you'll have to get a new phone. The cheapest amount of money that you'll pay for any major company's service is about $50/month. Keep in mind that none of the prices you see online include taxes and fees, so the price will always be a little higher.

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I agree with everything he just said except:

1)The UES is fucking lame, dude. I have never seen so many popped collars + little dogs in my life. Stop fusing cuisines, assholes.

2)Brooklyn is great(I used to live at metropolitan and grand on the L) but the trains coming into the city have a tendency to fuck up. The L is run by a computer now instead of a person which is cool, but also seems like a Chrichton set up for some sort of shitty novel about rampant technology or something. Brooklyn is great for a lot of reasons but if you aren't a hipster than Brooklyn sucks, unless you are married and want to move to Park Slope.

Also avoid the Columbia University area, except for Koronet's Pizza because Columbia university girls are boring as SHIIIITTTTTT. If you want to get laid by young trim, Lower East Side/East Village is the best. West Village girls will put out but also tell you all about their thesis on the rise of Randism as related to a rise in Nationalistic tendencies with a corollary relationship to non homogenous font selections.

East village girls will just ask you to put coke on your dick and put it in their ass. So, you know, pretty subtle differences.

Also, definitely listen to him about using a broker. It's fucking impossible to find a place without being in NYC for a while, and a broker will be well worth the fee.

I also would say that honestly you probably shouldn't try to live in manhattan unless you make at least 100K pretax. State + federal taxes will eat up about 35% of your paycheck every year regardless of foreign residence taxation rules. Money in NYC is like a stripper's self respect. It just slips away without you ever noticing, until it's gone and you are left with nothing. Just live in Brooklyn or Queens and commute in.

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RandR - I would never live on the UES. But if I want wu liang ye I have to go to east 86th. They also have by far the best thrift stores. It's worth a saturday afternoon to do eastern-central-park-and-rich-people-thrift-store and dan dan mian. Especially if you have a bike....

I personally avoid williamsburgh. Not for the (granted, ubiquitous and annoying) hipsters, but because it's just dirty. There's like oil refineries and shit there. Also, L train. Every once in a while it decides to not run at all and then you're fucked. :)

Having gone to Columbia, I can tend to agree with RandR. But barnard chicks on the other hand... heh

so true on the money thing. You can drop $100 on drinks for a few people without realizing you've done it.

One thing about manhattan though, there are deals to be found if you look, which given that you're moving from europe my guess is you wont have time to do. But if you DO have some time, look in the areas which major "named" neighborhoods don't include; that are like on the borders. Around the midtown tunnel, anything above 168th street if that's convenient for you (lots of cheap apartments up here!), around the flatiron building - places that are on the border of daytime commercial business which are quiet at night.

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(for example, I use an armani phone)

cool dude

most everything already stated is spot on. new york can be done relatively cheaply but drinking/partying/eating out/actually living can really bring your account balance down down down

how about you rent a place with your name as the sole name on the lease and live for next to nothing by overcharging roommates whose deep pocketed parents cover the rent. genius although idk how id be able to honestly be friends or coexist with people im ripping.

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I did that when I was living in brooklyn. The key is to not make it super super ripping. Of course as a foreign national with no US credit history he might have trouble getting a lease for that much money without a cosigner. :)

My place was a 3BR for just under $2100. I took the smallest bedroom (which was VERY small compared to the other two) and I charged my two roomates like $900 and $800 respectively.

Regarding cheapness - it's ALL about chinatown. When I was unemployed I got all my food in chinatown, rode my bike everywhere and actually managed to save money on unemployment insurance. This was just after 9/11 though, and prices have gone way up so not sure I could get away with it anymore.

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thx and repped for all your advices guys

i've also been told to look over brooklyn, many stuff on craigslist but it is kind of messy

my budget would be something like 4k (no tax since i'm under a french contract) so i'm basically looking for a studio or a 1BR...i'd like to be operational when i'd get into the flat that's why i'm looking for furnished

i will try to have me an hotel paid for two weeks or one month while looking for a flat

work would be 9th west 57th street

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as a foreign person living in new york as well (canadian here) one thing that's tricky about signing a lease here is that you need either a credit history, cosigners (americans with good credit history) or something ridiculous like 80x your first months rent to cover in case they take you to court. You may want to see if your work has any ways to help you with finding a place.

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An excellent point - often times big companies have brokers that they work with and/or will give you some relocation budget.

I would also check with the company about taxes - you may THINK you don't have to pay taxes, but remember there are MANY tax categories here: social security, federal income, state income, city income, unemployment insurance, etc.

