As someone who has done exactly this three separate times in my life, I feel qualified to help people get a start in how to approach relocating to the New York City area. By now you certainly know that real estate prices (purchase or rental) are easily the highest in the United States, but it’s even a bit more complicated than that. When you look online at listings you’ll notice that prices are definitely higher than wherever you are coming from, but what you might not realize until you arrive is that places are also very small, on average. So a 2-bedroom apartment might average 1,000 square feet in most of the country, but in New York you might only get 600 square feet.

Choosing where to live

The first and most important decision you’ll need to make is to choose exactly which area you are most interested in living in. If you are new to the city you’ll likely want to look at Manhattan first, but unfortunately prices there are by far the highest, and places are also tiny. Thanks to rent control laws that were meant to keep housing affordable, it’s anything but affordable since almost all the most desirable places are never on the open market.

It’s best to consider your commute before you start thinking about where you’ll live. Most of the better jobs are in Manhattan, but since it’s long and thin it can make things tricky. For example, if your job will be Downtown (south of 14th Street) then you can get there quickly and easily from Brooklyn, but if your job is in Midtown or north of that, you’ll be right across from Queens. If you don’t factor that in you could be adding 30 minutes to your commute, each way, every day.

Suburban areas

You have to go at least 6 or 8 miles from Manhattan before you get to anything resembling a normal American suburb. You’ll have your choice nearby of:

• New Jersey
• Queens
• Brooklyn
• Long Island
• Westchester
• Connecticut

The first three on that list could put you 30 minutes from Manhattan, and the last three will usually require at least an hour each way.

Rent or buy?

Prices for rentals have been astronomical for many decades in New York City, and same with a purchase, but things have been changing lately. With so many Wall Street jobs being lost in 2009, and many of those may never get filled again, the prices of things Downtown have come down quite a bit. Things that were outrageous a few years ago might be affordable today. You’ll have to do the math yourself, but the good news is things are changing and prices are likely to keep coming down in certain areas for the next year or more.

Plan a trip to look around

Another unique thing about New York real estate, buying or renting, is that it’s cutthroat and unbelievably competitive. Unlike many other cities, you can’t just show up and look at a few apartments and pick one. There are always some apartments available, but if it’s something you can just show up and get then it’s WAY overpriced. Anything that is even close to a fair price will have a long line of people also trying to get it, so the thing to do is get an early flight to New York and then look for an affordable place to stay while you are looking around. There are a few hotels in NYC that have reasonable prices, especially if you are coming off season.

Once in the city you’ll want to visit the different neighborhoods several times so you can see which one feels right to you. Some neighborhoods seem quiet during the day but are crazy loud at night, or the other way around. It’s important to go at different times of the day and week to see what the traffic patterns are like. I used to live a few blocks from a street that was jammed with huge trucks every weekday. If I only visited on the weekend I’d never have noticed it, and thankfully I didn’t live any closer than I did.

More research

It’s a good idea to consult a New York travel guide to get a feel for the different neighborhoods, as well as help in finding a cheap hotel that works for you. This is going to be an expensive move as it is, and if you aren’t careful it can practically bankrupt you, so do your homework before you go.