Help me hone my new york apartment hunting skills

November 8, 2013 8:26 PM

I'm looking to rent a room in Brooklyn/Queens ASAP but I know very little about the city. I have a place to stay for a few weeks when I move down there on the 17th of this month but after that I'm pretty much on my own. How can I educate myself in the meantime so I know what to look for when I'm reading craisglist ads? Also, suggestions for good apartments based on what I'm looking for?

I know very little about the different boroughs and don't have any real friends in the city. I also have no clue what I should be looking for in craigslist ads. Given my budget, I'm hoping to find something in the 800-1100 a month range. I'll also be working part time in Soho so I need a place that isn't too far afield. Any suggestions for good neighborhoods or ways of educating myself before I'm thrown into the jungle? Also, tips on types of places I should rule out or red flags I should be aware of on craigslist?

Basically my requirements are that the apartment isn't dirty or in gross condition, the area is relatively safe, it's not in a basement, and it's not super out of the way. I'm okay with not being close to bars/restaurants as long as I can commute to them relatively easily via subway.

posted by timsneezed to Work & Money (10 answers total)

I'm going to assume for the purposes of this question that by renting a room, you mean you're looking for a shared apartment.

Firstly, you're going to want to look at Craigslist under "shares".

My rule of thumb was always to look for listings that read like a human being wrote them. When you read the ad, do you think the person writing it sounds fun to live with? Do you think the situation they're describing sounds good? Then definitely respond (in your most human-sounding tone) and go check the place out.

Neighborhood wise, if you're working in SoHo I'd look at Manhattan below 14th street, which may be entirely outside your price range but you could get a deal, as well as Williamsburg or Bushwick, and anything in Brooklyn on a subway line that is near your work. If you're in SoHo on the west side, it might be worth looking in Upper Manhattan near the C train, as well.
posted by Sara C. at 8:42 PM on November 8, 2013 [1 favorite]

I always recommend Kensington/South Slope/Prospect Park South/Ditmas Park in Brooklyn for a short commute to Soho on the F, B, or Q lines. They are nice neighborhoods with fairly reasonable prices, though I don't know exactly what the going rates are these days. Astoria should also be a relatively short commute on the N/Q line, though faster with a transfer to the 6, and is usually relatively inexpensive.

I agree with Sara C. that you want to respond to ads that sound like they're written by a human; avoid anything that's 'too good to be true' (it is) and anything that starts to ping your 'scam' radar-- read up on typical Craigslist scams to be aware what you're looking for. I also like to avoid bedrooms that aren't real bedrooms (ones that don't have a window) for safety reasons.

For 800-1100 I would expect a small room in those neighborhoods with not many amenities (you're probably not getting in-apartment washer/dryer or dishwasher at that price), and you would probably be in an older building rather than a new 'luxury' one, but you should be able to find something that meets your requirements within your budget.
posted by matcha action at 9:00 PM on November 8, 2013

Astoria should also be a relatively short commute on the N/Q line, though faster with a transfer to the 6, and is usually relatively inexpensive.

Astoria to SoHo on the N isn't the worst, but it's not a great commute. Almost any part of Brooklyn will be more convenient.

(Source: I lived in Astoria and commuted to SoHo for work for a while, it was not convenient.)

Also, I don't think the Q stops in SoHo at all. It goes express from Canal Street to Union Square. Might be worth walking from Canal if OP ends up living right near Atlantic Ave, but otherwise the Q is not really a convenient train for reaching SoHo.

Just for reference, the subway stops that serve SoHo are:

Spring Street on the C/E
Spring Street on the 6
Bleecker Street on the 6 (sorta, and that's a weird subway stop, anyway)
Prince Street on the N/R
Broadway/Lafayette on the B/D/F/M (note that not all those trains run all the time)

So your best bet is going to be anywhere on the C, E, 6, N, R, B, D, F, or M trains.

That gives you Harlem and Washington heights in Manhattan (also potentially the Upper East Side?), Williamsburg/Bushwick* along the M, any of the Brooklyn neighborhoods served by the F (Cobble Hill, Park Slope, Ditmas Park, etc), possibly Clinton Hill or Bed Stuy though the commute on the C could get a little long, or Bay Ridge on the N.

*I would also strongly consider the L, which would require a transfer, but it wouldn't be too bad.
posted by Sara C. at 9:21 PM on November 8, 2013 [1 favorite]

Number One Rule: Before you get here, try to learn the true definition of the city's and outer boroughs' neighborhoods. Now, it's a Brooklynite's favorite past-time to debate the true borders of a neighborhood, but looking at a map and having a general sense of where these neighborhoods actually are will save you a ton of time and confusion. Because craigslist posters, especially if they are landlords, will flat out lie to you about what neighborhood an apartment is in, saying it is in a more desirable neighborhood to attract and trap the naïve. So if an actual address isn't noted in the ad, make sure to ask in your initial message.

