Tips for moving to New York City

[REPO Man]

As of this moment:

* Technically unemployed, hoping to fix that
* Currently raised my maximum rent from $500 to 700, and my current goal (which includes 3 months rent, a Greyhound ticket, luggage, and so on) is $3,100.
* I'm gonna try to move no sooner than after Christmas, but hopefully before spring since I heard that the cold seasons are the best time to find a place, since Craigslist listings are sparse in the spring and summer.
* I actually know someone who moved up there last month. I sent her a friend request on FB, but I know not to just blatantly ask for a place to stay, since she might not be able to accommodate me (some people have rules, their own or otherwise, that forbid overnight guests) and I don't want to impose. And I know that if she says I can crash on her couch I know that I should stay no longer than two weeks and to help out with the chores and bills and so on.
* My stuff's in storage and we owe money, but once we get it sorted out I'm gonna go ahead and sell tons of my stuff, including stuff I wasn't going to originally. I figure I can probably get a third of my goal from that.

[StuntDouble]

REPO,

Are you and your family still on Hatteras Island?

If so, I'm going to go against the grain and suggest a sideways move to Wilmington, NC. Why?

1. It's cheaper than NYC.

2. You might be able to keep your shorts on for most of the year. It does get cold, but on average it's going to be quite a bit warmer than NYC.

3. Wilmington actually has a growing film industry. It's not as big as NYC's of LA's, but that may work to your advantage.

4. The last time I was down there (Early September), I saw quite a few "Help Wanted" signs. Most of them were at restaurants and small stores though. So there appear to be other jobs down there, if you're just looking for a paycheck while you work on your film career.

5. It would be closer to home, so you might actually know people near the area. You know, just in case you need a place to crash for a week or so.


Some things I've learned from being nearly homeless and completely broke:

Selling stuff can be great for getting yourself out of a bind, but eventually you run out of stuff. Don't count on e-Bay or Craigslist for paying the rent.

It's worth it to eat healthy. I know you were willing to go on the Ramen diet before, and I know that stuff can be filling, but it is absolutely awful for you. The same goes for pretty much anything made in a microwave. Clip your coupons, search for markdowns, plan your meals and use your freezer. A friend of mine figured out that he and his wife spend over $100 a week on groceries for just the two of them. Doing all of those things, my girlfriend and I rarely spend over $50 a week.

[REPO Man]

We moved to Orlando back in April.

I'm not moving to any other place than NYC. So don't try to convince me of another destination.

I'm only trying to sell my stuff to get the money I need.

My moving budget is:

* Greyhound ticket - $120
* Money to get to station (either to buy tickets for the bus to the Greyhound station in Orlando, or to reimburse whoever drives me there for the gas they used to get me there) - $10
* Luggage - $100
* Three months rent (for $700/mo room) - $2,100
* MetroCard (30-day unlimited) - $120
* Cash to live off - $650 plus anything left over from everything else except the remainder of the three months' rent, which is being put towards a separate account for rent and bills

Grand Total - $3,100
Current - $0
Estimated value of salable items - $1200-1400

[AppleQueso]

We moved to Orlando back in April.

I'm not moving to any other place than NYC. So don't try to convince me of another destination.

Not even intermittently? You're not exactly in a flexible situation as it is, finding a place for a while somewhere else might give you an opportunity to save up better so you'll be more well prepared when you actually make the NYC move.

[StuntDouble]

http://www.allisonj.org/2008/08/21/entr ... ng-in-nyc/

There's another article on living in NYC on $36,000 a year. Of course, that was written in 2008, so I'm sure costs have gone up quite a bit. An offhand guesstimation would say you could change that amount to $42,000-$45,000 for today. Maybe more, maybe less, I don't know.

If you're deadset on moving to NYC with no stops in between, my advice is this:

Work your ass off now. I know the job market sucks, and it's probably not easy to find something you want to do, but if you want to move to NYC that badly, I don't see you having that luxury. There's no shame in having a crappy job, there's only shame in not trying. I don't know it for sure, but I have a feeling your budget $3100 for 3 month is being optimistic. I know of a couple folks that had to provide 3 months rent (Security, first and last) up front. I don't think they were living in the Brooklyn area though. Going by your rent estimation, that would be $2,100 right off the bat. Two more months rent would raise that to $3,500. This is supposation on my part. I've never lived there, so I'm sure other folks that have could speak to this.

I'd suggest checking out the job situation in NYC now. Make up a resume, send it out. If (when?) you get any callbacks, let them know about the distance situation. Depending on the company and how badly they want you, they may be able to help with the move. That's probably being optimistic, but who knows. Once you get an idea of the kind of income you can expect, you can start to figure out what kind of rent you can afford.

Have you had a chance to visit the city at all? I looked through your posts but didn't see any indication that you had. It might be worth your while to hook up with a fellow Racketboy (Racketeer?) member from the area, and spend a day or three checking it out. You can read and research it all you want, but there's no substitute for actually experiencing it.

[samsonlonghair]

I believe in you, Repo. You can make it in NYC.
This boy is getting mugged