Moving to NYC, need some advice (for grad school too!)

In My Humble Opinion
1

So yes, I made the big choice to move back to America. Well, i’m essentially forced to. I don’t want to go back and I would rather stay in Europe, but it seems that if I’m ever going to get any kind of meaningful job here, I’ll need to get a degree in Computer Science. So that’s what I’m doing.

By the way, I’m doing Computer Science because that’s what interests me as well. Actually I’ve been a computer nerd my whole life, and it makes sense. It’s just that it is also very convenient that IT workers tend to be in short supply in Europe. But I would do it regardless now.

I’m gonna miss a lot of stuff here though. I was thinking of trying to get started on a Computer Science degree here in Europe. However, I suppose I’m sick of living in legal limbo as a second class citizen here. I want to return with a real job and full rights to stay. I know that might not be easy, but it’s my plan. Unfortunately I’m very afraid, as I won’t be able to return for 3 years or more! I am really worried about that since I prefer it here, and I don’t want to sell myself out on my dreams. I’ve settled enough already.

But okay! I’m doing a MS in Computer and Information systems at CUNY Brooklyn College. I’ve been accepted and all. I’m not from New York, and my friends that I knew when I lived there are kind of gone now. I don’t know if I can count on them for help.

My main questions are these. How does anyone afford to go to school in New York? Rent has gone up since I was there and it’s too crazy. I’m taking out 18,500 in stafford loans for this first year and I hope it will be enough! I am only taking two classes this first semester, so I’m hoping that I’ll have enough time to get a part-time job. What the hell is going on with these people who go to NYU or other expensive places? I realize there is money from Mommy and Daddy, but yeah…Anyway I have no debt to speak of and I’m not terribly worried about that. I just hope I’ll make enough after I leave to actually live a decent life. I do plan on carefully monitoring trends as to which are the best areas and taylor my education accordingly. I’m just worried that it is going to take FOREVER to do. It’s 65 credits long, btw and the way my credits are working out I’ll take 2 classes the first semester and 3 the second. That’s not really as fast as I’d like to be honest, but whatever.
Mainly I’m wondering where I should live. Part of me is wanting to live the austere life, and live somewhere cheap, and have no life. On the other hand, I have to live my life too, right? There’s all kinds of creative things I’d like to get involved in. I would like to live somewhere in Manhattan. Brooklyn is okay I guess, but I don’t know the neighborhoods there as well. I’d like to stay near the 2, 4 and 5 trains as BC is at the end of the line for those trains on the brooklyn end. It would be nice not to have to transfer, so that means LES and UES or West Village and UWS for that one, or the areas in between in Brooklyn. Or alternatively I could live cheaply in Astoria and transfer pretty easily I guess. I hear that the L is crap and that the G is worse.

Well I guess this is all I have to say, thanks in advance for any advice you could give.

Oh and I’ve lived in NYC for one summer before I came here so I’m not a total newb.

2

Oh also, what’s up with the area between Prospect Park and and Manhattan along the 4 and 5? It seems to be cheaper there and kinda nice. Too boring?

3

The L and G are not crap. They go where they are meant to go. If you do not need them, then you do not use them. They of course do not go where you need them to go, but they do go to the most artsy areas of town, which is pretty much all Brooklyn these days, as Manhattan is too expensive. If you don’t want to spend that entire loan on rent for six months, you’re not gonna be living in Manhattan. Unless you are really lucky, I’d count that one as an idle fantasy and look seriously in Brooklyn. The best thing for you would probably be someplace that has yet to be gentrified but is quick to your school and to Manhattan. Should be fairly easy to do on the trains you need, but don’t expect to be too close to Manhattan. If you want to be within two miles of Manhattan expect at least $ 1200 a month for a one bedroom on the cheap side.

The areas that are popping as far as artsy community goes are Williamsburg, Bushwick, DUMBO, and Red Hook. Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill, Boerum Hill and Park Slope are all well gentrified and have some cool stuff going on, but they are nearly as expensive as Manhattan. Long Island City and Astoria in Queens have a lot of good stuff going on, but are not on your train lines. Those trains would possibly pass by some good deals in Spanish Harlem (Just about the only place in Manhattan that is still cheap) and the Bronx, but that’s pretty far from Brooklyn.

