[daveman]

I'm considering to NYC for 1-3 years to be closer to my GF while she does her medical residency.

My GF's cousin lives in Manhattan and pays $1500 per month in rent for half a 2-bedroom apartment.

Here in the DC metro area, I live in a co-op apartment I purchased a few years ago. Yes, the management fees are an outrageous portion of my monthly payment (maybe only 1/4 goes to principle/interest), but I do get a nice interest deduction on my income taxes, and enjoy $10-25K appreciation per year, which is more than it costs me to live there. It just doesn't make any sense to rent, even for a year or two.

Is this the situation in NYC, too (Manhattan particularly)? Are co-ops considered "risky"? Are they as "affordable" as apartments, as far as total monthly payments go? Do they usually appreciate, or do their prices fluctuate up and down greatly?

In other words, for those in the know, should I pursue a co-op or a condo if I plan to move to NYC for two years?

 

[kartik]

If you have the money I'd buy an apartment. The way prices are rising, (~ 20K/yr) it would be a great investment. I wouldn't say that coops are risky, some of them can be very picky though. Which hospital is your GF planning to go to for her residency? IT will largely determine whta kind of neighbourhood you're looking at. Without trying to pry, how much are you looking to pay? I know a friend who recently sold a small-medium sized studio on the Lower East side for $250,000. This was a co-op. A similar sized condo would be about ~$300,000. Improving the quality of the building or the the neighbourhood, might push you into the 300+ mark for a studio, 500+ mark for a 1BR and the "way more than I can afford" mark for a 2BR.

 

[wallijonn]

For $1500 a month you could buy a home in L.I. and commute to NYC for $300 a month. Heck, for that kind of money you can buy a home in Brooklyn or Queens and commute for $4 a day.

I know people who were paying (renting!) $5000 a month for an apartment in NYC. That buys a nice home in L.I.

Time for you to google.

 

[daveman]

Actually, Long Island might be a possibility, since it would actually be closer to my girlfriend. My GF is already in her first year of residency in New Haven (Yale/HSR). I'd prefer to be closer to New Haven, but I don't think there are many job opportunities for me there (Oracle database administrator).

I was within inches of buying a $300K house in the 'burbs here (but the contract to sell my coop fell through just before I was to close on the house), so I could probably swing a co-op of about the same price. Then again, the payments on a 300K coop would be much higher than payments on a 300K house in a neighborhood with HOA dues of only $50 per month.

If I get a job in NY, maybe I can look at homes in New Rochelle, Stamford, or somewhere else in-between NYC and New Haven. I just don't know the area well enough to know the "good" from the "bad" areas.

 

[grinch]

Quote:

Originally posted by daveman If I get a job in NY, maybe I can look at homes in New Rochelle, Stamford, or somewhere else in-between NYC and New Haven. I just don't know the area well enough to know the "good" from the "bad" areas.

upper westchester is where the "good" areas are most often found: hartsdale, scarsdale, eastchester, and then the river cities are nice too (hastings-on-hudson, dobbs ferry, etc.), but of course these places are going to be fairly expensive. new rochelle isn't too nice, though a small part of it is decent. i had a friend who lived in stamford for a while, and i never found their area to be anything short of wonderful.

new haven is pretty damn far away from the city, just to let you know. i'm guessing it's almost two hours via train (/me looks for jpelg to correct him).

personally, i'd rather be tarred, feathered, and castrated before living in new jersey. long island is about one notch higher on my list. driving in either of those places daily would either force me to commit suicide or homicide. connecticut drivers suck too. i'd kill to live in the city, but sadly i'm a bum and moron and can't afford it. err, at least not without selling my headphone setup first.

good luck on whatever you decide. head-fiers here are pretty cool too, so try to get to a meet if you do end up moving here.

 

[jpelg]

Quote:

new haven is pretty damn far away from the city, just to let you know. i'm guessing it's almost two hours via train (/me looks for jpelg to correct him).

Yeah, he's right. While the train to NYC is fairly convenient from here, it does run close to two hours each way. Not a bad ride, and you can sleep all the way home and not worry about missing your stop, as New Haven is the end of the Metro-North line. I go into the City for work about once a week, on average, as my company is based in Manhatten. I also go there frequently for pleasure (concerts, clubs, friends), but I wouldn't want to commute every day. If I were working in NY, I'd have to live closer, and preferably Manhatten proper (or at least one of the burroughs). As most have already pointed out, the closer you get to NYC, the more expensive things get. As an Oracle DBA, that may not be a problem for you, but you will not be very close to your girlfriend here in New Haven. How much time you want to spend with her, or that she has available during her residency, I don't know. It's do-able, but it takes a lot of energy (I'm speaking from experience). So you will have to weigh the pros & cons.

