Do you often think to yourself “I want to move to New York City?” You’re not alone. Every year around 150,000 people move to New York City. Some might be moving to attend college while others are moving to pursue a career change, but essentially everyone is coming to New York City to pursue a dream. The allure of New York City has called people from all around the world. It’s one of the reasons why there are over 8 million people who reside in just 300 square miles. It’s tight and cramped, but the city also offers plenty of culture, nightlife, food, entertainment, and more to keep you busy.
While there are plenty of things to do in New York City, that also means that real estate prices are incredibly high. When comparing the average cost of living in New York City to the rest of the United States, you’re paying almost three times as much. Add onto that the average cost of living in general is almost twice as high as the rest of the United States and you’ve got yourself a pretty hefty price tag. However, if you have the means and the creativity, you can make it in New York City. Of course, you have to find that apartment first. So how do you actually take that first step?
Understanding New York City
The first thing you should do before you start looking for an inexpensive moving option is to really understand New York City. NYC is much more than just Manhattan. The city is made u pof five boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, and Staten Island. Each area has its own unique neighborhoods.
Before moving to the city permanently, try to spend some time in the various neighborhoods. Try to find a short-term rental close to the area where your ideal apartment would be located and really take in everything within a 10-20 block radius from your location. Is there a nearby grocery store? Are there any laundromats within walking distance? While there are more delivery options for all of these services than ever before, in part thanks to COVID-19, it isn’t always convenient or cheap to use them. You’ll want the necessities as close as possible in case you need to trudge outside when you’re sick or just in the cold if you need to pick something up. You should also see the different public transportation options from subways to buses. It might not seem like a big issue if you live 10 minutes away from the nearest subway, but it will make a huge difference when you have to walk those 10 minutes in the freezing cold.
If you can’t get a short-term rental, you can still take a virtual walking tour with Google Street View. While the pictures tend to be a couple of months old, it should still give you a good idea of what to expect. Once you’ve done that, go more in depth and look up neighborhood information through local blogs or sites like StreetEasy. All of these can give you more information on what you can expect. So if you want something that’s full of nightlife, you probably don’t want to move to a place like Ridgewood, which is mostly residential. If you have friends who already live in the city, see if they’d be willing to be your tour guide and show you around.
Finding an Apartment
So now that you’ve narrowed down your search, it’s time to start looking for apartments. Apartment hunting in New York City can be a grueling process. Yes, it’s easier now thanks to the advent of sites like Zillow, StreetEasy, Apartments.com, etc. but there are still a lot of pitfalls you can run into. Remember, not everyone who posts on these sites are actual real estate agents. Some people are running scams and will try to fleece you out of money with a bait and switch tactic. Often, they will have listings of an apartment that looks great, but when you contact them, they won’t have it available. Instead, they’ll show you another good apartment and ask that you put a deposit down immediately to reserve it since there’s a lot of interest in the place. When you do, they will either say the apartment is no longer available or they will stop contacting you. In either case, you are out a couple hundred dollars. So if something looks too good to be true, it probably is.
Always contact the broker or landlord before you visit to make sure the apartment is still available. Often the listings online will be old and the agents won’t take them down. Once you’ve confirmed the availability, see if you can get the dimensions and more information on the apartment if the description doesn’t have enough detail. For example, if you have pets, you should ask if pets are allowed. You should try to get as much information as possible before you view the apartment, especially if you don’t live close to New York City. If the person you’re speaking to seems cagey, they’re probably trying to scam you.
After you’ve made a list of 7-10 apartments, set up a date to view them all. It might cost you money, but it’s worth it in the long run. Even if you get the dimensions of the apartment, it can be hard to imagine until you’re actually in the space. So spend the time and money to view the locations and see if you’re really okay with a 200 square foot apartment or if you need something a bit bigger. You’ll also want to keep an eye out for things like potential water damage, noisy neighbors, air quality, etc. You might think that you’ll only be in your apartment to go to sleep, but chances are you’ll spend much more time in your apartment than you initially imagined.
If an apartment is too expensive for you, you’ll have to find a roommate situation. These can be tricky and you should always meet all of the roommates before moving in. You should also ask questions around things like splitting utilities, chores, food, visitors, pets, smoking, drug use, etc. If the apartment looks like a pig sty and you’re a neat freak, you probably want to find another place to live.
Making the Move
The last thing you need to do is find some affordable, friendly movers. There are plenty of inexpensive moving options, including the DIY version. If you don’t have a lot of heavy belongings, the DIY option is perfect as it’s the cheapest option. Just be forewarned that New York City traffic congestion is no joke and you might have to park your moving truck a couple of blocks away if you don’t want to get any parking fines.
If you do plan on bringing some furniture with you, first measure it to make sure it will actually fit through the doors, stairwell, and in the apartment. If everything looks good, your best best is to find a good professional moving service. It might be tempting to find cheap, local movers, but cheap isn’t always good. Do a little research and find licensed and insured moving services that have great reviews. For example, Great Movers are flat rate movers in New York City that provide both local and long distance moving services. Regardless of what professional moving company you use, most will provide a quote once you’ve provided them with information such as number of boxes, furniture, flights of stairs they will have to walk up or down, and so on. Make sure to be as accurate as possible. There’s no point in trying to hide anything when getting the quote as the company will notice the discrepancy on moving day. In which case, they’ll tack on additional fees after the move is finished.
Speaking of additional fees, always ask any cheap apartment movers if there are any hidden fees you need to look out for such as stair fees, long-carry fees, paying for COI (certificate of insurance), and so on. All of these can inflate the final cost if you’re not aware of them. Also ask about cancellation and change policies just in case you change your mind or need to move later.
Conclusion
Moving to New York City can be both exhilarating and exhausting. However, once you’re finally settled in your new apartment, you can breathe easy and start the life of your dreams. Of course, if you ever decide that you need to move again (and chances are, you will) there are plenty of quality, cheap local movers like Great Movers that can provide you with great service at an affordable price. If you’re interested in hiring us you can check out our reviews on Yelp and the Yellow Pages.
FAQ
How much does a long distance move to NYC cost?
It depends on how many items you have and how far you are traveling. You can get a quote from us here: https://nycgreatmovers.com/request-a-quote/
How much do I need to make in order to rent an apartment?
In general, most landlords require that your yearly salary is 30-40 times the monthly rent. If you do not make this much, you can bring on a guarantor, but they must make 80-100 times the monthly rent.
How much do I need to pay once I find an apartment?
Gone are the days where landlords can ask for first, last, and security. Nowadays, the most that they can ask for is first and last or first and security. If you use a broker, you might be required to pay a broker’s fee which generally is 12-15 percent of a year’s rent. Keep in mind that you ONLY pay a broker’s fee if they broker is not working with a landlord to rent out the apartment. If they are, only the landlord pays the broker fee.
