I am very interested in moving to New York City, specifically the Manhattan area. Obviously it’s very expensive, but does anybody here live in Manhattan?
Is there any possible way to live in Manhattan cheaply, and without making much money? By that I mean, $50,000 or less. Yes, I realize that this is very very very poor compared to Manhattan standards, I’m just curious to know if it’s possible? What specific places in Manhattan are there that you can live on that little amount of money? Or, what is the bare minimum you can make and still experience NYC life?
I realize I could live someplace like the Bronx much cheaper, but I want to have the whole NYC experience, and I don’t want to have to ride the subway into the city to do that.
Also, for those of you that DO live in Manhattan, what is the general area around your apartment like? How many restaurants are in your general area, that you go to all the time? How many bodegas/carry-outs? Do you shop at a large grocery store, or just go out and get fresh meat and produce whenever you need them? How far away from your apartment do you generally travel, on foot, to get to whatever you need to get to (Meaning, do you never venture more than 2 blocks away from your apartment, unless you are taking the subway somewhere)? Finally, where I live (Columbus, OH), it is not uncommon for us to drive the 20 minutes or so out into the suburbs to go to a restaurant (I live downtown). Do you often make 20 or 30 or 40 minute trips on the subway just to go get something to eat, or is EVERYTHING you would ever need in a few block radius from your apartment?
I live in Manhattan, renting a room in a shared apartment for $650/month. Obviously, if you want to own your own condo with a nice river view or fronting on the park, it costs more.
I have several Caribbean-type restaurants in my immediate neighborhood, some pizza joints, Chinese. Sometimes I walk as far as six blocks to do local shopping. I may also pick up items close to where I work, or in the vicinity of my girlfirend’s apt, if they are small items. (Obviously I don’t do this for groceries).
I haven’t been off the island in months and months, aside from a round-trip ferry boat ride to Staten Island and back (without getting off on the SI end) that we took when some of my gf’s board buddies were visiting from out of town. It’s hard to imagine doing to for the purpose of seeking out a restaurant, since I’d never live long enough to try out all the restaurants in Manhattan. I do sometimes take 10 minute rides to get to a favorite restaurant or to get to a specialized business establishment.
Well, for $1200 a month you would literally get a TINY shoe box (like 20’ x 15’). $50K is really not a lot of money to rent your own apartment in Manhattan. Have you considered a room mate?
Have you ever been to NYC?
We don’t have those huge-ass supermarkets like Kroger or Piggly Wiggly in Manhattan, but we do have lots of medium sized supermarkets like Key Food, The Food Emporium, Gristede’s, etc. And plenty of specialty stores like Gourmet Garage, Zabar’s, Fairway, Citarella, delis and 24 hour fruit & veg stores on virtually every corner.
Nobody takes a 30 or 40 minute subway to do their grocery shopping - everything you need is usually located within walking distance. Manhattan is very compact and if you do want to take a subway somewhere, it’s usually a very short trip - less than 15 mins.
There are thousands upon thousands of restaurants in Manhattan and I have about 40 delivery menus of every type of cuisine imaginable!
It’s a great city!
Good Luck!
PS - You might wanna consider living in the boroughs like Brooklyn or Queens - the commute to Manhattan can be as short as 15 minutes in some places and the rents are considerably cheaper.
I live in Manhattan on about $25,000. Half of that goes to rent, and the other half is spent on food and liquor. More or less. I’m lucky because I have my own place, but expect to have a very cramped apartment. Most of us don’t spend that much time at home, so we don’t care.
Everything I could want is within a few blocks and I hardly ever take the subway. I know I could have a better place if I lived in an outer borough, but what I like about living in New York is being able to get everywhere I want on foot.
As other people suggested a “share” is prolly your best bet to save money. You can look for flyers around college campuses or, if you’re really bold, walk into the off-campus housing office and ask to see their listings.
Keep in mind that when you go to look at a share, it’s a bit like an interview. You don’t want to give the impression that you’re a weirdo; will be lurking around the apartment all day long; etc.
If you find the right bunch of people, it can be a lot more fun than having your own place. (And a lot closer to the “New York experience” popularized by the TV show Friends)
Yes, you can live in Manhattan on $50,000, but it won’t be the greatest neighborhood and/or you won’t have much space.
I moved to New York two years ago and I felt precisely the way you do about living in Manhattan – near everything, including my friends and my job. I was moving with two pals, and we were hoping to find a three-bedroom place for about $3,000/month. I’m sure it’s possible, but not in the neighborhoods in which we wanted to live.
We ended up in Brooklyn, and I can’t tell you how happy I am here. We had a huuuuuge apartment together, with a backyard. I’ve since ditched the roommies and now live in an enormous (by NYC standards) one-bedroom apartment in Park Slope. The commute to Lower Manhattan is about 25 minutes.
