Cost of living in NY

bon jovi · Aug 7, 2006

I would like to know about cost of living in NY. Like 2 bed room Apt or House, School Fees for children, Food & Other Expenses etc.

Some one told me that cost of living is high in NY.

Regards,
LG

hello...ok well this is one of the subjects where I do not know where to begin. I think it woudl be better if you say what is your monthly budget. Bute let me try...If you want house in manhattan hmm a lot. One studio appartment (one room only that is bedroom and livingroom) is about $1500+ per month. So let's say you find that studio for $1500/month. Monthly transportation for one is $75.00 (unlimited rides). Then you will have utilities for about 200/month. all teh other stuff phone/tv/computer additional $200/month. then there is a food and entertainment....

If you want to live in any other area of ny you will getter better deal on the bigger apartement and all the other proces ar epretty much the same....You need to be more specific....

aniutka · Aug 9, 2006

agree with bonjovi, need more details as what borough ( it makes all the difference in the world!! manhattan, bronx, brooklyn, queens and what area of it) public schools are free and private..... as high as you can imagine, food- groceries- depends where you live and what you buy, but food generally isn't that expansive. movies $10 and up a pop, rest from $1 for eggroll in chinatown to $$$$$$ for whatever uptown.

cookielady,rn · Aug 9, 2006

you might want to peek over at "real live in nyc" for a bit of info. There are lots of rela estate pages on the web, crime statistics readily available from the police website.

romie · Aug 10, 2006

2 Bedroom apts in Manhattan go for at least 1600 in the ghetto. Forget about living in any of the nicer neighborhoods (West Village, Upper East Side, East Village, ect) unless you are willing to spend more than 2500 for a rabbit hole. In Manhattan the cost of groceries can be exorbant if you are used to shopping at those big box stores in the Midwest and West. $60 might pay for two small bags of groceries. There is some really good cheap street food and countless take out opportunities. Fresh flowers are dirt cheap compared to other parts of the country-- where else can you buy a dozen super nice roses for less than $10 (I'm not counting those nasty flowers you can get at those mega grocery stores)? Unless you are independently wealthy and don't mind paying $1000 a month for a parking spot or don't mind replacing your car windows once a week, forget about bringing a car. Even with a parking spot, insurance for a car in the city is astronomical. Besides, if you drove a car in the city you would be passed by pedestrians who can walk faster than you can navigate crosstown traffic.

Living in Manhattan is a wonderful and priceless experience, but even on a nurses salary you could feel impoverished surrounded by all of the super wealthy people who have taken over the island.

I actually felt safer living in NYC than I do living in other places I have lived, if only because there were so many people out at all hours of the day.

TYSMOM311 · Aug 12, 2006

you can go to a community college like suffolk or nassau for dirt cheap. you can get an apartment in suffolk county for at least $800 month. your kids will be fine in the public schools, we have the best in suffolk. if you drive gas is pretty expensive..but it's like that everywhere. ($3.18gal) i go to sccc, they have a 2yr rn program...start a job at stonybrook university for like $60,000

BelleRN2B · Aug 15, 2006

While the cost of living in NY is high, it is doable.

Rent - at least $2000 for a decent 1BR in the city. This can come down a bit if you are willing to live in Brooklyn to maybe about $1500 for a 2 BR in Prospect Heights (by the Brooklyn Museum) or Windsor Terrace (by Park Slope). Can be even cheaper if you are wiling to move to QUeens. Astoria is an up and coming area and it is super close to the city. Don't be afraid to look at other boroughs. THey are much cheaper, and sometimes closer to midtwon/downtown than certain areas IN MANHATTAN.

Groceries - You can get a month's worth of groceries at Trader Joe's for $200, so don't let the food bit scare you. Shopping at D'Agostino's and WHole Foods is really what is costly, but again, you can managage (Trader Joe's has been a GOD send!).

Schools - Public school are free, but they are not that great. And usually your "zoned" school is hell on earth for kids. My husband is an educator, and there are many options for getting your kids into the better public schools. PM me with questions and how old your kids are in you seriously want more information.

Car - We have a car, but we live in Brooklyn, across the street from the Museum. We park on the street and have never had any incidents. Save the parking fee (unless you live in Manhattan - then you have no choice). Before moving to Brooklyn, I lived on the Upper Westside, at 95th and Central Park West, considered "Prime Real Estate" - I had my car broken into twice with windows broken. I've NEVER had that issue in Brooklyn.

xomandalized · Aug 16, 2006

Why don't you move to some place like Staten Island? Apartments are cheap here, and the crime really isn't horrible at all. We have 3 bridges connecting to Jersey, one connecting to Brooklyn. We even have a ferry that can take you to Manhattan and loads of buses and a train to take you to that ferry. You can always park your car here, parking spaces are abundant. There are many catholic/private schools out here, and the public schools are up to par with the rest of the city. Groceries will never cost you that much, we have a lot of nice places like Pathmark/ShopRite, even Costco.