<p>Since the NYU Debt thread brought up some really good discussion about what might be needed to get going as a graduate in NYC, I thought it might be good to have a place for people to deposit their pearls of wisdom. If you have any ideas or suggestions to help please feel free to share. </p>
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<li>Gypsy Housing - good place to look for apartments to rent or lease</li>
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<p><a href=âPost-Graduation Expenses for Settling into LA or NYC - #5 by fishbowlfreshman - Theater/Drama Majors - College Confidential Forumsâ>Post-Graduation Expenses for Settling into LA or NYC - #5 by fishbowlfreshman - Theater/Drama Majors - College Confidential Forums;
<p>A link to an old discussion about âstart upâ costs. Keep in mind that itâs an old discussion so prices have gone up in the interim.</p>
<p>If anyone has updates on start up costs weâd love to hear them! Iâve been hearing a lot about needing a broker to get apartments and would also love more information on that.</p>
<p>I can speak a little bit as to apartment start-up costs. If you are signing a lease, most places want first and last monthâs rent plus a security deposit (equal to one monthâs rent) up front at the lease signing. Regarding brokerâs fees, the best way to find a no brokerâs fee place is to take over a lease directly from a friend or an acquaintance or something like that. There are also some companies that do no fee apartments (myspacenyc is one that works in Brooklyn, I found my place through them). Brokerâs fees range from 1 monthâs rent to 12-15% of a yearâs rent which can really make the up-front costs prohibitive with first, last, and security required as well. If you do choose to go through a broker, the process may be faster and easier, so itâs really a matter of whether youâd prefer to spend time or money. Brokers can usually be found through any real estate company. Additionally, all places in the city require that lessees make 40-50 times the monthly rent. If they do not, they need a guarantor who makes 80-100 times the monthly rent. You can usually have more than one guarantor as long as the total income of all guarantors meets the 80-100x requirement.</p>
<p>I would also recommend being open to different areas while apartment searching. Everyone would love to live in Manhattan or Williamsburg, but it really isnât financially feasible for most people. Looking in central Brooklyn or the Bronx and Queens can help reduce costs tremendously.</p>
<p>If any of you have more specific questions about apartment hunting in the city, let me know (I just finished the process myself, so Iâm super familiar with the ins and outs)</p>
<p>In addition to rent, you will need to think about:
Transportation/subway pass
Food
Voice lessons
Dance class
Acting class
Resumes/head shots
Dance shoes
Clothes - if you are temping in an office, this may require a different type of wardrobe than what you had in college
Phone
Wifi
Utilities
Travel - will you go home for holidays? How will you get there?
Entertainment - lots of free stuff to do, but you will still end up spending some $ </p>
<p>Great thread. Great tips and lists. </p>
<p>vvnstar, just commenting that while voice lessons, dance class and acting class are positive things to do, they are not essentials and can be cost prohibitive to someone just starting out. My kid doesnât take any of these. </p>
<p>Understood @soozievt. But i disagree with you - I do think for a performer, continued training is essential. I know many who are in NYC now - and all feel the need to at least participate in master classes, workshops, etc even if not regularly taking scheduled classes or lessons. They use these classes as additional networking opportunities. It also is important to keep,your voice and body trained so when opportunity arises you are ready. This may be as simple as taking a yoga class every now and then. It could be a short workshop on a new skill such as improv. Or it could be something more intense and expensive. But I firmly believe it should be budgeted for if at all possible. Training and conditioning the body and voice do not end with the college degree. For performers, it is a life-long endeavor. I am surprised your D does not continue to train. I know she is quite accomplished, and from what I know, even the most well-known on Broadway still take voice lessons, acting lessons and dance training to stay in shape. So it is good to begin budgeting for it as soon as it is economically feasible in my opinion. I know the desire to participate in these things will be there - so it is a good subject to discuss when preparing their budget. They may quickly realize they donât have $100 for a voice lesson every month, but they can take a $10 Drop-in dance class. They need to figure that out.</p>
