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[Viewt]

I'm sure this barely counts as news for New Yorkers - NYC being prohibitively expensive with ever-shrinking options for regular, middle-class people has been the status quo for, what, 15 years? Longer?

I love New York. Every time I visit, I have an amazing time, eat wonderful food, meet cool people, and just generally soak up one of the greatest cities to ever exist.

But would I move there? No, I probably wouldn't. The cost of comfortable living with a little extra space in your apartment is just more than I can afford while still putting money away in savings. Here in Chicago, I'm able to rent a 1000 sq. ft. 2/1 close to the train, two blocks from the best park in the city, and surrounded by awesome restaurants and bars for $1195. My apartment, were it in the trendier areas of Brooklyn, would probably cost me around $2500, if not more. I'd probably be making more money, but not enough to make things equal.

To a lot of you who live in NYC, though, your answer is probably, "Yeah, but you aren't living in New York." Which is true! I suppose it just depends on how much weight you put into being able to live in the center of the universe.

 

[Sylas]

lol no you cannot. You can't even get a real one bedroom in central Harlem for that little.

More like a studio for $1850.

I'm literally renting out half an apartment for $975 right now and I'm looking at listings on Zillow for 2brs for $1800. I misspoke, though. Not upper west side, but Washington Heights--which is a pretty good neighborhood all things considered, and it's only like... 30 minutes to get to WTC where I work.

 

[Jag]

Knew I should have bought in Brooklyn Heights back in the early 90s. Was piss poor then. Loved the time I lived in NYC, but also happy that I moved out as well.

 

[Host Samurai]

I know people have higher incomes in general there but how do people afford to live? Less spending money? Less savings? Sharing a shitty apartment/condo?

It's pretty much a sink or swim city.

 

[Skel1ingt0n]

Eh, I've visited NYC about seven or eight times - usually for business, occasionally for pleasure. I just don't understand the allure. I've done the super fine dining, the hole-I'm-the-wall secrets; good seats on Broadway and freebie drive-by-night plays; shopping at custom clothiers and the Bloomingdales and smaller trinket shops.

There is a SHIT TON of variety. But everything is so, so crowded. People everywhere. Trash on the streets. The subway smells and is packed all around rush hour. I like to drive, and that's not worth it. And property is astronomical. The water surrounding the area is disgusting. But most of all, it really is so expensive.

 

[Usobuko]

Imagine if government abolished all regulations regarding real estate and housing.

And banks gave 0% interest loans on mortgages.

How high would the prices go?

Now imagine almost every viable lands and area are snapped up, inflated at a pace beyond income growth and this being persistent over a century later.

Our kids and descendants might be better off killing themselves.

 

[Cagey]

I'm literally renting out half an apartment for $975 right now and I'm looking at listings on Zillow for 2brs for $1800. I misspoke, though. Not upper west side, but Washington Heights--which is a pretty good neighborhood all things considered, and it's only like... 30 minutes to get to WTC where I work.

Well there's your answer: it's Washington Heights, not UWS. The ~100 city blocks between the two neighborhoods represents a tremendous difference.

Also, the good ship gentrification set sail a few years back on Inwood and Wash Heights. Those prices won't last.

 

[jetpacks was yes]

You can get a spacious $2000/mo 2 br on Roosevelt Island. My friend stayed at one like that and it was enough room for 3 people to split rent.

But I refuse to live with a roommate.

Roosevelt island is one of the worst places to live in the city unless you like taking forever to get anywhere. That skytrain is pretty fun tho.

I'm literally renting out half an apartment for $975 right now and I'm looking at listings on Zillow for 2brs for $1800. I misspoke, though. Not upper west side, but Washington Heights--which is a pretty good neighborhood all things considered, and it's only like... 30 minutes to get to WTC where I work.

Like the poster above said, Washington heights is way up there. A world away from Central Harlem, let alone UWS. And in our universe, at least (can't speak for earth 2), you're never going to get downtown in half an hour. The A/C line is one of the worst, most inconsistent lines in the city, as you probably know. Used to depend on it over the last three and a half years until we moved closer to the 2/3.

I go to the heights pretty often since I have a bunch of friends there, and there are definitely some nice parts especially if you love Dominican food. Worth looking into if someone wants to move to NYC, but even $1800 might be too low for a 2bd unless it's way up in the 180's or higher. And you'll probably be living in a somewhat sketchy part of the neighborhood.

 

[Sylas]

Well there's your answer: it's Washington Heights, not UWS. The ~100 city blocks between the two neighborhoods represents a tremendous difference.

Also, the good ship gentrification set sail a few years back on Inwood and Wash Heights. Those prices won't last.

