# Moving to NYC. . . Help? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 22, 2003, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-to-nyc-help/170310 "2003-04-22T13:48:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Wyld\_Stallyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8dc957/32.png) [@Wyld\_Stallyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wyld_Stallyn)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-to-nyc-help/170310/21 "2003-04-22T20:13:02Z")
There are nice places in Hoboken NJ (right across the river) if you can stand the “college town” atmosphere. I’ve got a 925 1BR and will be moving in september into a 2BR for 1650. One thing to bear in mind is that, if the numbers I heard were correct, they’re offering a 500/month subsidy to live in lower manhattan (below houston, which is inexplicably pronounced howston). NY Times has a decent online job database, but as with everything, it pays off to network. ---
**Author:** ![JohnBckWLD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@JohnBckWLD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnBckWLD)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-to-nyc-help/170310/22 "2003-04-22T20:24:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by gobear \* > **Surely by 2006, the job market will have improved and the NYC economy will be booming once again (barring any visits from Osama’s pals, of course.)** And, barring of course, a political comeback for **Mark Green** :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-to-nyc-help/170310/23 "2003-04-22T20:30:39Z")
One thing that is very different from the DC area is that within the city limits there is virtually no need to own a car. (Living in Jersey/Staten Island may be different, I’ve never lived there). This offsets some of the higher cost of housing. (no gas $$ Insurance $$ car payment $$ registration $$ inspection $$…) My parents owned their last car in 1981. I wouldn’t say New Yorkers “never” use their cultural institutions. As a child I went to the Brooklyn Museum and Botanic Gardens on a weekly basis with my parents. We frequently ate out at convenient and inexpensive ethnic retaurants. We went to Broadway theater 2-3 times a year, attended major shows at MoMA, visited the Planetarium regularly, I could go on. OTOH, I never went to the Empire State Building without out-of-towners in tow. Except that I once worked in the ground floor of the ESB for three weeks without even noticing (my favorite “Real New Yorkers Never Look Up” story). ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-to-nyc-help/170310/24 "2003-04-22T21:20:44Z")
> [@](#): > > So correct me if I’m wrong but DC has some museums and stuff. Do you visit them on a regular basis? I’m only asking because if you think moving to NYC means you will automatically be more cultural than you may be dissappointed to find that living here is not like vacationing here I visit the Smithsonian museums (particularly the Freer and the Sackler galleries) religously, whereas my bf refuses to come with me. I guarantee I’d never get him to go to the Met or the Frick. Moreover, he hates bookstores–within 5 minutes of going into the Strand, he asked if we could leave. We ate at a Korean restaurant, but he wouldn’t touch the side dishes. He loathes Thai food, and I suspect that I’ll have to sample the international cuisines available in NYC alone. I’m well aware of the difference between living in a place a and visiting, but my bf is absolutely set on moving there. He said he wants to be able to look at skyscrapers and hear traffic noise whenever he wants to. Seriously. In any event, he wants to move there, and I’m willing to go along to make him happy. ---
**Author:** ![epolo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@epolo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epolo)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-to-nyc-help/170310/25 "2003-04-23T14:31:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Wyld Stallyn \* > **houston, which is inexplicably pronounced howston** Because in Texas they apparently live in hyooses, whereas in NYC we live in…um…apartments. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-to-nyc-help/170310/26 "2003-04-23T23:09:57Z")
Ignoring Col. Houstoun and his namesakes… It was my impression (living 300+ miles away and regularly reading the NYC papers) that living in the “outer boroughs” (particularly Staten Island) was much cheaper than trying to live in “the City” (=Manhattan, unless you’re talking to **Biggirl** ). There are a number of textbook houses in Manhattan, but I’d recommend getting in touch with Prentice Hall, which is in Englewood Cliffs, NJ, effectively just across the GWB (no, not the President, the Bridge! :p). And read _Plays Well With Others_. ---