<p>Well, lets be realistic for a minute here. Unless mom and dad are planning to pick up the tab for all of this additional training along with a NYC apartment itâs not going to happen with any consistency. The grads we know in NY currently are either working or not working. If they are not working they donât have much money and what they do have will run out quickly and if they are working, great. Not to say additional training isnât nice and useful but I can certainly understand a parent not wanting to financially support a kid pursuing their dreams until they are 30 years old. If you are funding schooling on loans it will never be âeconomically feasibleâ to pay for anything else and they likely know this already. Budgeting for drop-in dance classes is not that big a deal since they are basically the cost of a sandwich and a master class here or there is wonderful but ongoing training can get pretty pricey real fast.</p>
<p>Exactly. Thatâs why I said it is something they need to think about when creating their budget. It will make them realize all they can afford may be a drop in class. If you donât have that discussion from the start, they may have an expectation that is not realistic. I think,we are all on the same page. Training is pricey and probably not affordable when first starting out. My point was they need to consider what if any training they can afford in their budgeting process.</p>
<p>I understand the value of keeping up with training!! My daughter can support herself but not pay for regular lessons. She currently takes no lessons. In the five years since graduating, there were a few occasions a couple of years ago when she took some voice lessons but it was too expensive to keep up with on a regular basis. She hasnât taken dance or acting classes since college. She belongs to a gym and also goes to yoga classes. She is into keeping her body fit, but that is not the same as performing arts training. </p>
<p>Again, I am totally for it, but first a graduate needs to make enough money for the essentials like food, rent, etc. If they have extra money for expensive lessons, thatâs great. Also, my daughter hasnât had the time, particularly in the past 14 months and in the coming months, to do training. As well, she has been out of town a lot lately. She has invested in other things related to her career, and given that she has a multi-faceted career at present, there are other needs beyond taking lessons. She has invested in producing her own albums, various gigs, a new portable keyboard, an accordion, videos and photo shots from concerts, music composition computer software, and stuff of that sort. Itâs not like she wouldnât like to take voice lessons. But it is a luxury as they are pricey in NYC. </p>
<p>She also has not had any need to purchase any dance shoes since graduating college.</p>
<p>@soozievt - This discussion brings up yet another reason that your Dâs many musical talents pay off for her. Not only has she been hired as an accompanist, but Iâll bet that has afforded her many opportunities to be present during a lot of voice training for others, no? Kinda like being a fly on the wall.</p>
<p>One of my favorite Submissions Only moments was when they noticed Hugh Jackman taking tap lessons in an adjacent studio. A great reminder that no matter who you are, thereâs always more to learn (I suspect he can afford the lessons). :)</p>
<p>Do most parents co-sign their kidsâ NYC leases? I suspect weâll feel hesitant to do that, given how I have seen roommates come and go in the performing world. I know more than one kid who has signed an NYC lease only to land an extended out-of-town contract a couple weeks later, so who knows who may be sharing an apartment as time goes by. </p>
<p>@MomCares, with much trepidation I co-signed my daughterâs lease. My main problem has been with her roommateâs parents who canât seem to get the rent in by the deadline. This incurs a $100 per month late fee. If the roommate doesnât pay before the end of the lease the total late fees will be taken out of our deposit. The rental company does not get into who owes what. </p>
<p>We will not be renewing. </p>
<p>@MomCaresâ As far as Iâm aware, most parents sign on as guarantors, not as co-signers (my lease at least had a specific clause stating that the guarantor agrees that they will not be living in the apartment). Unless a kid is making decent money right away, no reputable landlord will let them sign on their own. But if someone had reason to expect to be in and out of the city, subletting would make more sense, and subletting has the added benefit of not needing a guarantor. There are tons of sublets up on Gypsy Housing on facebook, as well as on craigslist</p>
<p>@momcares, I know many parents who did cosign (or agree to be guarantors) including those who lived to regret it. It scares the pants off of me but I think it is done pretty often. I may too have to suck it up to chance one day go over to the dark side so Iâll never say never.</p>
