Tips for moving to New York

This will be brief because I’m on a shoddy connection (VZW Broadband cards suck in Brooklyn).

So the iPhone == iMustHave. That’s all that needs to be said about that.

New York is extremely different. I found myself trading a “preferred neighborhood” (read: gentrified) for apartment size, proximity to the train, and a washer/dryer in. my. apartment. You don’t understand. The washer/dryer is like apartment gold in NY.

Not having a car can be a pain. Thank goodness for Zipcar. Tomorrow I shall make my grand shopping trip, not to make another for a number of months. I only wanted to get things for my apartment. Instead, due to zip code favoritism, I have to go buy my groceries since Fresh Direct won’t deliver them to me. Shame on you Fresh Direct.

With my move to New York almost complete, I feel like I can share the tools that I couldn’t have made this move without. Here they are, in some semblance of order:

  1. Google Reader + Craigslist Apartment Listing + Backpage
    • Customize your search on CL and Backpage to fit your needs. Add those feeds to Google Reader to make one big list of apartments you can easily peruse. Peruse religiously. Add feeds you may find from other places. Continue to do this until you’ve found a few apartments that look promising.
  2. village voice > Neighborhoods
    • Once you’ve found the few promising apartments, figure out what neighborhood they’re in and read about the neighborhoods. You really want to do this to avoid getting a nice place in a not so nice neighborhood (unless you like to live on the wild side).
  3. onNYTurf: NYC Subway Google Map Hack
    • Map the places you’ve found to check their proximity to a subway station. This is KEY. Nobody wants to walk a mile in the rain just to catch the train.
  4. Precinct Crime Statistics
    • Again, you only need to check this if you care about such things.
  5. Kayak.com
    • Once you’ve found a good looking place and insured its not in BFE (unless you want it to be, but why?) you need to go see it in person. Use Kayak to find a cheap plane ticket and almost reasonably priced hotel room (seriously it’s New York, all of them are going to be overpriced).
  6. HopStop.com
    • The best way to find your way around the city. You put in Point A and Point B and it finds the best route between the two. I think it’s better to go apartment hunting via train because you get a better sense of what your commutes are going to be like if you move in to the place you’re looking at.
  7. Moving to New York from the Wired New York Forum
    • Nothing beats talking to someone from New York to get the scoop on New York. Ask questions here. They’re relatively friendly.

Okay so I lied, this wasn’t brief at all. I thoroughly intended it to be though and it’s the thought that counts right?

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  • craigs list is certainly the best site for cheap long term apartments in nyc. definately worth some time.
  • drewandrekopoulos
    Honestly it is full of bait and switch ads and brokers posing as landlords. I was burned big time! For the best place to find your next apartment that has the largest NO broker fee apartment listings in the NY Metro area. Just click on the link below. Good luck!

    Link Removed by Erica
  • Gil
    Get a great mover, someone who is licensed in New York City and knows the building's regulations and the best routes...

    used a local company instead of a NYC company and paid the price

    found a good NYC mover here: http://www.cityhammer.com/catalog/companyList/?category_id=15

    gil in murray hill
  • mike
    I have a tip for moving to NYC, DONT DO IT!

    Why, read this:

    http://nosexinnyc.blogspot.com/
  • My boyfriend and I just moved to NYC from Wisconsin. We came out in August and found an apartment in a week. It was not easy but we left NYC with keys in hand to go back to Wisconsin and pack. Check out our website/blog about the move www.nyc-or-bust.com
  • Interpreter of Maladies
    Oh shit. More than a month, really?

    I'm not terribly picky about a place. Honestly, as long as there's plenty of hot water and good water pressure, I'll be happy. I guess my budget for an apartment is anything under 1,300/month. That would suck to live out of a hotel for longer than a week...
  • Oh man, >1 month at the least. Unless, of course, you don't care what kind of place you move into or if price isn't a factor. If you have a budget you have to stick to and specific things you'd like to have in an apartment, it can get hairy.
  • Interpreter of Maladies
    I have a question I'd be grateful if you could answer:

    Because I'm planning on coming to NYC and looking for an apartment before sending for my stuff, how long, in your estimation, does it take to not only find a place, but seal the deal and have the keys in hand? Within a week? Longer?

    Much thanks in advance.
  • Interpreter of Maladies
    Thank you so much for the tips! Especially that they use techie resources.
  • Troy Bell
    I liked your list of moving tips. I am from the midwest and plan on moving to NYC over the summer. I will follow up with the sites that you mentioned and keep my eyes out for more. If you have any other advice for my upcoming move you can find me at http://nyc-move.blogspot.com.


    Thanks
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