So I just got a job in the city, and I'm moving from North Carolina. It seems like trying to get a place sight unseen would be a terrible idea, so I'm trying to find a fairly cheap way to hole up in or around the city (with public transportation access, no car) for a week or so while I apartment hunt. What are my options? Is going to a hostel just begging for trouble? Help me fine citizens.
I hear Bushwick is real cheap. So is Fort Green (both are in Brooklyn).
"You're a ghost!"- Tom Scharpling
Fort Green ain't cheap. Greenpoint, maybe.
I don't know anything about hostels or hotels, unfortunately. Your best bet for a short sublet is probably Craig's List.
When I moved to NYC 8 years ago, I had originally found this place online in the Bronx;
http://www.parkchesternyc.com/
I thought the neighborhood was a little sketchy, however, and passed initially. Then, after 4 weeks of dealing with agents, seeing awful apartments that were further and further away from Manhattan and dumping more and more money into a hotel, I wound up going with Parkchester.
It's right on the 6 line, and for the money, is in my opinion one of the better places to live in the city. Sure, the Bronx is no Williamsburg, but unless you've got $2500+ per month, you can pretty much write off most of Manhattan and Brooklyn anyway.
Plus, I think the Bronx still has the most street cred of almost any neighborhood in the world. Tell people you lived in Brooklyn and they assume you're a fixie riding hipster, tell people you lived in Manhattan and they assume you're a trust fund kid, tell people you lived in the Bronx, and they wait for you to tell THEM what it was like...
Bob LaRitchie, Brian's Friend
The YMCA in Brooklyn in supposed to be good and it is $40 a day with free breakfast and a private room. I almost stayed there but end up staying with a friend. You get a private room.
Just call at least a week in advance if you want a private room.
"Not the victory but the action. Not the goal but the game. In the deed the glory."
Also, this website might help:
http://www.housingmaps.com/
I stayed in Bushwick and it seemed like an ok place. A bit of jaunt to the city. Only mildly dangerous.
I went to Queens one night and that place seemed really cool. Does anyone on here live there? If not why?
"Not the victory but the action. Not the goal but the game. In the deed the glory."
Anyone know anything about the southeastern Prospect Park area? I may have found something that would work nicely...
i don't know anyone with rent that high. i live in an okay part of Brooklyn and I pay less than 1/4 of that.Originally Posted by Scammy Davis Boogah Jr.
I lived in the Navy Yard (Marcy) in Brooklyn and it was great. Great views of the city in this old place called "the Chocolate Factory" which was an old chocolate factory. Rent was cheap. I was only paying 350 a month because the room I lived in had all the Landlords furniture in it and he kept using my room as an office. I think my roommates were paying almost $600 a month.
I also stayed in a hostel a few weeks. Jazz on the Park near Harlem. It was okay. Lots of young people. They had an open mic in the basement. I recommend making friends with the staff. Sometimes they can hook you up for cheap. Don't let them know you don't have a place to live because,(at least at Jazz) they can't provide rooms for the homeless. Rooms were like 30 a night.
The key to a good place is it being close to a subway. But, if you live in a hostel for two weeks the key to a good place is it not being a hostel.
unless you're talking about living in your own place without roommates, which you probably were. then that can get expensive
So Bushwick's good? I'm talking to someone about a room in a brownstone there...it seems a bit high though. Is $850 reasonable? I was thinking that was a Williamsburg price.
I live there! I live there!
The subway access is excellent - 2 express trains into Manhattan (Q/B), as well as the Franklin Ave. shuttle which connects to other trains and goes north to Prospect Heights. The 2/5 also runs through the Eastern part of the neighborhood heading towards Coney Island (they also towards Manhattan and on to the Bronx but are a slower route to the city than the Q/B).
I like the neighborhood a lot but the grocery shopping is mediocre (my wife and I are members of the Park Slope Food Coop) and the local restaurants aren't that great. A decent sit-down Mexican joint and a lot of good take out Caribbean places and a place to get a decent slice of pizza. That's it.
I've had no trouble with crime and I've seen a dramatic drop in the number of people hanging around Flatbush Ave. that were pretty clearly dealing in the 2+ years I've been here.
PM me if you have any questions.
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A new children's consignment store in Brooklyn For the kids. In my house. Not a joke.
I need to move out of my apartment soon and would like to get into a new place by April 1st. i'd like to stay in brooklyn. please PM me if any nyc ASTers know of anything available. i was able to find a roommate through ast once before. see billynord for a reference.
This guy is one of the best, without a doubt.
P.S. I still have your Watchmen book!
I know this is late, but have you found a place? I got rid of my apartment awhile ago, before I left town for a bit and have been sub-letting since I've been back. The guy I'm sub-letting from is coming back way sooner than expected and I need a place by the 1st. Anyone know anyone?!!?!?
i'm thinking of moving again. rent was recently raised and the only good thing about my place was that it was pretty cheap for the area. same story as above. just replace April with 'September' or 'Sept.'
Billy Nord still has my copy of Watchmen
FANTASTIC room available in Greenpoint, Brooklyn beginning November 1st! $700 a month, plus $700 deposit and utilities. YOU should be my new roommate, slugger. PM me for details!
Good luck to you! Should be an adventure - enjoy a slice of za for me while you're there.
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