<p>As far as additional training goes, there are veteran parents who contribute here that certainly give examples of what their graduates are doing which if you read between the lines implies their graduates have had the luxury of continued training after graduation or they have just landed in the catbird seat. Either is wonderful if it works out and I fully support continuing education to hone skills if that more likely scenario is what is meant. Keeping it real though for most within the context of what a student can realistically expect to afford on their own without parent assistance, additional training is very unlikely to survive the cross out on a survival budget. </p>
<p>Compared to BFA/BA tuition, training classes are a bargain. But if the cord is cut and the student is paying for it with the traditional survival wages⊠even ones at the higher end, $350-450 for an 8 week session of⊠____ fill in the blank probably means the difference between making rent and not or having money to sometime go out socially (which everyone wants to do), or not. That is unless a survival budget means living at home, or in an apartment that your parents own or subsidize and adjust the rent for, or you have a trust fund. No harm and no foul for any of the above, but letâs keep it real. If you donât have that going for you $450 as an example spread over 8 sessions is huge. </p>
<p>@jazzcatastrophe, a co-signer and guarantor are interchangeable terms, at least in NYC.<br>
<a href=âhttp://www.movingtonewyorkguide.com/what-to-know-about-using-a-co-signer-in-new-york-city/â>http://www.movingtonewyorkguide.com/what-to-know-about-using-a-co-signer-in-new-york-city/</a></p>
<p>I agree subletting is the way to go! </p>
<p>My D graduated in May and she just signed the lease on her NYC apartment. She did not need a guarantor. She started building her own credit when she was a freshman and so was able to bypass that (she did need one her junior year when she moved into her first apartment.) She and her roommate looked at lots of options before making the decision to go with a broker. Yes, the fee was $2,500. But they found a fantastic apartment in a great location at a bit below the rent on other apartments in that area. Split between them, it was like adding $100 per month to the rent which still kept it within their budgets. </p>
<p>She started a âmove to NYCâ savings account her sophomore year and she put away enough in savings over the past 3 years to pay for the broker fee, first and last monthâs rent, and to pay for getting internet/utilities set up. She has a budget and it is going to be tight. It includes rent and utilities, food, cell phone, a metro pass, gym membership, student loan (thankfully very small!), entertainment, medical, cell phone, travel, misc. She has a cushion but she knows that will run out quickly. </p>
<p>She needs new headshots and she spent yesterday looking up options. Thatâs going to be around $600. So make sure you factor that expense in if you will be needing those.</p>
<p>Again, I only bring up additional training because many of our kids may have an expectation that they will be able to do so. Many have not paid out of pocket for these lessons in 4 years because it was part of their college curriculum. and they may not have had to pay to use a gym on campus either. So I think itâs important when they are figuring out their budget that they see how much it costs. Some may be able to afford it. Others may not. Just want to make sure all possible expenses are considered as they do their planning.</p>
<p>Agreed vvnstar! I should have noted that my D is very much planning on continuing to train. She knows that is an important expense.</p>
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<p>Itâs true my daughter has accompanied in Vocal Performance classes (not quite the same as voice lessons) taught by Sutton Foster, Michael McElroy (both at Tisch) and Joel Wagoneer (Pace) and Iâm sure it has been interesting and informative! But that still is not the same as working on her own voice, which I am sure she would love to do if she could afford it and have time. As I mentioned, in the past five years, she did that a little bit, but it was a few years ago. Itâs important to keep training, but it is expensive (typically $100/lesson) and so other things have had to come first and she doesnât have parental financial support. </p>
<p>Most parents will have to be a guarantor when their kids move to NYC. When my D signed the lease on her curren apartment for the second year this past spring she was able to do it without us as guarantors. When she leased this apartment she was lucky as the brokerâs fee was only one months rent ($1,700 at the time) and it was split between her and her roommate. She didnât have to pay the brokerâs fee when she stayed for a second year. Many of Dâs friends use Gypsy Housing to find sublets so that they donât have to pay brokerâs fees, but this requires a lot of moving around for many.</p>
<p>I agree with those above that training should be part of the budget, but honestly this is not feasible for many just moving to the city. Parents might want to think about giving training as gifts for birthdays or Christmas. </p>