Right, though if you get in now you can (hopefully) get something locked in. My response was more aimed at the person who said you couldn't get something at that price in Harlem. Which... you totally can, all things considered!

Like I said, NYC isn't really that terribly hard for a single person. Most single people aren't gonna bitch and moan about moving every few years. Especially if you're down to live with a friend or two. If you wanted to raise a family, get a home? Yeah, no. That's pretty prohibitive.

Like the poster above said, Washington heights is way up there. A world away from Central Harlem, let alone UWS. And in our universe, at least (can't speak for earth 2), you're never going to get downtown in half an hour. The A/C line is one of the worst, most inconsistent lines in the city, as you probably know. Used to depend on it over the last three and a half years until we moved closer to the 2/3.

I dunno about unreliability! I take it every morning to/from work and it's never been egregiously late or held up. I get to work around the same time every day, and get home at around the same time every day! It's a little packed some days, but the line itself has never been a problem for me! Granted, I've only been here for a handful of months so far so there's still plenty of time to be disappointed.

 

[jetpacks was yes]

Washington heights is not Central Harlem, man. And I just spent the last six months looking for a new apartment in Central Harlem (going from a studio to a 2 bedroom) so it's all very fresh in my mind. See my reply above.

 

[Sylas]

Washington heights is not Central Harlem, man. And I just spent the last six months looking for a new apartment in Central Harlem (going from a studio to a 2 bedroom) so it's all very fresh in my mind. See my reply above.

Fair enough! Though, I'm up at 184th and it's a preeeetty nice few blocks. Lots of dominican and jewish people and Fort Tryon Park is really, really nice. Though if I go down to 181st it can get a little weird. I'd definitely tell people lookin' to move to NYC to check it out. Don't move in sight unseen, of course, but there are plenty of really nice pockets. You aren't in the middle of the city, but that just means it's nice and quiet at night.

Granted, my idea of nice is probably skewed since I just moved here from Seattle where people regularly got in fights on the buses and you'd walk past homeless people literally shooting up on a regular basis regardless of where you lived.

 

[jetpacks was yes]

Yeah there are some nice little pockets there for sure. Like Bennet Park where all of those musicians live for some reason, in those Germanic-styled apartments. Tryon is beautiful.

 

[The Lamp]

Roosevelt island is one of the worst places to live in the city unless you like taking forever to get anywhere. That skytrain is pretty fun tho.





Like the poster above said, Washington heights is way up there. A world away from Central Harlem, let alone UWS. And in our universe, at least (can't speak for earth 2), you're never going to get downtown in half an hour. The A/C line is one of the worst, most inconsistent lines in the city, as you probably know. Used to depend on it over the last three and a half years until we moved closer to the 2/3.

I go to the heights pretty often since I have a bunch of friends there, and there are definitely some nice parts especially if you love Dominican food. Worth looking into if someone wants to move to NYC, but even $1800 might be too low for a 2bd unless it's way up in the 180's or higher. And you'll probably be living in a somewhat sketchy part of the neighborhood.

That's the worst hyperbole I've ever heard lol. I live in Texas, it takes me AT LEAST 20 minutes to drive to see anyone I care about. It can take 1-2 hours to drive through my city. To get from Roosevelt to Manhattan is a few minutes by train, isn't it?

 

[jetpacks was yes]

That's the worst hyperbole I've ever heard lol. I live in Texas, it takes me AT LEAST 20 minutes to drive to see anyone I care about. It can take 1-2 hours to drive through my city. To get from Roosevelt to Manhattan is a few minutes by train, isn't it?

You've never been to Roosevelt island, I take it? It's right next to Manhattan island but there is no quick route out of it to, say, union square for example. The sky train makes for a beautiful ride but it is pretty slow. So you have to take the F train, which would take about a half hour to get to union sq depending on where on Roosevelt you live. The sucky part about the F train is that it is prone to delays. I'd live in the Bronx by a 2/3 train over roosevelt island.

 

[The Lamp]

You've never been to Roosevelt island, I take it? It's right next to Manhattan island but there is no quick route out of it to, say, union square for example. The sky train makes for a beautiful ride but it is pretty slow. So you have to take the F train, which would take about a half hour to get to union sq depending on where on Roosevelt you live. The sucky part about the F train is that it is prone to delays. I'd live in the Bronx by a 2/3 train over roosevelt island.

My friend lives there. Says it takes like 5 min to get to Manhattan 63/lex from his house using F train. Sometimes it's slower when he's unlucky. If the train is screwed they just use the tram. You make it sound so inconvenient lol.

 

[masud]

Shits depressing. I'm from Manhattan and get homesick from time to time. I'd love to move back but I'd basically have to hit the lotto for that to happen.

