<p>Hi;</p>
<p>I got admission on New York University, and I wonder how much it would cost me for rent if I stayed a bit far way from Manhattan (Bronx for example)?</p>
<p>Is it also easy to commute? </p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>Completely depends. If you wanted to live by yourself, in the Bronx you could probably find a studio anywhere from $1000-1500+. $1,000 would be on the low side, and probably in a not-so-good neighborhood. I think $1200 and up would be more realistic for a studio in the kind of neighborhood you’d want to live in. Shared accommodations would, of course, be cheaper. You could share a 2- or 3-bedroom apartment with 1-2 other college students for $800-1100 in decent neighborhoods in NYC.</p>
<p>The Bronx is quite far from NYU. I used to live in Washington Heights in upper Manhattan, and it took me about 45 minutes to get to around the NYU area on an express train. From a neighborhood like Riverdale (southern part of the Bronx, but a nice neighborhood) it would probably take you at least an hour to get to NYU. But Riverdale is expensive because it’s nice, and I think you’d be hard-pressed to find affordable housing. Anywhere else that’s a reasonable commuting distance is not the safest (most of the South Bronx).</p>
<p>You wouldn’t have to live quite that far, I think. There are some affordable options (by NYC standards) in Harlem/Morningside Heights. NYU is right smack in the center of Manhattan, so a lot of trains will get you close enough to walk - so you could live on either the west or east side. West Harlem is better than East Harlem in terms of safety and sketchiness. A little further, but a bit nicer, is Washington Heights I lived in Washington Heights for 3 years and I really liked the neighborhood; the A train will take you to West 4th in about 45 minutes. Even in both of those neighborhoods, living alone would be very expensive, so I suggest finding some roommates.</p>
<p>A lot of NYU students choose to live in Brooklyn. The closest areas of Brooklyn are, of course, expensive - because they are a short commute into lower Manhattan. But you could look in Flatbush and Prospect Heights; when I was looking to move out to Brooklyn, I found a couple of inexpensive shares there (like a large 2-bedroom for $1600 just south of Prospect Park, nice neighborhood). That’s about 35-40 minutes from NYU.</p>
<p>And lastly, there’s Queens. Queens isn’t hip yet like Brooklyn, so the closer neighborhoods of Queens are still relatively affordable. You could be to NYU from Astoria in 30-40 minutes, Jackson Heights or Woodside in like 40-45 minutes, and Long Island City in like 20-30 minutes. I have a friend who lives in Astoria and it’s such a nice neighborhood. If I were moving back to New York to live semi-permanently, I would definitely want to move to Queens.</p>
<p>As for commuting - it is very, very easy to commute in NYC. The subway runs 24 hours a day - although not all trains run all hours, so commuting late at night (between 11 pm and about 5 am) takes longer usually. A monthly train pass is currently something like $112/month, which is much cheaper than paying per way if you travel every day and also way cheaper than maintaining a car with gas and such. But you can get anywhere you want to go in the city by subway. There are also buses that run to the subways and east/west across Manhattan, which most subway lines don’t do. You just need to make sure that you live nearby a subway that will take you to NYU, hopefully without switching trains. But, like I said, NYU is near a lot of trains - the A/C, the E, the B/D, the F, M, the N, the R, and the 6. The 1 and the L are a bit further, but walkable. And honestly, all of those trains connect to the other trains that are missing, so you could get to NYU with just one switch from pretty much anywhere in the city.</p>
<p>Oh, and another thing - commute time means something different in NYC. A 45-minute commute by car can be kind of brutal, but on the subway it’s really not much because you’re sitting or standing (not driving) the whole time. You can read a book and listen to your headphones. 20 minutes is like nothing.</p>
<p>Many Thanks Juilet … I was also thinking about either Astoria or Sunnyside … How about WOODLAWN? some people say it’s far. do you agree? or you think I can manage since as you said the commute is very convenient. </p>