As far as New Haven, it's a pretty cool town for its size. All of the universities in the area infuse a lot of youthful energy during the semesters. Yale obviously has the biggest influence. There is a decent arts community with lots of variety. Good restraurants too. The club scene is very young though (to my chagrin

). During the summertime and semester breaks, things are much quieter.

Btw, why not look at Yale University as a potential employer? I'm sure the pay-scale in academia won't be as high as a for-profit business, but there are other rewards.

I can't really help you with regard to real estate stuff, but I know that Yale has an employee program that gives money toward purchasing homes in certain areas of New Haven.

If there's anything I can help with when things start happening, just ask.

 

[wallijonn]

You caused me to dream last night. I saw "me" / you living at about 64th Street and she at about 96th St.; somewhere near Lexington. Believe me when I say that a Brownstone at 64th & Lex. is probably going for about $10,000,000. ( I have never been a West side guy, preferring the Eastside).

If you must commute, here's the secret:

Get all the train schedules for all the cities on the New Haven / Metro North lines. They should be on the internet. Or go to Grand Central Station to get the schedules or book.

Figure you'll leave your work at 5PM. You could therefore get a train at about 5:30PM.

See what is exactly one hour away. Look at the stops at 6:30. There should be an express stop and a local stop. You want to look at the express stops first. This is the area that you want to start looking in first for a home. Now you want to be 15 minutes to 1/2 hour away, preferable North to North East, of this train stop. You basically want your commute to be as close to 1.5 hours as possible. Remember that in the morning you want to be 10 minutes early. Once you get on the train, you want it to be as close to a 1 hour ride as possible.

If you land in Grand Central, a mid town job will be about 20 minutes away, a Wall Street job will be about 30 minutes away. (The walk is included to and from work). That 20 minute walk includes picking up a bagel and coffee.

Look into the NYTimes online for possible jobs.

 

[daveman]

Thanks all for the advice. I'm surprise SweetSpot hasn't replied. Perhaps I should also add that I'm an Ihp-140 owner.

jpelg, I am well-aware of some of the great restaurants in the New Haven area. I have a penchant for Mexican, and have already discovered Mi Casa and Jalapeno Heaven. Whereabouts in the city do you live? My GF lives on Central Avenue, near Whalley.

Some interesting data comparisons between Burke, VA (a DC suburb, my current residence) and New Haven, according to http://www.city-data.com/:

For population 25 years and over in Burke:

High school or higher: 94.9%
Bachelor's degree or higher: 59.0%
Graduate or professional degree: 27.0%
Unemployed: 2.2%
Median household income: $93,561 (year 2000)

For population 25 years and over in New Haven city:

High school or higher: 73.6%
Bachelor's degree or higher: 27.1%
Graduate or professional degree: 15.2%
Unemployed: 13.8%
Median household income: $29,604 (year 2000)

Oh, I'd better add NYC, too:

For population 25 years and over in New York city:

High school or higher: 72.3%
Bachelor's degree or higher: 27.4%
Graduate or professional degree: 11.6%
Unemployed: 9.6%
Median household income: $38,293 (year 2000)

 

[dSquared]

Quote:

Originally posted by wallijonn You caused me to dream last night. I saw "me" / you living at about 64th Street and she at about 96th St.; somewhere near Lexington. Believe me when I say that a Brownstone at 64th & Lex. is probably going for about $10,000,000. ( I have never been a West side guy, preferring the Eastside).

Hmm, you must have more clothes than books.

(Sorry, couldn't resist, I'm a former Upper West Side guy.)

Seriously though, great advice!

I'll toss out there that if you got a place in New Haven, you'd be close to your girlfriend (who's going to be pulling insane hours as it is), there's a built in rental market (for after you're done with the apartment/condo/house/whatever), and your money's going to go much further in New Haven than in New York. Two words come to mind about Manhattan apartments in the $300000 range: "postage" and "stamp" or "serious compromise" (e.g. you get space, but your window faces the wall of another building, or no natural sunlight, and so on).

Good luck!

 

[wallijonn]

what's apts. going for in NOHO or SOHO? (North Of HOuston, South Of HOuston)? Are the "artist" warehouse flats all taken?

 

[stuartr]

Being from Southern Connecticut, and having lived in Southern California, the only Mexican restaurant worth going to is Mexicali Rose in the middle of nowhere in Newtown -- it is a family owned Yucatan restaurant that is awesome.
As for houses in the commuting range of New York -- New haven is a nice town, but it is really too far to commute. I grew up in Easton, and my dad still did 2.5 hours each way to get to Lower Manhattan if you include driving to the train station, walking, and taking the subway...as grinch said, eastchester and rochester etc are good places to look -- a lot of commuters choose to live in places like Hoboken as well. Yo la tengo is from hoboken, which is probably among its only redeeming aspects. In any case, I hope you find a reasonable rate for a place...

Edit: as for your money -- it will go further in New haven in terms of your apartment cost, but not really in any other aspect...it is not significantly cheaper than New york in any other way...