If you’re looking to get on your feet and don’t mind roommates, checkout subleases for apartments on Craigslist. This avoids having to commit to a 1 or 2 year lease, especially if you end up finding a job far away and want to move to be closer. I don’t have much experience with this but know others who have done that. My only advice is to avoid things which seem too good to be true. Don’t give anyone a huge deposit on a place or other shady things. There are a lot of laws for what prospective tenants can pay, anytime someone asks for a fee or a charge for something, look up if it’s legal and question if it’s needed. Having roommates also has the added benefit of kicking things off in a new place with at least some social network so you don’t feel lonely and isolated.

I’m not familiar with the financial assistance provided by CUNY or SUNY but think that it is inexpensive if you are a resident of the city or state respectively. Look into the criteria and do the math to see how long you’d have to live and work to meet the resident threshold and if it’d be less expensive in the long run.

NYC is a higher cost of living but you will not need a car, so that’s an expense you don’t have to worry about. There are also a lot of services provided by the city or by volunteer orgs that provide assistance that can help avoid spending a lot for food.

Good luck, hope it works out for you.