I don’t know what you are talking about. Park Slope is incredibly expensive, and Prospect Heights is getting more expensive, but still has some deals.

4

Brooklyn is where it’s at, seriously. If money is even slightly a concern, and you’re going to school in Brooklyn in the first place, Brooklyn is the place for you to live. It has all sorts of creative things to get involved in.

What’s between Prospect Park and Manhattan … Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens - oh, you must be talking about Gowanus. It’s kind of a funky light industrial area, on the banks of the scenic Gowanus Canal (I’m being ironic, it’s an industrial canal that is often the topic of op-ed pieces about environmental problems in the city). Even so, the area tends to be priced lower than nearby neighborhoods, and attracts an interesting mix of people. The biggest downside is that you’re a little more distant from shopping and most amenities. The plus is that you get the Gowanus Yacht Club and Beer Garden.

5

Brooklyn College is in a neighborhood called Midwood. Its actually a pretty decent place to live of itself. Its a good a place as any and better than most for your purposes.

6

Ah, sorry, I suppose the only way I had planned on living in Manhattan was to live with a roomate, obviously. I wouldn’t count on it but was hoping LES possibly, as it seems to be the only place that has the cheapest rents.

Oh and for all of those looking, check out housingmaps.com. It’s a mashup between craigslist housing and google maps. But it seems like Brooklyn has changed a lot since I was in New York even two years ago. All the people I know seemed to have moved out there now…

7

The L and G ARE crap if you go to school in Midwood. The L, once known as the Canarsie Line, goes from Manhattan directly to Canarsie. The G goes between Brooklyn & Queens. Neither will get the OP to school as he clearly has already noticed from a quick glance at a subway map.

8

Well, it seemed like maybe he was referring to an outdated notion of New York that is Manhattan-centric, where people say things like the L and G are crap and don’t run regularly and all kinds of things that are not true. Maybe he didn’t mean that, I just wanted to let him know that there is a lot of stuff off of those trains.

9

Um, I suppose I did mean that about the L and the G. I just remember the L actually was sporadic when they were installing all of that new signaling stuff. But that appears to be finished now. But I take it you don’t live in Manhattan? I realize that it’s not everything, for sure. I’m not avoiding Brooklyn at all (I chose to study there). Just trying to get a feel for my options. I do think that it would be highly unfavorable to transfer on my commute though, right?

10

Not what you asked for, but $18,500 a year sounds like a lot to pay for graduate school in an academic field. It’s my impression that it’s not uncommon obtain significant funding (grants etc.) for a graduate degree–in fact the few graduate students I know get paid (albeit not very much). Any possibilities with this?

11

Step One: Let us know when you’re getting here so we can take you out for a drink. (There’s always an excuse to get the locals to gather!)

12

Yes, i realize this is a lot, but I haven’t gotten any grants yet. I’m going to look at the Federal Work Study program, but I don’t know if that is actually any better than getting a job.

About grants? I haven’t seen many. Secondly about the whole Assistantship, I’m not sure if I can qualify yet. I’m going into a totally new field. Now, I could be an Graduate Assistant in history, or political science, or other liberal arts-type fields, but yeah, not so much in computer science yet.

But what’s the exact point of being an assistant in a field you don’t know yet? Tuition isn’t terribly bad, the thing is living expenses. For example, I expect to pay 3500 in tuition this first semester. Next semester probably about 6,000. After that I’ll pay instate tuition. I would imagine that at more expensive schools it would be more economical. I suppose I’ll have another look at grants, but I didn’t find a whole lot. Any ideas where I could look besides the website?

Also, regardless of what I’ve written here, any kind of feedback is appreciated. Like iwakura brought something up that I hadn’t considered completely…

13

It all depends on where you are commuting to and from, and what the transfer would be. It’s one of those questions that’s impossible to answer until you know that. It’s not necessarily bad, and can even save time if you are transferring from a local to an express.

14

Some assistantships are Teaching Assistantships, some are Research Assistantships, where you help the prof with his own research and projects, rather than teaching or assisting with student work. Now I don’t know if there are the latter in Computer Science but its worth checking out.