<p>Why not try the NYU dorms?</p>
<p>Thanks Bopper … I prefer to have privacy … unless they have single room in NYU.</p>
<p>Rent a basement apartment in Pelham Bay, Morris Park or Throgs Neck. You could take the Express Bus or # 5 train to Manhattan. Very safe neighborhoods in the Bronx. Contact Today Realty at 718-597-1777 or look up ads in the “Bronx Penny Pincher” online.</p>
<p>It appears to me that there are single bedrooms in suites:
<a href=“http://www.nyu.edu/content/dam/nyu/resLifeHousServ/documents/NYU029_housing-rates0b.pdf”>http://www.nyu.edu/content/dam/nyu/resLifeHousServ/documents/NYU029_housing-rates0b.pdf</a></p>
<p>I have lived in every borough. When I attended NYU years ago I lived in Brooklyn and manhattan. My commute from the upper west side was about the same as my commute from Queens ( but way cheaper and nicer apts) . Try Sunnyside or Woodside if Astoria is too expensive. Way better deal than manhattan or brooklyn and better commute than the bronx provided you’re near the 7 train. </p>
<p>Currently in Jackson heights which is also nice. </p>
<p>Woodlawn is too far BTW</p>
<p>Astoria is already gentrifying and discovered by Yuppies. Rents are no longer affordable there.</p>
<p>Having a 45 minute or longer commute every day is a heavy price to pay for privacy. And think about the kind of day where you have, say, a 9 am class, a 3 pm class, and a 7 pm club meeting. Where will you put yourself all day? The library? A lounge? You could be setting yourself up for a very dreary lifestyle.</p>
<p>I lived at home in Queens when I attended school in Brooklyn (now NYU Polytechnic). It was an hour on the subway each way. But I managed, had an active social life at school. It can be done, but you have to be realistic about the time commitments on both ends of the commute.</p>
<p>There are singles available in NYU student housing.</p>
<p>Woodlawn is kind of far. If you lived on the east side close to the 2 or the 5, or Metro-North, you could be down to NYU in an hour and 10 minutes. You could take Metro-North to Grand Central, or you could take the 2 or 5 and switch. But if you don’t live nearby a subway/train and you have to take a bus to the subway, that could add some time - plus irritation. </p>
<p>I think only you can determine your level of frustration vs. tolerance for a long commute, and it depends. 1 hour on one subway line is different than 1 hour spent transferring from a bus to the subway to another subway line. And I’m talking about daytime routes; if you ever hang out at night with friends in the NYU area, getting back is going to take you a loooong time, as the 2 goes local at night, the 5 doesn’t run that far uptown overnight, and the buses don’t run 24 hours a day. And a cab would be prohibitively expensive - a cab from the NYU area up to Morningside Heights where I lived would cost me ~$30, so I can only imagine what it would cost up to Woodlawn. (Taxi Fare Finder says it would cost about $47.13 before tip in light traffic.)</p>
<p>There are some singles in the NYU residence halls.</p>
<p>Still, I have a friend who is from Brooklyn and she commuted to NYU for her first two years there. And lots of NYU students commute in from Brooklyn and Queens (and some from upper Manhattan, too). They find things to do to fill up their time - it’s Manhattan; there’s tons to see and explore, and plenty of places to park it for a couple of hours in between classes. Still, I wouldn’t move all the way up to Woodlawn when you can find affordable rents in upper Manhattan and other areas in Queens and Brooklyn that would be closer, unless you had family that were going to give you a room for free. Seriously, you could live in central Harlem and the A, D, 2, or 3 would get you to NYU in about 30-35 minutes.</p>
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<p>Depends on what you mean by affordable, especially if OP is willing to share (an apartment, not a room). The aforementioned friend is renting a bedroom in a beautiful new 2-story, three-bedroom duplex in Astoria for $1175/month. You can find some shared apartments in Astoria from $900-1200 per bedroom. Of course, if you want your own studio or one-bedroom, then I would agree it’s unaffordable!</p>
<p>Also, be careful with basement apartments. A lot of them are illegal.</p>
<p>Many Thanks Juilet … I appreciate your elaborate response.</p>