Advice for moving to NY?

Submitted ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨ComicalMayhem@lemmy.world⁩ to ⁨[deleted]⁩

I would like to move to NY for reasons. Doesn’t have to be the city, thought in or near (or generally metropolitan) preferred, and I would like to move as soon as realistically and feasibly possible (I’m not getting rid of all my shit, hopping on a plane, and arriving in NYC, even if that is as soon as possible).

I’m not really sure how to do this. I know I need to look into apartments or places to stay in general, and also look into getting a job once I’m up there or before I arrive. I am currently in college, so I would also need to look into colleges to transfer into. The thing is, I don’t know where to start looking. I mean, sure I could look up “apartments in NY” and “community colleges in NY” but the internet is AI generated nowadays and listicles and apartments.com doesn’t give the whole story. When I moved into my current city, I asked for advice and suggestions on Reddit and got a lot of help (been staying in the same apartment complex for the last 4 years that someone from there recommended actually), so I figured, fuck it let me do the same here.

I guess my more solid questions would be:

What apartments should I look into? Any suggestions for it?
What colleges should I check out that would be covered by FAFSA and offer bachelors in Computer Science or related (tangentially or otherwise) fields?
I’m aware that NY in general is a more expensive state in cost-of-living but I’ve heard wages there are also higher. Would I be able to exist there off a part-time or full-time retail/food-service job? Also, I do currently have an Associate’s degree, would I be able to get a better paying job through that or is it not enough?

Any other advice would be very much appreciated, and if I come up with more questions I’ll edit them in ig.

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otherbarry@lemmy.zip ⁨1⁩ ⁨hour⁩ ago

I am currently in college, so I would also need to look into colleges to transfer into.

If you meant NYC area: You’re over-thinking everything else, just focus on which school you want to transfer into and then figure out what their dorm / student housing situation is. If you’re doing school your first 1-2 years will be much, much easier living with other college roommates. Once you get to know people you can team up and look for apartments together. Yes that means you’ll be in roommate / shared apartment situations for the foreseeable future, that’s just how it is for college students in the NYC area.

Don’t go anywhere near the NYC area if you’re a college student and think you’ll find an apartment for just yourself, the rent would be insane unless you’re a trust fund kid and/or have other wealth to spend.

Aim for upstate NY if you specifically need cheaper housing. Not near NYC / not Long Island / probably north of Albany. Lots of colleges in NY upstate but new students usually live in dorms up there.

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cattywampas@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
I think you need to specify an area first. NYC and upstate NY are two very different places.

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HobbitFoot@thelemmy.club ⁨4⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
If you’re going to college, I suggest focusing on which college you want to transfer to first before trying to find a place to live. If you just want to move to the region and don’t care about actually being in the city, NJIT is a short train ride away and has a decently rated CS program.

Also, you aren’t going to be able to afford most of Manhattan on a retail salary. You’ll probably need roommates for the outer borroughs and beyond.

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- Eq0@literature.cafe ⁨2⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  I agree: first choose the college, then start planning the rest. And consider that you might be too late to transfer for next semester, so “as early as possible” might hinge on you losing a semester or not. Taking longer might also allow you to apply for scholarships and look into student housing.
  
  You have to decise how close to NYC is still acceptable for you. Princeton? Rutgers? NJIT as the previous commenter mentioned? I don’t know anything about CS majors, but World Ranking used to do a good job.
  
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  - jqubed@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨hour⁩ ago
    Even in the city, you’d be better off choosing the school first and then the location. If you find housing in Brooklyn but a school in the Bronx that could still be a long commute just for class and will impact time available to work, socialize, or sleep.
    
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- AskewLord@piefed.social ⁨3⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  they won’t be able to afford anything other than Buffalo on a retail salary.
  
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Asafum@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
You would almost certainly NOT be able to survive part-time unless you had roommates and lived in a rather undesirable location. I’m a full time supervisor in a factory and if I want any kind of savings whatsoever I have to rent basements/garage “apartments.” I currently live in a garage…

This is long island though, I don’t have much experience with “upstate/greater NY” but from what I gather it’s not much easier. Rent alone around here goes $1400/month+ and that’s the “cheap” side.

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AskewLord@piefed.social ⁨3⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Don’t.

NY has a bad economy and awful tax burden.

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- Yaky@slrpnk.net ⁨1⁩ ⁨hour⁩ ago
  Awful tax burden for who? I pay less total tax in NY because they do not collect local income taxes. And property tax and sales tax are pretty much the same as the state I moved from.
  
  1 bed apartment for 2-3K statewide? Where are you getting this from? A nice 2/2 with a garage in a desirable neighborhood of Buffalo is $2K.
  
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- HubertManne@piefed.social ⁨2⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  20 years ago was 2006. even in my more affordable metro 500 a month for a one bedroom was not doable in 1993 in the cheap college town I was looking in way down state. I mean likely you could if you really went rural.
  
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bamboo@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨2⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
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.

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- Beacon@fedia.io ⁨1⁩ ⁨hour⁩ ago
  But do NOT give ANY money before signing a lease. Those are only scams. There's no such thing as an application fee or showing fee or anything like that.
  
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