Another thing, I don’t think New York is as particular as some other states in offering in-state status – or at least some in-state benefits – to people who move to NY for the purpose of education.

The NY Tuition Assistance Program (NYTAP) is one such program – I moved to NY for the purpose of education (law school) and while I do not need TAP (I am on academic scholarship) it appears that I qualify starting this, my second year of school.

Other stuff that’s helpful to know:
Dental care: NYU Dental school has a program called Stu-Dent that offers cleanings, x-rays and fillings for something like $200/year. You, of course, are seen in their student clinic under the supervision of instructors. My mom says it takes ages for relatively simple procedures, but hey, dental care is dental care, right? The price is definitely right.

15

Great, thanks for the help. I intend on going in-state as soon as possible. They sent me a form showing various things I needed to produce in order to get in-state status, but I don’t have any of that stuff.

Thanks for the dental program advice. I will take advantage.

Finally, does anyone here know if I can get an assistantship in something other than what I plan on studying?

16

Yes, it is possible to get assistantships across departments. This is most likely in programs that teach a lot of undergraduates but admit few graduate students. Examples include Spanish and English. You also might be a good fit for a teaching assistantship with an undergraduate computer class. This could either be in computer science, or in one of the other fields like business or social sciences that has a course on computer applications for their majors. Also, don’t sell yourself short in terms of an assistantship in your major. Yes, your field/school may vary, but lots of schools put people right out of undergrad into some type of assistantship.

Tuition remission is worth more than it seems, since tuition usually needs to be paid with after-tax dollars. The 6,000 you don’t have to pay can be about 8,000 you don’t have to earn. However, assistantships may require you to be enrolled full-time, so you may need to add another class that first semester if you get one.

The work study is only a teeny tiny bit better than getting a job. There will be some departments on campus that have jobs set aside to hire work study students, and they won’t have money in their budget to hire you if you aren’t getting federal work study money. There is no guarantee that these jobs are any better than what you could find elsewhere. The main advantage is if you really want/need a job on campus. Seems unlikely in NYC.

Good luck in your studies.

17

I live in Bed-Stuy, off of the G. :wink: So I hear the myths a lot. The biggest pain in the ass about the G is that it does not go to Manhattan, and it stops a number of blocks shy of the busiest hub in Brooklyn and the busiest hub in Queens, making it kind of irritating. The L certainly was undergoing a lot of construction for a number of years, which is mostly done. The reason this is a problem on the L and not other lines is that it is the only line on it’s tracks, so you can’t stop it but have substitute service other than shuttle buses. However, now the L is one of the best trains in the city, it has signs at every station I go to that tell you how much longer you have to wait for the next one. They aren’t totally accurate, but they are kind of accurate.

Also, at mta.info they have a trip route planner that will tell you the best route to take and when to leave to catch your train. You can use this to see how long it would take you to get from home to school to determine whether that neighborhood is right for you. Also, use it to check out how long it takes you to get to Union Square or Times Square, that way you’ll know whether or not it’s a pain in the ass to get to Manhattan.

I think that actually getting an apartment in Midwood is your best bet. Get someplace where you can walk to school. It’s a cheap neighborhood and you’ll be glad you did. I haven’t been out there much but IIRC it’s one of those neighborhoody ghetto places where you can get the $ 1.25 bacon eggs and homefries.

For your social purposes though, become friends with the L and the G, they hit up a significant chunk of the cool parties and art events and various and asundry community culture stuff.

18

As far as affordable in Manhattan, it can be done but I don’t know if you would like the commute. I just moved into a dirt cheap apartment in Washington Heights that is HUGE! If you look around you will find something, but from here to Brooklyn would be one hell of a commute to do regularly. Check out craigslist and and the village voice and see what is around before you make up your mind where you are going to land.

19

Yeah I’ve considered that as well. I’m trying to stay under 1000 dollars here. I don’t mind living small, I don’t have much stuff.

20

Then in the Village Voice you see crap like this…
http://newyork.backpage.com/rentals/classifieds/ViewAd?oid=oid%3A2391306&name=apartments%20for%20rent

Really? A HUGE 2 br apartment in SOHO rent stabilized and under 1000 dollars?!
It’s great! You only have to pay 25 dollars to sign up for their service

:rolleyes: