Back S2k

Intro: Hey guys I figured I should introduce myself before starting my rant. My name is David I have been on s2ki since I purchased/rebuilt my first S2000 in 2007. I'm from the DelVal region more specifically the suburbs of philly. I graduated Temple University May 2014 with a BA in accounting. Currently working as a staff accountant in the corporate offices of a huge skilled nursing corporation. It has always been a dream/plan of mine to work and live in nyc for a while. I have a few friends that work in midtown and live allover the city that I visit every so often.

Plan: My original plan was to put in a year at my current job while finally taking autocross seriously and putting in a full season now that I can finally afford it. Next, around late summer start looking for jobs in nyc, interviewing and then finally accepting an offer and moving around mid to late fall. Well an opportunity has presented itself earlier than I have anticipated. A friend of mine that works in an ad agency has informed me that a financial analyst position is going to be open and she wants to submit my resume. Of course I updated my resume and sent it to her. I figure no matter what happens it cant hurt to interview.

Questions:
1. Living situation: My criteria that I am fairly firm on is that I want to live on the island and pretty set on Harlem and not spend more than 1-1.2k on rent(stretch I know). Now of course I can always find someone looking for a roommate and live with them but ideally I'd like to find a studio and live by myself. What are the best places to look for a place with no broker fee's(which being from philly is an absurd concept to me). Now I'm willing to use a broker but I'm not willing to pay an arm a leg for their service this is Harlem after all.

2. If I don't land this job what are good places to look at for job postings specifically accounting/finance for when summer is over. (I am planing on getting my mba once I'm settled in)

3. I plan on keeping my S2000 for as long as possible. Are there any storage places you guys prefer to use that are affordable. I don't plan on bringing her over right away but after I'm settled and can afford it I'd like to have her close to me so I can continue playing/driving her when time permits.

Any advice or information would be greatly appreciated.

p.s. Sorry if something worded weird or comes off pretentious.

2ks2knyc

Before any of the negative and discouraging posting on why you should never live in NYC and how it's a crap hole and blah blah blah from others that have posted to similar threads start.. I will say this.

NYC is obviously VERY expensive to live in. Since you say harlem and aren't scared as many people are to even drive though it (it's really not that serious IMO) then you are being realistic if you are just starting out and trying to be on a budget. I would suggest you travel there and get to know the are as best you can first. I recently relocated from NY to FL and thats what I did prior to picking a place. I spent about two days driving and wondering about both day and night to get a feel for an area before I moved right in. It will be a huge change for you and you should do things right to make the best of it.

A female friend of mine works in Columbia Pres and lived in the Bronx and now uptown. I never trusted the lots uptown but had a pretty good one with 24/7 attendant in the Bronx. I would park my car freely there with zero worries. It was secured with a HT, removable steering wheel, and pager alarm. You will need to invest in all that if you plan on keeping the S in NY. The rent at said garage (a few years back) was about $275 a month. It is probably more and to be honest they might be full with full time parkers. I won't post location freely for obvious reasons.

Here comes a huge reality check, expecting to pay 1-1200 a month in rent anywhere in the Manhattan is not realistic since you are trying to hold on to your S. Even with out the car it is still not all that possible for any decent apartment. From what I have been noticing rentals are starting to increase more to stimulate the purchasing side of the market and that doesn't help either. I suggest to look into one of the other boroughs like Queens, Bronx or Brooklyn and commute into the city. But doing that you should also factor in your monthly train fare that I believe is about to go up yet again.

You should also factor in that EVERYTHING is VERY expensive in NYC and especially in Manhattan. Being that I live in FL now and used to the lower cost of living I notice it now more than ever. My first trip back there after my move I stayed in the upper east side with a friend and when I went to the drug store for some essentials it was like a $50.00 kick in the balls for just a handful of items. All I said to myself was "welcome back to NY.. ugh" It is not impossible to live in NY but it is very restricting.

Oh and kudos on going to Temple. A favorite football player went there as well as a summer intern I mentored. Feel free to PM me with any questions. I am happy to help out and know all the boroughs especially Brooklyn and Queens fairly well and even Nassau county.

Hope this helps ...

Back S2k

I have spent plenty of time in harlem (my good freind lives right on 145th half a block from the A train stop) and like it a lot that's why I would like to live there rather than the surrounding boroughs. I feel like it's brooklyn before it became "cool".

The S has a qr for the momo I'm covered on that end I'll research some alarms once the time comes I guess.

I don't think the 1-1.2k rent is really all that unrealistic. I come from very humble beginnings and do not plan or expect to find a dope place. I should have specified all I'm really looking for is a hole in the wall with small appliances and a pot to piss in really.

I understand how expensive the city is but also don't think it's going to be too bad as I am a single bachelor and only have to worry about myself really. Also I plan on coming back every month or couple months to visit family and friends(it's an hour long $32 round trip express train ride from penn station to trenton and another 40minutes to my parents house here) so I can always stock up on the essentials here and bring them back with me (my parents are big fans of costco lol).

I appreciate your response. You will probably be getting pm's from me as time gets closer

2ks2knyc

You sir, have the makings of a true NYer. Sounds like you'll be just fine. As far as alarms go. Hit up the OG Jose .. forget his screen name but he is the man when it comes to alarms. Pretty sure someone will post up his details.

Langelo DeMysterioso

Be aware that Harlem or "Uptown" is undergoing gentrification. A renaissance has been happening there for the past 20 years attracting many new name brand stores, new modern buildings and reconstruction. It's not the grimey scene you know from the 1970's movies. You will find rent levels approaching the rest of Manhattan with "Uptown" pricing. Middle and lower class New Yorkers are being pushed to the outer boroughs. Good luck.

Back S2k

^ Well aware of it that's why I am not surprised at the current rent prices but it is still a fraction of midtown and there is more to choose from. Thanx for staying positive guys

Da New Yawka

Can't believe how low crime is in NYC nowadays.

Though NYPD is under reporting crime to help keep your rent up.

Crime is so low, u have white people living in the ghettos now.

That wouldn't happen in the 1990s when crime was leveling off record highs.

2ks2knyc

wow bro, stereo type much? White people have always been living in ghetto's. I think what you are trying to say is many of the bad areas are cleaning up in NY. Magic Johnson contributed a lot to the redeveloping of Harlem. I didn't know he was white?

I grew up in 80's/90's NY and let me tell you. It was not safe to ride the trains at night or even in the day in some parts. You can do that now with way less of an issue. So yes, crime is much lower. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if crime is way higher in certain parts of FL than it is up in NY. If the papers are any indication, FL judges and police force are constantly being arrested for corruption, fraud and DWI's.

Da New Yawka

You were doing ok in your response till u added the Magic Johnson line "I didn't know he was white".

And I am actually SOMEWHAT correct in what I said. 1% of Harlem was white in 1990.

In 1980 less then 1%..



Fast forward to today and thanks to the economic turnaround of NYC, and the crime rate dropping from 2000+ murders in the early 1990s to 333 murders in 2014 (all time low since records first started being kept in 1962) and now people are seeking cheaper rent in areas they wouldn't in the 1990s.

Blacks are no longer the majority in Harlem for the first time since the 1920s.

I'm more upset that the yuppies are moving in, and people who lived there for generations can no longer afford to live there. It's happening all over NYC.

2ks2knyc

I hear ya. There is a huge influx of yuppies (as you call them) in recent history. I just think we have come far to long to say white or black when it's really all about green. The all mighty dollar rules in NY and every place else for that matter.

I'm sure you've been to Williamsburg and what happened there. It's nothing to brag about but there is a section that is heavy populated by Hasidic Jewish which if we are choosing a color is not black but can still be called a ghetto.

I think we agree in a sense but there are different color yuppies and to stereo type one over the other is not entirely to cool.