Advice on NY City

[LDowney]

I am in need of advice regarding living in the city. Our 22 year old will be moving early in November for an internship position with a custom fabric company in Brooklyn. My wife and I have never been to New York so we effectively clueless. Our 22 year old is a fabric artist (graduated from the University of Georgia with a BA in Fabric Art) so this internship is being viewed as a dream opportunity and no consideration is being given to the logistics and mundane details involved. (i.e., We are all clueless about details for moving to NY and surviving)

I would appreciate all advice and pointers that you can share. Thanks

Larry

 

[woytovich]

Larry,
Whatever you need that I/we can help with we will. NY is big but pretty harmless once you get to know your way around a bit... Is the company helping in finding a place for her to live?
We have a few folks in the club that live in BKLYN too...
Send me an email and we can start a conversation... I'll post this to the Gotham mail list too...
mark

 

[macneill]

Yo, I live in Brooklyn. She'll need to start using "Yo" if she's going to live in Brooklyn. JK.

Any help we can offer up, please don't hesitate to contact me: macneill@mac.com

Been in this city for over 20 years, so hopefully I can answer some questions.

-Mac

 

[raynyc]

I live in Williamsburg and can give you advise for bk living if you need any , just pm me

Ray

 

[LDowney]

Mark / Mac / Ray,
Thanks, I will need all the assistance that I can get. We are still trying to get details from Sam such as the business location to assess housing locations and transportation (first layer of the onion). Is it easier to start with what areas to avoid in the city for safety?

Again thanks

 

[LDowney]

Studio Address is

276 Greenpoint Ave # 1306, Brooklyn, NY

What kind of area is this? (upscale, blue collar, border line, unsafe)
What are the odds at finding viable housing fairly close? Or will it be a significant commute to find safe and affordable?
Are there areas where public transportation are not very flexible, abundant and safe?

I should have more questions but with no basis for appreciating the area and the logistics involved, I just don't know enough to formulate questions.

 

[raynyc]

Ha I live in that vicinity the specific neighborhood the studio is at is actually a toxic brownfield area, so of course that's where all the artists go!I lived 10 blocks from here for,4 years . It happens to be the fringe hipster area of williamsburg and north Greenpoint , the rents on that side of McGuiness is anywhere from 1600 for a dump to 3000 for a nice apartments, if she shares with people the rent will be approximately 1000 per room.
I wouldn't bike in this neighborhood , way too much industrial traffic. I think it's to dangerous , it's easy to park so get a car . Keep it registered in the state your in unless you want to pay crazy insurance.
I have hours of advice about getting settled in the hood , we can have a quick call at some point .

 

[KruiserK]

I have been in the Greenpoint/Williamsburg area for about 8 years. It is a super safe and great area for your son. Lots of young people here. If I can help you in any way, PM me and we can talk.
-Karl

 

[LDowney]

Ha I live in that vicinity the specific neighborhood the studio is at is actually a toxic brownfield area, so of course that's where all the artists go!I lived 10 blocks from here for,4 years . It happens to be the fringe hipster area of williamsburg and north Greenpoint , the rents on that side of McGuiness is anywhere from 1600 for a dump to 3000 for a nice apartments, if she shares with people the rent will be approximately 1000 per room.
I wouldn't bike in this neighborhood , way too much industrial traffic. I think it's to dangerous , it's easy to park so get a car . Keep it registered in the state your in unless you want to pay crazy insurance.
I have hours of advice about getting settled in the hood , we can have a quick call at some point .

I have been in the Greenpoint/Williamsburg area for about 8 years. It is a super safe and great area for your son. Lots of young people here. If I can help you in any way, PM me and we can talk.
-Karl

Thanks for the insight. Samantha is running into a recurring problem with housing. All the apartment ads she is finding only have email contact info and they will not reply (email or to her cell). Is she stuck dealing with scam'ers or are they ignoring her once they see that she is out-of-state? It does not make sense to us.

Again thanks

PS Sorry for the slow reply, but work and home construction projects have buried me.

 

[HotelCalifornia]

Have you found out the address where this internship is? As mentioned, that studio is in an extremely industrial area. There are many places to live in Brooklyn. You can also explore the Clinton Hill area. Apartments are usually rented by roommates and it comes down to about $700 each and maybe another $100-200 for monthly utilities (cable, light, internet, possibly heat if not included).

Most ads are probably good. Don't look for something being advertised by an agency, because you'll pay an agency fee of 1 month's rent.

I recently listed an ad for an apartment in Clinton Hill and 20 different people contacted me within 2 days. I responded to the first 10 and the apartment was rented. A LOT of people in Brooklyn will respond to an apartment for rent. Also, the place may have been rented so that's why you may not be getting a response.

Parking can be very difficult if she plans to have a vehicle. Lots of signs to read and street sweeping rules. Tickets range anywhere from $45 for street sweeping to $120 for being too close to a hydrant.

Will she be looking to take the train? The subway is $2.25 a ride. Just throwing numbers at you to help you get an idea of cost of living here.