Soho is convenient from most places in Brooklyn, as mentioned above. So look along those train lines. I live in Bed-Stuy and work in Soho, but even with two transfers, the trains come quickly enough during rush hours that it rarely takes more than 30 minutes for me to get there.

Also, people renting out rooms rarely post before the first of the month at the end of which a roommate is leaving. Often they will wait until only a week before. So if you find yourself cutting it close to the wire, just know that that's usually how it works.

I have no plans on/around Thanksgiving as my family will be coming the following weekend, so if you'd like an introduction to the area, feel free to MeMail me. (I looked at your previous posts, and I might know of a possible barista gig too).

Good luck!
posted by greta simone at 10:16 PM on November 8, 2013 [2 favorites]

Some large churches have housing/job listings. Here is one from redeemer Presbyterian for the Brooklyn area. So you know they are pretty conservative but it looks like visitors use their listings too and might not be too conservative. Just ask about lifestyle issues (drinking habits, people staying over, etc) if you aren't sure if you'd be compatible. They have job listings too.

http://www.redeemer.com/news_and_events/classifieds/index.html
posted by wildflower at 11:56 PM on November 8, 2013

I think others have given great advice about locations so I won't add anything there, but strategy-wise, just one thing: Take greta simone and any other NYC-based MeFite you can connect with up on offers to meet or connect. Especially if you are looking for a share, to get a good place you want to know people who might either have space themselves or who know other folks they can vouch for who have space.

Good luck!
posted by deliciae at 2:27 AM on November 9, 2013

Clinton Hill and Fort Greene are great neighborhoods in Brooklyn - I overheard my current roommate describing it to a college friend as "pretty chill - not like how I thought New York would be". But there's a little wrinkle - depending on where you are IN Clinton Hill, you may not have the best subway access. I live in the part that doesn't. BUT - I have phenomenal bus access, and I've been able to take the bus-to-the-subway easily. I just had a temp gig at NYU (sort of near Soho), and the commute was only 30-40 minutes - the bus on my block to the F train by the Brooklyn Bridge, and then 4 stops on the F train.

One good thing to check when you get the address of a potential apartment - use Googlemaps to get public transit directions to the address you work at. You can set Googlemaps to take into account the time you'd want to arrive at your desired address, and it should show you a few options for buses, subways, or a combination thereof. It even takes walking time into account. That can help you cut to the chase when it comes to whether certain apartments are commutable.

Another transit tip to be aware of - the G train does not go to Manhattan. It only runs between Brooklyn and Queens. There are a couple of subway lines that connect TO it that can get you into the city proper, but it doesn't go all the way into the city itself.

There's another neighborhood that may be worth your looking in; it wouldn't be an easy commute, but it would be dealable, and because the subway access is spotty that may give you an edge in finding dealable rents. The neighborhood of Red Hook in Brooklyn is sort of like an earlier-era Williamsburg - lots of abandoned factories and warehouses that artists and carpenters are moving into for the cheap rent, and a handful of foofy boutiques along one street and a couple of big public housing blocks elsewhere, and the only Ikea within New York City. You're also pretty near Brooklyn's waterfront - and some of the prettiest parts of it too.

The catch is that Red Hook doesn't have any subways within the neighborhood, though - the BQE cuts it off from the subway system. But it has two buses that serve the neighborhood, and those get you to big subway hubs fairly smoothly. I just checked Googlemaps, and it looks like a 45 minute commute from Red Hook to Soho. But the thing is that this dearth of subway access seems to be keeping the neighborhood from taking off the way Williamsburg has, so you may be able to find some decent rent there. The city is also starting veeeeeeeery slowly to ramp up ferry service between Manhattan and Brooklyn, and there is definitely an existing ferry stop in Red Hook. (The ferries are a bit more expensive than subways now, but there's definitely a movement to expand ferry service - a lot of people used the ferry after Hurricane Sandy, and were all realizing "hey, this isn't bad.")
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:51 AM on November 9, 2013 [1 favorite]

My daughter lived on Gold Street in Brooklyn in a large modern apt. complex that she liked a lot. There are two subway stops within walking distance and it's an easy commute (and a nice walk) into lower Manhattan anyway. She paid around $800 a month for a three bedroom - the place was nice but like most of NY small. When she moved out, they found a new roommate via Craigslist so you may have some luck there.
posted by bluesky43 at 10:08 AM on November 9, 2013

Sign up for Stephanie Diamond's Listings Project.

The weekly emails you get will start with listings of art studios to rent or share, but just keep scrolling down to get to the Rooms for Rent section. There is a lot of info and usually photos in each listing. The Project has gotten a lot of positive press.

Note: I subscribed to this when my young adult daughter was looking for an apartment. She ended up moving in with a friend, so did not use the service. But for someone who does not already know anyone in NYC, it looks to me like a great resource.
posted by merejane at 10:43 AM on November 9, 2013 [3 favorites]

Response by poster: Oh my goodness--thank you so much everyone for the stellar advice!
posted by timsneezed at 4:58 PM on November 9, 2013