I would like to move to NY for reasons. Doesn’t have to be the city, thought in or near (or generally metropolitan) preferred, and I would like to move as soon as realistically and feasibly possible (I’m not getting rid of all my shit, hopping on a plane, and arriving in NYC, even if that is as soon as possible).
I’m not really sure how to do this. I know I need to look into apartments or places to stay in general, and also look into getting a job once I’m up there or before I arrive. I am currently in college, so I would also need to look into colleges to transfer into. The thing is, I don’t know where to start looking. I mean, sure I could look up “apartments in NY” and “community colleges in NY” but the internet is AI generated nowadays and listicles and apartments.com doesn’t give the whole story. When I moved into my current city, I asked for advice and suggestions on Reddit and got a lot of help (been staying in the same apartment complex for the last 4 years that someone from there recommended actually), so I figured, fuck it let me do the same here.
I guess my more solid questions would be:
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What apartments should I look into? Any suggestions for it?
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What colleges should I check out that would be covered by FAFSA and offer bachelors in Computer Science or related (tangentially or otherwise) fields?
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I’m aware that NY in general is a more expensive state in cost-of-living but I’ve heard wages there are also higher. Would I be able to exist there off a part-time or full-time retail/food-service job? Also, I do currently have an Associate’s degree, would I be able to get a better paying job through that or is it not enough?
Any other advice would be very much appreciated, and if I come up with more questions I’ll edit them in ig.
My wife and I have been trying to move back for years now, NYC Metro is way too expensive for us, my family comes from Queens and mostly lives on LI, it’s been difficult because of costs, but also because every time we think we’ve got a house we want another buyer swoops in with cash or way more than we can match.
My wife’s family is from the Buffalo Metro area and I’m trying to sell her on moving to Michigan or Canada and just cutting across to see her fam when we need to, I spent a couple of years living in the Detroit Metro area and loved it, and it’s much more affordable.
Overall I’m sure you could find a job, part time or otherwise there’s always work in the city, but you probably wouldn’t be able to afford to live in the city without public assistance or living in public housing, or having a shit load of roommates. The best thing to do is finish school and find a job there that pays well, then move, but even then probably should consider moving to an area that is an easy commute into the city instead.
I think you need to specify an area first. NYC and upstate NY are two very different places.
Yeah I’m realizing that now. I guess I was mostly thinking of NYC because of Mamdani, plus I’ve visited before and it was cool as fuck; only other city I’ve visited before was Pittsburgh and I have my own reasons for not moving there. Upstate could work but I’m mostly interested in living in or near a metropolitan area in the north east. Really my ultimate goal is to get the fuck out of the country but that likely won’t happen for a long while.
Capital District might not be a bad choice. It’s about two hours north of the city, so day trips are viable, but the cost of living is easily cut in half.
Plenty of good schools, and if you take a gap year first to establish residency, New York will kick you an extra $5k per year to go to a state university. And the job market is actually not terrible: GE in Schenectady, Regeneron in Troy, and Global Foundries near Saratoga have all announced expansions recently.
There are more than to 2 regions in NY. There are the finger lakes, the Catskills, the southern tier, Western NY and Niagara falls to name a few. When I moved to Western NY I quickly got sick of being asked if I lived in NYC and when I would say no, 99% of the time the person asking would follow up with “Oh, so upstate then?” It really started to get on my nerves after the first handful of times.
I jump at every chance to get involved in a Where Is Upstate NY argument, just to discourage the term lol
If you’re from the metro, anyplace north of Yonkers is “upstate.”
Technically geographically correct, but culturally wildly incorrect.
If you’re going to college, I suggest focusing on which college you want to transfer to first before trying to find a place to live. If you just want to move to the region and don’t care about actually being in the city, NJIT is a short train ride away and has a decently rated CS program.
Also, you aren’t going to be able to afford most of Manhattan on a retail salary. You’ll probably need roommates for the outer borroughs and beyond.
That’s a fair point. Is NJIT covered under FAFSA? I can’t afford college on my own without government assistance. Also, I was pretty much expecting to have roommates anways lol.