Your work is well positioned to the F train at 57th, the N/Q/R/W (actually that station is the terminus of the Q train, which means there's always one there waiting!), the E train at 5th avenue and the D/B a little farther away at rockefeller center. You have some interesting commute options there. You could live in Astoria and be at work in less than 20 minutes during rush hour. You could also live in a very nice area of brooklyn that is ONLY accessible via the F train (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=smith+and+carroll,+brooklyn&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=60.676898,135.263672&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Smith+St+%26+Carroll+St,+Brooklyn,+Kings,+New+York+11231&z=17&iwloc=A).

The D/B lines are, in my opinion, the best in the entire system. You get 59th to 125th in one shot, even on most weekends and late night, you also get west 4th to 34th in one shot, and it stops at broadway/lafayette as well as grand street, which service parts of the island that are relatively hard to get to via public transportation. You can also transfer to the 1 and the A/C easily. Maybe look at places on the D/B in brooklyn. You could definitely live near atlantic avenue in brooklyn! The F train is the closest to your office by far, although the other lines are also close, but you can't beat getting dropped off on your office's block.

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An excellent point - often times big companies have brokers that they work with and/or will give you some relocation budget.

I would also check with the company about taxes - you may THINK you don't have to pay taxes, but remember there are MANY tax categories here: social security, federal income, state income, city income, unemployment insurance, etc.

definitely check about taxes. Companies employing a foreigner are required to without up to 30% of wages as taxes. If you are a consultant it's different, but as an employee you are gonna get the shaft. I would ask my company HR person to be sure because there's nothing worse than a large tax obligation at the end of the year that you didn't expect. Well, maybe a large tax obligation at the beginning of the year would be worse.

Seriously though make sure about it. U.S. federal prisons aren't like those cozy European jails. European jails are like the thunderdome. Break a deal, face the wheel. US prisons are faithfully depicted in "The Rock" and "Con Air". Just watch those movies, you'll understand.

Also if you want ramen and someone says "momofuku" feel free to slap them in the face. Go to Minca instead on 3rd street between A and B. For the best Japanese food in NYC, hit up Sakagura at 211 east 43rd street. The best part is, the restaurant is in the basement of an office building. It is literally underground. Best japanese food I've had in NYC.

Have fun, man.

Oh, there's red pandas in the central park zoo WHAATTTTTT

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definitely check about taxes. Companies employing a foreigner are required to without up to 30% of wages as taxes. If you are a consultant it's different, but as an employee you are gonna get the shaft. I would ask my company HR person to be sure because there's nothing worse than a large tax obligation at the end of the year that you didn't expect. Well, maybe a large tax obligation at the beginning of the year would be worse.

Seriously though make sure about it. U.S. federal prisons aren't like those cozy European jails. European jails are like the thunderdome. Break a deal, face the wheel. US prisons are faithfully depicted in "The Rock" and "Con Air". Just watch those movies, you'll understand.

Also if you want ramen and someone says "momofuku" feel free to slap them in the face. Go to Minca instead on 3rd street between A and B. For the best Japanese food in NYC, hit up Sakagura at 211 east 43rd street. The best part is, the restaurant is in the basement of an office building. It is literally underground. Best japanese food I've had in NYC.

Have fun, man.

Oh, there's red pandas in the central park zoo WHAATTTTTT

yeah sure about that tax thing, i'm working under a special contract called a V.I.E (Volontariat International en Entreprise), i'm paid in euros on a french account and the company is a french company and all

lol about them cozy jails

and yes I would be on a J1 "Intern" visa (12 months visa), i will have to renew my passport asap as it is expired

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Also if you want ramen and someone says "momofuku" feel free to slap them in the face. Go to Minca instead on 3rd street between A and B. For the best Japanese food in NYC, hit up Sakagura at 211 east 43rd street. The best part is, the restaurant is in the basement of an office building. It is literally underground. Best japanese food I've had in NYC.

Minca is fucking gross, and true the Upper East is fucking lame, but they have some really good Japanese restaurants like Tsuki, Takesushi, Torishin. Donguri, and Kai that are better than a lot of downtown places.

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  • 2 months later...
in april, i'll be moving from paris to london for 12 to months for work.

so i need you people to advise me on :

- where to live? where to look for furnished rentals / roommates?

- where to go out

- what are the deals with metrocards, mobile phones etc...

basically i will address my questions into this thread as they arise, but you are more than welcome to freely contribute

^^^^^^

this

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