Great places to rent for a young person in NYC
July 24, 2013 8:05 AM   Subscribe

22 years old here and I work full time and study part time and live on my own currently. I really really want to move out of my current place. I'm supposed to be getting an increase in pay soon and as such I'm wondering what are some good parts of the city (NYC here) that have affordable rent that doesn't eat a crazy chunk of income. Assume that my maximum rent is $1200 (but I would rather go a bit less - I'm looking at value over price, but not some run down place or a place in the projects.)
posted by antgly to Home & Garden (17 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Where is your job, and where do your friends live? Those will be the most important factors in determining a neighborhood you can afford that will be convenient for your life.
posted by decathecting at 8:06 AM on July 24, 2013


Response by poster: I work as a mobile developer (still in the middle of my Computer Science BS degree). My friends are all scattered around the city, so this isn't so important.
posted by antgly at 8:11 AM on July 24, 2013


Roommates, or no roommates? For $1200 or less, you could live in a ton of places with roommates, but you'd need to go pretty far out for a studio.

Where's the job and school? Where do you live now? If we don't know this, we might recommend places that are a five-hour round trip from your classes!
posted by showbiz_liz at 8:11 AM on July 24, 2013


Assuming you're willing to live with roommates (because for $1200 you almost have to be), the Lower East Side and East Village are cool places, as is Washington Heights.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 8:13 AM on July 24, 2013


I think Astoria is a great place for a young person to live with roommates- easy access to Manhattan, lots of great food & amenities, decent rent for a share. I think I remember you go to school in Brooklyn, though, and it would be pretty far to go there every day.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 8:14 AM on July 24, 2013


Looks from your history like you go to Brooklyn College. In that case- I really like my current neighborhood of Crown Heights, and you could get a place quite close to the 2 and 5 trains there. I pay $900 for a room in a really nice 3br there, two blocks from the subway.
posted by showbiz_liz at 8:15 AM on July 24, 2013


Response by poster: I work near Rockefeller Center and yes I go to Brooklyn College. Extreme proximity is not as important as I have to travel regardless. I care more about a train station being nearby.
posted by antgly at 8:15 AM on July 24, 2013


Response by poster: No roommates preferably.
posted by antgly at 8:17 AM on July 24, 2013


In that case: I'd look south and east of Prospect Park. Prospect Park South, Lefferts Gardens, etc. Not the hippest, but close to hip things by subway and also close to your school.
posted by showbiz_liz at 8:25 AM on July 24, 2013


Response by poster: I go to class in the evenings after work, so it's not a big deal if it's not close to school.
posted by antgly at 8:26 AM on July 24, 2013


Oh, I listed those places because they also had the most hits for 0-1br apartments in your preferred range on Padmapper.
posted by showbiz_liz at 8:35 AM on July 24, 2013


Bushwick, alas.
posted by vrakatar at 8:40 AM on July 24, 2013


$1200 on your own is going to be in mostly rough neighborhoods. Maybe Bushwick, parts of outer Astoria?
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 8:45 AM on July 24, 2013 [1 favorite]


So Brooklyn College is near the Q... further down the Q is Sheepshead Bay, which I've heard good stuff about albeit that everyone speaks Russian which seems like a bonus to me.

Lower Astoria (around 36th Ave) might have rents that cheap for a studio, but not many. And that's a long train ride to school. Meanwhile you could pair up with someone and find a 2 bedroom in Lefferts Gardens for the same price and be close to the Q and the park.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 9:04 AM on July 24, 2013 [1 favorite]


Are you open to living in the Bronx?
posted by greta simone at 11:41 AM on July 24, 2013


Prospect Park South, Flatbush (I would try to stay west of Nostrand), Prospect Lefferts Gardens. Look around the south end of the 2/5 train (Winthrop, Beverley) or around the Church/Beverley/Cortelyou stops on the Q train. I managed to get a 1-bedroom for 1080. The area may look rough but I've been living there for over three years and nothing worse than catcalling has ever happened to me. It feels very far from Manhattan sometimes, but for that price you're unlikely to get anything that feels close, and it's certainly close to Brooklyn College.

(Do NOT rent from Flatbush Gardens, though.)
posted by Jeanne at 11:49 AM on July 24, 2013


Sunnyside.
posted by La Cieca at 12:30 PM on July 24, 2013 [2 favorites]


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