 

[jetpacks was yes]

My friend lives there. Says it takes like 5 min to get to Manhattan 63/lex from his house using F train. Sometimes it's slower when he's unlucky. If the train is screwed they just use the tram. You make it sound so inconvenient lol.

Your friend is in denial, trying to cope with the misery that is renting an apartment on an island so close to Manhattan... yet so far away. Ever had one of those dreams where you're running towards someone but they keep getting further away? That's what it is like to travel to Roosevelt island.


Anyhow, I have a bunch of friends there and it really sucks having to travel to and fro. F the F train, man. Worse than the C, and that is saying something. Your friend must be unlucky pretty often then.

Spoiler

Your friend isn't real, is he?

 

[The Lamp]

Your friend is in denial, trying to cope with the misery that is renting an apartment on an island so close to Manhattan... yet so far away. Ever had one of those dreams where you're running towards someone but they keep getting further away? That's what it is like to travel to Roosevelt island.


Anyhow, I have a bunch of friends there and it really sucks having to travel to and fro. F the F train, man. Worse than the C, and that is saying something. Your friend must be unlucky pretty often then.

Spoiler

Your friend isn't real, is he?

He's real!

(Mind you, I didn't bother clarifying the Union Square part) And regardless, he's a Manhattan real estate agent and since I know him but not you, I'm gonna go with what he says lol. But believe whatever you want.

 

[AlphaSnake]

Your friend is in denial, trying to cope with the misery that is renting an apartment on an island so close to Manhattan... yet so far away. Ever had one of those dreams where you're running towards someone but they keep getting further away? That's what it is like to travel to Roosevelt island.


Anyhow, I have a bunch of friends there and it really sucks having to travel to and fro. F the F train, man. Worse than the C, and that is saying something. Your friend must be unlucky pretty often then.

Spoiler

Your friend isn't real, is he?

What are you talking about? Maybe if you go late at nights, but the service through Roosevelt is the same as all other stations.

 

[TheXbox]

Let's pay off America's debt by selling Manhattan to the Chinese

 

[Manifest Destiny]

Let's pay off America's debt by selling Manhattan to the Chinese

No thanks it's healthier to just keep the debt.

 

[Davidion]

Pretty glad I bought co-op here. The financial structure means that fluctuation in my monthly fees would often be blunted.

But yeah, real estate here is an utter shitshow.

Your friend is in denial, trying to cope with the misery that is renting an apartment on an island so close to Manhattan... yet so far away. Ever had one of those dreams where you're running towards someone but they keep getting further away? That's what it is like to travel to Roosevelt island.


Anyhow, I have a bunch of friends there and it really sucks having to travel to and fro. F the F train, man. Worse than the C, and that is saying something. Your friend must be unlucky pretty often then.

Spoiler

Your friend isn't real, is he?

Roosevelt Island has its good and bad aspects, but pretty much everything you've said about it is borderline delusional.

 

[Kebiinu]

It definitely isn't cheap, but I love living here. Born and raised in Brooklyn, and I wouldn't want to live anywhere else.

The city is really what you make of it. That being said, it's getting tougher and tougher to manage these increases in rent and otherwise!

 

[exmachina64]

I have 2 million that I can put down and can qualify for a loan for an extra 500k, that can get me something good in upper east side with a good view.

I envy you.

 

[knicks]

Just got a beautiful, large, recently renovated 3BR apartment in the UES with 2 friends for $3700 a month. Have a great size room, pay $1200. Not to bad at all for NYC.

 

[commedieu]

Just got a beautiful, large, recently renovated 3BR apartment in the UES with 2 friends for $3700 a month. Have a great size room, pay $1200. Not to bad at all for NYC.

Right. Right. The claw chooses who will go and who will stay.

 

[evil solrac v3.0]

...really in Brooklyn??

yes, Park Slope, Prospect Heights, W'burg, are all the hip neighborhoods and Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights and even Brighton Beach are affordable enough for a family.

Fair enough! Though, I'm up at 184th and it's a preeeetty nice few blocks. Lots of dominican and jewish people and Fort Tryon Park is really, really nice. Though if I go down to 181st it can get a little weird. I'd definitely tell people lookin' to move to NYC to check it out. Don't move in sight unseen, of course, but there are plenty of really nice pockets. You aren't in the middle of the city, but that just means it's nice and quiet at night.

Granted, my idea of nice is probably skewed since I just moved here from Seattle where people regularly got in fights on the buses and you'd walk past homeless people literally shooting up on a regular basis regardless of where you lived.

that sounds like NY in the 80s and 90s.

