NationStates Jolt Archive

*plays a record with that sophisticated, snobby song we all know with the violins*

Well folks, to break the common tradition of posting such delightful topics such as eating babies, bombing orphanages and politics, I figured I'd pose a question to you all.

*stops the recording*

I noticed that a few of you guys are from New York and I realized, "Hey, I'm moving to New York!"

That's right. My mom is retiring from the Air Force and gave me a call to make an offer - I could move out to New York and rent out a room from her (since apparently, unless we were rich, we'd never afford to actually be able to *live* there) for a year and see how life goes in the big city. She's interested in moving us all to Manhattan. There'd be four of us, mom and the love o' her life, my girlfriend, and I.

Now, for all you New Yorkers out there... Is it really *that* pricey to live in Manhattan? I live in Colorado, and pay $550 for a 700 sq/ft apt. Yeah, that's also really cheap rent. Normal rent here on a place like mine is around $700. I figure I could easily look this info up - but that means I won't get to actually hear some opinions on things like areas to look for, types of jobs to look out for, secluded areas to do naughty things in semi-public since it's New York and all, stuff like that.

Basically, I want a New Yorker's talk on New York. The only other person I've spoken to about this New York business is someone who lived there long before the place was cleaned up and there were complimentary drugged out hobos free on every subway car. I went to visit the city about 2-3 years ago and spent most the time in orgasmic extasy - but that's just me and my "dream" to finally see (and live in) on of the Big City - and realized that most of what he had to say seemed to have changed over the years.

Any words of advice from you'se guys? (hardy har har...)

Well, I'm off to bed, so I'll check in the morning to see what's been said. 4am - far too early to be foruming, but I really figured I'd post this lovely topic of discussion.

*shimmies the post back up a bit*

Hey, don't blame me!

I really want to hear from someone on this'n. :D

Manhattan is pretty pricey... why don't you try brooklyn? Parts of it are literally minutes away from manhattan. Also, New Yorkers are not snobby. Not all of them, anyway.

Brooklyn, eh?

I'll run that by ye olde parental and see what she thinks. Really, the costs I've been quoted on Manhattan just seem truly insane. I mean, I'd never imagined an apartment my size could cost several times what I pay now for rent.

I'll have to look into Brooklyn a bit.

Any other words?

your mom is leaving the airforce, moving to NYC, getting a job (she does already have a job lined up doesnt she?).

she expects to live in manhattan in a place big enough to house 2 couples without making anyone crazy, but she has no idea where in manhattan that might be or how much it might cost.

and you are considering accepting this offer and moving from colorado to an unknown living arrangement with unknown job prospects with your girlfriend and your mom's boyfriend and everyone is going to need to find work....

seems...........unwise....to me.

your mom is leaving the airforce, moving to NYC, getting a job (she does already have a job lined up doesnt she?).

she expects to live in manhattan in a place big enough to house 2 couples without making anyone crazy, but she has no idea where in manhattan that might be or how much it might cost.

and you are considering accepting this offer and moving from colorado to an unknown living arrangement with unknown job prospects with your girlfriend and your mom's boyfriend and everyone is going to need to find work....

seems...........unwise....to me.


It's an ADVENTURE! *cue thunder crash*

Nah, but seriously, she has some monetary figures plotted down, but the only number I recall from this is near the 3,000's. The place (or type of place) she's looking for really won't be any larger than 1,000 sq/ft, so one concern I have is simply that the place will be just too small for comfort.

As far as jobs and all that, there's still a year to get into the nitty gritty, so as far as I know, her main concern is finding a worthy deal on a place to live.

I am considering the offer, mainly, because it really has been one of my major goals to live NYC. Strange, yes, but my history is that of world travel (hell, last place I spent any considerable amount of time were the three years spent in Turkey), while I'd see the naive, tinseltown views of the Big American City with dreamy eyes.

Nowadays, I obviously know the difference between that childhood romance with The City and the reality of the place, but the offer sparked that primordial urge to finally live in The New York in ways only good porn can spark. I'm giving myself a year to get all these decisions sorted out and I'm hoping that I can get a good deck of cards before the August of next year (moving time).

For now, I figure I can get my toe in the water and hear some ideas regarding the city and in some sense of the words get some advice regarding what I should look into and the like.

millions of people from all over the world agree with you. you cant be too far off.

so you have a year....

do you have job skills that will get you a good job in the city? if not, better jump on that one right now. you might make it a few months with 2 couples in one apartment but its gonna be very tough. youll need to be able to afford your own place as soon as possible.

your girlfriend is already onboard with this scheme?

millions of people from all over the world agree with you. you cant be too far off.

so you have a year....

do you have job skills that will get you a good job in the city? if not, better jump on that one right now. you might make it a few months with 2 couples in one apartment but its gonna be very tough. youll need to be able to afford your own place as soon as possible.

your girlfriend is already onboard with this scheme?


Oddly enough, yes! My girlfriend *is* aboard. That's why I love 'er. :)

As far as job skills, I'm bilingual (Spanish... Although so is half the New York population), I've got customer service experience (bilingual as well, which is a plus.. not every bilingual has actually had a job working such), translation experience (I'm noticing a trend here..). There's also some computer related experience, 3D modelling, Graphic Design and webdesign, so I can always try to look into at least an internship or junior at a firm. I'm also a classically trained guitarist, so that could also be of help in some odd, musical employment (doesn't pay as well, but there are far less classical guitarists out there and I hear that a job playing at a fancy restaurant can pay fairly decent).

Right now, that's about it for any sort of experience that's more than flipping burgers or delivering subs.

I did also have a stint as a translator for a bounty hunting team. That was pretty friggin' awesome.

Make it easier on your wallet, move to Newark.

(I know, it's in NJ, but it's dirt cheap, and dirty, and has bad crime, and a lot of other bad stuff, but hey, you get what you pay for.)

1 Rm, no view: $1 million
Tight inventory, pickup on Wall Street, lift average Manhattan apartment above $1M for first time.

http://search.money.cnn.com/pages/search.jsp?Page=2&QueryText=Manhattan+real+estate&SortBy=articleDate+desc

Good luck.

Yeah, man, this might not be the most sound idea for an "experiment". I'm from good ol' Kansas (the part with trees), and the time I spent in New York (and it was only three months) -- no walk in the park. Granted, my gracious parents helped me out A LOT with rent and costs, but essentially I'm pretty sure we spent more for those three months than I did on an entire year of college.

No wonder I'm broke now :rolleyes:

For the price of a one bedroom studio in Manhattan, you could own a string of apartment buildings in the mid-west. It's pricy here, no doubt about it. But in order to own that string of apartment buildings, you'd need to live somewhere else, and anyone from New York will tell you we would never want to do that.

As for advice, go to Famous Ray's Pizza :) Yes, we have the best food in the world here!

For the price of a one bedroom studio in Manhattan, you could own a string of apartment buildings in the mid-west. It's pricy here, no doubt about it. But in order to own that string of apartment buildings, you'd need to live somewhere else, and anyone from New York will tell you we would never want to do that.

As for advice, go to Famous Ray's Pizza :) Yes, we have the best food in the world here!

Slightly proud of the state, eh?

:p

You're not joking either, from what I can see, regarding that string of apartments comment. Insane. I'm not entirely sure I'll be able to stick around there after our "trial year" is up. Thankfully, the Air Force will apparently ship out somewhere else to retire within one year, if at that time she is unhappy with her current circumstance.

So... If all just bites the dust, she mentioned just moving to Florida instead - and I'll probably end up back here in this dump of a city. *sigh*

I still hope it works out though, you know, through divine intervention or something. ;p