NJIT is covered under FAFSA and has a decent reputation in the region. They also have a decent career placement organization which can help with getting internships and jobs after graduation. There is also a separate NJCLASS loan for New Jersey which can bridge the gap if you fall short.
I agree: first choose the college, then start planning the rest. And consider that you might be too late to transfer for next semester, so “as early as possible” might hinge on you losing a semester or not. Taking longer might also allow you to apply for scholarships and look into student housing.
You have to decise how close to NYC is still acceptable for you. Princeton? Rutgers? NJIT as the previous commenter mentioned? I don’t know anything about CS majors, but World Ranking used to do a good job.
Even in the city, you’d be better off choosing the school first and then the location. If you find housing in Brooklyn but a school in the Bronx that could still be a long commute just for class and will impact time available to work, socialize, or sleep.
they won’t be able to afford anything other than Buffalo on a retail salary.
I would say to not move to nyc for the sake of moving there. It sounds like you’re trying to force your life to fit into the idea. If you’re still hell bent on it, you’ll need to make some friends first that will let you move into their apartment ( so room mates), until then, the rest of your list does not really matter. You will have a really hard time trying to juggle going to school, working and affording a life.
Ya know, that’s a completely fair analysis. Tbh I probably am trying to force it, I just quite like the idea of living in a massive sprawling city and Mamdani. In general I want to get the fuck out of the country, but since that likely won’t happen for a while, I want to at least move to a decent city in a decent state.
Mamdani is for sure drawing in even more people.
I would say you are not familiar with the city and if you have any connections at all, start by finding people who will let you couch surf so you start getting the lay of the land and the feel for the different boroughs.
If you really have no money you’ll probably end up living in the worse parts of the Bronx or Brooklyn, which can be dicey. The places to most people want to be are Midtown (Manhattan), Williamsburg (Brooklyn) or Astoria (Queens) and they can be very pricey.
A lot of people are being priced out and now moving to Jersey City, which is very close by to Manhattan. Depending on what school you go to, living in Jersey may rule you out for certain types of aid for living outside of the state. I had college mates that went this route, they eventually dropped their chance at aid and all roomed together in Hoboken. Keep in mind a con with public transport between states is that it costs more.
It feels like a reasonable goal, especially for someone in OP’s assumed age range. The question just comes across as someone who hasn’t had too much experience in planning this kind of move, which fair enough that very few people would have that much experience with and it is a sign of maturity that OP is asking the question.
If OP goes with the college first approach, it will likely help narrow down answers to other questions they have.
The thing is many people want to come to new york. Colleges are very particular about handing out free money given the amount of people who apply. I’ve seen many people come on a whim and having a bad time. Even if you get aid there is no guarantee you’ll keep getting it each semester and you could wind up in a bit of a bind.
For reference, I am in my mid 20s, and the most experience I have with this kind of move is moving from my parent’s rural house to a much, much smaller city than NY. Though, college first approach is a good point. I do already have my associate’s and not many credits left in my bachelor’s (I think another year?), but I have no career experience in my chosen field and finding good internships in my area is basically impossible because there are no internships in my area really.
Different parts of NY state are all very different. Even different neighborhoods within Brooklyn can be very different costs and experiences. I live here but would not willingly choose to live in the suburbs around the city.
In the city, you’re likely not going to find rent under $1000/month. Make a budget spreadsheet. You can cut some corners - my phone bill is $20/month, and I eat a lot of rice and beans to keep my food budget low - but some stuff is just expensive.
You’ll probably need room mates.
Look for colleges first, if that’s a goal. Some have housing assistance.
You would almost certainly NOT be able to survive part-time unless you had roommates and lived in a rather undesirable location. I’m a full time supervisor in a factory and if I want any kind of savings whatsoever I have to rent basements/garage “apartments.” I currently live in a garage…
This is long island though, I don’t have much experience with “upstate/greater NY” but from what I gather it’s not much easier. Rent alone around here goes $1400/month+ and that’s the “cheap” side.
This is good insight. Thanks! I was pretty much expecting to have roommates anyways, it’s not a major problem if I have them, but how undesirable of a location are you talking?
I would have thought wages to be higher in tandem for rent, is it not?