 

[n0razi]

I have 2 million that I can put down and can qualify for a loan for an extra 500k, that can get me something good in upper east side with a good view.

you can literally retire in another big city with 2 million, not NYC or LA/SF

 

[Why would you do that?]

Pretty soon after I graduate I will hopefully get a job in lower Manhattan through my internship that'll land me about $100,000 a year. I am really thinking about what I'll do after that, housing-wise, but it's really worrying me because costs are rapidly increasing.

Thanks to rent stabilization, I currently live with my family in a 3 bedroom apartment in Washington Heights for about $800/month (and that is actually almost too high for my brother to support us with). But I'm hoping to maybe get a house in the Bronx, or at least a condo or something... I really know nothing about buying houses, condos, co-ops and such, but I'm just hoping people don't discover the Bronx like they did Brooklyn before I get money, lol.

Also, I used to frequent Roosevelt Island for reasons. It's really not difficult to travel from there. Only real problem for residents is the lack of stores, which makes a lack of competition, from what I've seen. And the train station is far away for some people, though there's a free (or really cheap, like a quarter) bus there that travels the island.

F the F train, man. Worse than the C, and that is saying something.

Hey, the C train is great, lol. I recently read that it's one of the most reliable trains when it comes to being on schedule, and it's also one of the least susceptible to crowding, both things I find to be true. Only bad thing are the 60 year old trains that they can't replace because every time they try to, a different train unexpectedly breaks down, so they have to replace those trains first. (But I secretly love the old trains, lol.)

 

[jetpacks was yes]

He's real!

(Mind you, I didn't bother clarifying the Union Square part) And regardless, he's a Manhattan real estate agent and since I know him but not you, I'm gonna go with what he says lol. But believe whatever you want.

Manhattan real estate agents are pretty shifty fellows, sir.

What are you talking about? Maybe if you go late at nights, but the service through Roosevelt is the same as all other stations.

Roosevelt Island has its good and bad aspects, but pretty much everything you've said about it is borderline delusional.

To be fair, I pretty obviously used hyperbole. Going there does not in fact violate the laws of physics. I really do hate having to travel there, though, and the F train has failed me more times than I can count. In bitter cold weather, too.

Do any of you guys live on Roosevelt island or commute there on a regular basis? Just curious.

It's also the matter of RI being so close to the main island yet so far away at the same time. I live all the way up in Harlem in the low 110's yet I can get to 14th St near Chelsea in 17 minutes at midnight on a Sunday night, with two express trains to choose from. If I live a little bit north on Roosevelt, right around the 72nd St mark(in Manhattan)? 28 minutes if it arrives on time. And if something is wrong with the F train, I'm out of luck for a while.

Hey, the C train is great, lol. I recently read that it's one of the most reliable trains when it comes to being on schedule, and it's also one of the least susceptible to crowding, both things I find to be true. Only bad thing are the 60 year old trains that they can't replace because every time they try to, a different train unexpectedly breaks down, so they have to replace those trains first. (But I secretly love the old trains, lol.)

Nothing makes you hate the C train more than waiting at Penn or Port Authority for fifteen minutes as five E trains pass you by. :'( Glad I now live by the 2/3. They have been doing a good job of upgrading the old cars this past year, though. It was weird seeing the electronic displays on that train after riding in those ancient cars for so long.

 

[Why would you do that?]

It's also the matter of RI being so close to the main island yet so far away at the same time. I live all the way up in Harlem in the low 110's yet I can get to 14th St near Chelsea in 17 minutes at midnight on a Sunday night, with two express trains to choose from. If I live a little bit north on Roosevelt, right around the 72nd St mark(in Manhattan)? 28 minutes if it arrives on time. And if something is wrong with the F train, I'm out of luck for a while.

It is true that the F line is very inconvenient for a lot of people (for me, getting to the Island used to take me three trains - C, D and F), which adds to travel time, but I think for the most travelled locations in Manhattan, the F is not so bad.

But also, I consider 30 minutes to be pretty great travel time, so it depends on each individual's perspective on that as well.

Nothing makes you hate the C train more than waiting at Penn or Port Authority for fifteen minutes as five E trains pass you by. :'( Glad I now live by the 2/3.

Hahaha, okay that I can completely relate to. But the E goes to Queens and runs express, so they need to come more frequently, and you can't fault the C for that. Still, it hurts every time...

 

[NDP_Mulcair]

Nothing makes you hate the C train more than waiting at Penn or Port Authority for fifteen minutes as five E trains pass you by. :'(

Are you me in an alternate life?

This literally happened to me two weeks ago.


It would make the wait so much easier if they installed countdown clocks on the lettered lines (outside of the L).