**Author:** ![MonkeyMule](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc348/32.png) [@MonkeyMule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MonkeyMule)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-to-nyc-help/170310/27 "2003-04-24T12:09:51Z")
Well as some who’s lived in NYC for 20 years, I can offer some information. First things first, DO NOT LIVE IN MANHATTAN, Unless you want to live in Harlem or Washington Heights. Pretty much, the mostly Hispanic and Black areas have cheaper rent. Also, as a rule, the further you move from Manhattan the cheaper your rent gets. Just remember, the MTA is your friend, even though those bastards are raising the fare. AS far as work goes, good luck. As my mother put it, after 9/11 you had thousands of people with 10-15 years of experience competing with college students (like me) for jobs cause they need work. IT SUCKS, oh and Scholastic has a new office in Soho on Broadway ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-to-nyc-help/170310/28 "2003-04-24T14:17:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by gobear \* > \*\*I visit the Smithsonian museums (particularly the Freer and the Sackler galleries) religously, whereas my bf refuses to come with me. I guarantee I’d never get him to go to the Met or the Frick. Moreover, he hates bookstores–within 5 minutes of going into the Strand, he asked if we could leave. We ate at a Korean restaurant, but he wouldn’t touch the side dishes. He loathes Thai food, and I suspect that I’ll have to sample the international cuisines available in NYC alone. > > I’m well aware of the difference between living in a place a > and visiting, but my bf is absolutely set on moving there. He said he wants to be able to look at skyscrapers and hear traffic noise whenever he wants to. Seriously. > > In any event, he wants to move there, and I’m willing to go along to make him happy. \*\* I’m really not trying to be a big wet rag. I live in NYC and I moved here from OKC. I love it here. But this post really bothers me and I have been wrestling with responding to it since I read it. One He wants to hear traffic noise? Are you kidding? Two Do you two have anything in common besides being gay? First off, I’m not trying to offend you, I don’t really know you or your boyfriend. You sound like an interesting guy but what I’m wondering is if Goboyfreind wants to move to NYC because there are tons of gay men here. You don’t want to move except to make him happy. You have a rich and fulfilling life and a job where you are right now and you are ready to uproot yourself, give up any senority in your job and move to the one place in America where the economy is the worst so your boyfriend can look at tall buildings and hear traffic? My suggestion is to have a job here _befor_ you move here and if the Goboyfriend is not moving here for the culture find out why he wants to move here. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-to-nyc-help/170310/29 "2003-04-24T14:35:20Z")
Waitaminute. **Gobear** —I thought _you_ were the one who wanted to move to NYC and **Goboyfriend** was indifferent toward the idea? ---
**Author:** ![acrossthesea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@acrossthesea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/acrossthesea)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-to-nyc-help/170310/30 "2003-04-24T14:54:18Z")
Queens has some cheap apartments and the commute isn’t too bad. I grew up there, some areas are kind of on the downfall but others are still fine to live in. I had considered living in staten island at one point because you can get cheap places there but I will warn you, the commute on the ferry every day is gonna be a pain unless you work in lower manhattan. It would be a half hour one way on the boat, plus however long it took you to get to the ferry, plus however long it takes you from the ferry to where you work. It’s usually most advisable not to live in manhattan unless you’ve got lots of money. Even the more rundown parts of manhattan are higher priced than the other boroughs. ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-to-nyc-help/170310/31 "2003-04-24T16:53:16Z")
> [@](#): > > Waitaminute. Gobear—I thought you were the one who wanted to move to NYC and Goboyfriend was indifferent toward the idea? Nope, other wya around. I mean, all things beingf equal, NYC would be a great place tro live, but I’m not willing to live in penury because the bf wants to live among skyscrapers. And no, the bf and I have no interests in common, but we love each other anyway. ---
**Author:** ![OxyMoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9a140/32.png) [@OxyMoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OxyMoron)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-to-nyc-help/170310/32 "2003-04-24T18:19:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Polycarp \* > \*\*Ignoring Col. Houstoun and his namesakes… > > It was my impression (living 300+ miles away and regularly reading the NYC papers) that living in the “outer boroughs” (particularly Staten Island) was much cheaper than trying to live in “the City” (=Manhattan, unless you’re talking to **Biggirl** ). There are a number of textbook houses in Manhattan, but I’d recommend getting in touch with Prentice Hall, which is in Englewood Cliffs, NJ, effectively just across the GWB (no, not the President, the Bridge! :p). And read _Plays Well With Others_. \*\* I’m not so sure about the “much” cheaper - it depends on how far out you’re willing to go. The close-in neighborhoods, like Brooklyn Heights and Hoboken, offer more for your money, but it’s still a lot of money because the apartments are simply bigger (v. few studios). ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-to-nyc-help/170310/33 "2003-04-24T19:10:54Z")
1 large cup of Uprooting Life 2 lbs of Boyfriend 2 large, hard Packages 1/4 tsp of Common Interest 1 1/2 lbs desire to live in Nice Place dash of Money sprinkle of Job Opportunity Stew slowly in unairconditioned apt. for July & August Voila! A Perfect Recipe For Disaster ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-to-nyc-help/170310/34 "2003-04-24T21:31:24Z")
> [@](#): > > The only catch is the mechanics and the fiances. Are you saying you’ve gotta ditch your auto mechanic? Even tho’ you’re engaged? _fixed coding_ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-to-nyc-help/170310.md?page=1)