Undesirable as in run down and higher crime. The closest area to me I have in mind is one that pretty regularly has stories about “MS-13” members using a machete on some poor fool.
I’ll put it another way, I’m looking to get OUT of NY. This is a state for the already established, rich, or professional class.
As far as wages to match higher costs, not sure what the going rate is elsewhere but for a low end position, something like McDonald’s/Taco Bell could pay ~$18/hr here but the spread is also abysmal, going from those kinds of jobs “upward” you kinda max out at $22ish/hr starting.
I am currently in college, so I would also need to look into colleges to transfer into.
If you meant NYC area: You’re over-thinking everything else, just focus on which school you want to transfer into and then figure out what their dorm / student housing situation is. If you’re doing school your first 1-2 years will be much, much easier living with other college roommates. Once you get to know people you can team up and look for apartments together. Yes that means you’ll be in roommate / shared apartment situations for the foreseeable future, that’s just how it is for college students in the NYC area.
Don’t go anywhere near the NYC area if you’re a college student and think you’ll find an apartment for just yourself, the rent would be insane unless you’re a trust fund kid and/or have other wealth to spend.
Aim for upstate NY if you specifically need cheaper housing. Not near NYC / not Long Island / probably north of Albany. Lots of colleges in NY upstate but new students usually live in dorms up there.
That’s a fair point but I’m not sure how much I’d want to live in a dorm… I don’t mind having roommates but dorm conditions seem kinda harsh, at least at the college I currently go to. What colleges are there in Upstate NY?
It may have been a situation with my particular school, but the dorms ended up costing more than renting a room (Flatbush vs Park Slope Brooklyn), AND they wanted grad students even to physically share bedrooms. I could image it at 19, I was not going to deal with it at 24.
Don’t.
NY has a bad economy and awful tax burden and some of the highest COL.
Unless you are making like 80K+ it makes no sense. The average rent for an 1 bed apartment state wide is 2-3,000 a month, even in the cheapest places a 1 bed is going to be 1500.
The last time rents in NY state were like 500/mo for an apartment was 20 years ago.
Awful tax burden for who? I pay less total tax in NY because they do not collect local income taxes. And property tax and sales tax are pretty much the same as the state I moved from.
1 bed apartment for 2-3K statewide? Where are you getting this from? A nice 2/2 with a garage in a desirable neighborhood of Buffalo is $2K.
20 years ago was 2006. even in my more affordable metro 500 a month for a one bedroom was not doable in 1993 in the cheap college town I was looking in way down state. I mean likely you could if you really went rural.
If you’re looking to get on your feet and don’t mind roommates, checkout subleases for apartments on Craigslist. This avoids having to commit to a 1 or 2 year lease, especially if you end up finding a job far away and want to move to be closer. I don’t have much experience with this but know others who have done that. My only advice is to avoid things which seem too good to be true. Don’t give anyone a huge deposit on a place or other shady things. There are a lot of laws for what prospective tenants can pay, anytime someone asks for a fee or a charge for something, look up if it’s legal and question if it’s needed. Having roommates also has the added benefit of kicking things off in a new place with at least some social network so you don’t feel lonely and isolated.
I’m not familiar with the financial assistance provided by CUNY or SUNY but think that it is inexpensive if you are a resident of the city or state respectively. Look into the criteria and do the math to see how long you’d have to live and work to meet the resident threshold and if it’d be less expensive in the long run.
NYC is a higher cost of living but you will not need a car, so that’s an expense you don’t have to worry about. There are also a lot of services provided by the city or by volunteer orgs that provide assistance that can help avoid spending a lot for food.
Good luck, hope it works out for you.
Subleases are a good idea! Do people still use craigslist though? Thanks for recommending CUNY and SUNY, I’ll have to check that out as well. Thanks!
Yeah, I’m sure there are places other than Craigslist you could look. I haven’t searched for an apartment in a while, but for a sublet with roommates, you’ll generally want to find a site where the roommates would post, and not go to a broker or anything. I’m not sure of your budget, but quickly searching came up with some good hits like this.
Do NOT give ANY money before signing a lease. Those are only scams. There’s no such thing as an application fee or showing fee or anything like that.
