[ramonesfreak]

I dont know what the rental market is like now post-pandemic. I thought people were leaving and apartments were vacant and it was a renter's market???

I left Manhattan in 2004. I lived in Soho. I would never ever have lived in mid-town. In fact, I left for a reason and there is no amount of money under a million dollars per year that would motivate me to move back, and I loved NYC. I was in my 20s and 30s and had energy but I got bored and wanted a yard. However, I have so many great memories and zero regrets. It was truly an experience of a lifetime. Being older now, I could probably deal with mid-town, or anywhere in Manhattan knowing what I know ----not that I could physically do it or want to do it.

When I moved there, I would go to open houses to see apartments and the broker would start a bidding war. Inevitably, some 18 year old would raise his hand and say he would pay the price and in fact would pay the entire year up front, waiving a wad of cash. This made it very frustrating and difficult. Eventually I found a 100 sq feet apartment on Prince St for $1350 a month that had no closets. Still, I was there, excited, and I made the most of it. You however, (I thought) have a family. The life I lived is not the life you want.

I suspect you are around my age of 50 ??? You need to think of economy and efficiency. I am not talking about money. I am talking about energy expenditure.

First, familiarize yourself with the grid system and where the subways run (north and south). You will want to minimize the amount of physical energy it takes to get to work. Just because a subway has a station right near your office doesnt mean you can walk out of your apartment and just hop on. If you are far east or west of that subway's entrance, you may need to walk many blocks to get on it. This is not good in the winter, the rain or when its 100 degrees and humid.

The best thing that can happen to you is that you find an apartment within walking distance of your office, even if it is in midtown. Make things easy at first. If you like the city and plan to stay, eventually you will find a neighborhood you want to live in and that you feel is worth the inconvenience of a longer, more physically demanding commute.

Call a broker and tell them where the office is and what type of apartment you are looking for and tell them to find one that you can walk to your office from, and be specific. Some people are happy to walk 4 miles to work. Is that you? I would say a 20 minute walk is max......remember, walking in NYC with an umbrella at rush hour is not so easy or fun. In NYC its the little things that eat away at your sanity and typically people dont realize what those little things are until they have been there for a while. As Bukowski would say, it’s the continuing series of small tragedies that send a man to the madhouse.....in NYC, stepping in a puddle on your way to the office is one such tragedy. Always try to minimize them. You will learn as you go.

I would also hop in my car and drive there a few weekends in a row, alone. Walk the streets where you think you may live and get the vibe. In Soho, I could walk to dinner in china town, the village, LES, the west village, i would even walk over to the east village.....in the midtown area, your a bit removed from that world which is not to say you wont have places to eat or things to do.

I know people cook in their NYC apartments. I did not and would not. You are basically calling out to every cockroach in the building when you cook in your apartment. The fewer of these the better. ---If you think your building will not have cockroaches, you are very wrong. My GF at the time was the peronal caretaker of a very famous movie maker. I was in this persons $50 million apartment on central park west many times. It was amazing. It was clean. It had cockroaches.

I give you credit for doing this. But, at my age now, I dont think I could hack it. The older people in NYC that remain are generally very wealthy or lived there their whole life and dont know anything different. Try to refrain from saying to yourself if they can do it, you can do it. You will need to adjust and in a major way. NYC is not Seattle. It is not LA. It is not Boston or San Francisco. It is its own animal.

This will not be easy no matter how mentally ready you are for it. Its a physically (and mentally) demanding place. Get in shape and take your vitamins. Seriously. When I first got there, I got shin splints from all the walking and I was constantly sick because my immune system was not ready for all the germs everywhere. It was like going to a foreign country or something. Eventually I got strong and had no issues. Good luck and remember to have fun.