Attention, seniors—this post is for you! With graduation approaching as the end of the semester nears, the realization that life is about to get really, well…real should be setting in. With that comes the issue of where on earth you are going to be living once BU’s lovely dorms—and your parents’ lovely wallets—no longer shield you from the outside world. If you’ve been lucky enough to break free from the decathlon-like guest sign-in process by moving off-campus but don’t really want to stick around the real windy city (sorry, Chicago) then for you, this is also worth a read.
Some call it the Big Apple, and others call it a concrete jungle. Everyone agrees that it’s a place where dreams are made but few may endorse that it’s where they’re achieved. It’s a rough life in the big city. It chews up some people and spits them back out, while others thrive on the craziness and the fast pace that brings so many together, block by block. Living in New York City can, no doubt, be one of the most amazing experiences in and of itself, but finding the right place is the battle.
Cooper & Cooper Real Estate visited BU this Wednesday fully prepped with a must-have guide for anyone seeking residency on the island of Manhattan. First, you must begin your search somewhere amidst the 13-mile-long by 2-mile-wide landscape of pavement. Coming right out of college, you probably won’t have the funds to put yourself up in one of the city’s more expensive low-rise buildings that sit below midtown.
Some of the most desirable areas in the city to live are Midtown West and the Upper East Side. This has to do with many factors, including the most convenient metro lines that run through both. According to Cooper & Cooper, the most reliable lines are the 1, 2 and 3 trains on the Red Line and the 4, 5 and 6 trains on the Green Line—I guess that means there’s at least one reliable Green Line on the East Coast. While many novice apartment-hunters think the yellow line is the best represented by the letters N, R and W, Cooper & Cooper informs us that New Yorkers know this stands for the “never,” the “rarely” and the “whenever.” Maybe stick with those red and green lines.
Some other important issues to work out when searching for that perfect little nook in NYC’s wall—only half-kidding here—are how many bedrooms you want. More bedrooms means more rent, so many opt for a large one-bedroom that they can then add a pressurized wall into, thus creating a two-bedroom for the price of one. Nifty! Timeframe is also a huge component of the search, as many apartments will be available in the morning and snatched up by early afternoon. Also keep in mind that an extra hundred dollars one way or the other may just be worth it if a doorman or rooftop terrace is included.
Basically, if you’re in a New York state of mind, and the city that never sleeps is your next destination, then be prepped and ready with all of your necessary paperwork tucked under your arm because the search in this town is already hard—and will only get harder. Happy hunting!
