If I don’t get housing, where should I start looking for housing? I’m willing to commute 20-30 mins by train or subway. However, it must be a safe and family-friendly area with stores nearby. I’m not looking to break bank, so I can probably support somewhere up to the $2,000 range but would like to stay below that.
Check the area around Columbia. Morningside Heights. Or the upper west side in general.
Try Riverdale in the Bronx right across from the northern edge of Manhattan. Very nice, quiet, family oriented area with Van Cortlandt Park nearby.
Inwood area, the northern tip of Manhattan, is pretty. There’s the 1 train to take you straight down to CU. Across the park in Central Harlem is quite posh and there’s great transportation. CU offers a shuttle bus to that neighborhood. Just north of CU along the Hudson River CU is building a new campus (near Fairway markets). Near there to the north is pretty along the water. the M11 bus comes down to the CU neighborhood. The CU Medical School area at around 168th street has great trains (but the station is getting an overhaul and so looks crappy right now). CU also offers a shuttle bus from there. Finally it feels counterintuitive but the 2,3 express trains run straight to Brooklyn and can be convenient. the Park Slope neighborhood is less than 40 minutes. (Take express 2,3 to 96 then change to 1 train to CU).
Manhattan had something like less than 2% vacancy rate for rentals last year so . . . it can be challenging. Your best bet will be to find a room in a shared apartment. If it were me, I’d walk around the Campus in August and look for signs on boards asking for roommates. Once you get a roommate or a sublet, you can take your time finding a better place, if you don’t really like where you are. Also, check the sublet boards on the CU website under housing.
Unfortunately, $2,000/month will only get you a studio apartment in Manhattan. I would look further north (Harlem, for instance). It’s actually a lot nicer these days than it often gets credit for. In all seriousness, though, push for student housing. It was an intense battle but I was able to receive a one-bedroom apartment for $1,650 right next to campus. And I have spoken to other students that made it very clear that they would not be able to attend Columbia without housing. Often this pushes your application. Good luck to you!! I hope it works out.