If you decide to relocate to New York City, the largest city in the United States, you will be joining the 50% of residents who come from abroad.
There are many details to know when looking for the best places to live in New York City.
We explain everything in this article to help you get through this sometimes daunting process.
How to Find the Best Place to Live in New York?
The most common way to find your future home in New York is through a real estate agency.
These agencies work via a file-sharing system. This means that the properties are not exclusive to one agency but that all agencies have access to all available housing in New York.
So, as soon as you see a property you like, you don’t have to wait to visit it and make an offer.
You can also consult the following websites to find your future home in New York:
- Leasebreak: for rental searches of less than a year
- Listingsproject: a must-see site to find a rental
- Streeteasy: to easily find an apartment with detailed ads
- NYbits: the site gathers many real estate ads.
Our advice: avoid the site Craiglist which sometimes offers dubious ads.
Housing in New York: Which Neighborhoods to Choose?
New York is made up of many neighborhoods, and here are the main ones where it is good to live.
Upper East Side
This well-known neighborhood is chic and trendy. It is home to New York’s socialite community, which makes it a relatively exclusive neighborhood.
It is not easy to find properties for sale at affordable prices. However, the living environment is ideal: the Upper East Side contains numerous schools and universities, restaurants, and entertainment venues.
Hudson Square
Hudson Square is a former industrial district that is becoming a technology campus.
It’s a booming neighborhood that contains townhouses, condos, and old factories.
Hudson Square is very close to Soho and Greenwich Village and is becoming the new trendy neighborhood.
Chelsea
Chelsea is a quiet residential neighborhood with many restaurants and stores.
It is the ideal neighborhood to live in with your family as it is home to some great schools. In addition, the transportation system makes it easy to get to other parts of the city.
Soho
Soho stands for “South of Houston” and is a rather upscale neighborhood filled with stores and restaurants.
Soho is mainly known for its lofts and art galleries. It is an affluent neighborhood where the cost of living is high.
Cost of Renting an Apartment in the Best Places to Live in New York
Discover the average rent prices for a one-room apartment in New York in the most popular neighborhoods:
| Staten Island | $1,475 |
| Manhattan | $4,000 |
| Soho | $2,560 |
| Greenwich Village | $2,600 |
| Bronx | $1,000 |
Roommates in New York: a Great Way to Pay Less
Given the high cost of rent, many people choose to share apartments in New York.
Indeed, it is relatively easy to find large apartments with several rooms and in neighborhoods where it is best to live in New York. This can reduce your rent budget by about a third on average.
Sharing an apartment in New York is an ideal way to meet new people at the beginning of your expatriation.
If you are going to New York for your studies, there are also student residences that offer furnished rooms on various university campuses. For this, you can expect to pay between $1,000 and $2,000 per month.
Buying an Apartment in New York: the Different Types of Housing
If you decide to buy in New York rather than rent, it’s essential to know the city’s real estate jargon. There are three types of real estate.
The Co-op
Buying in a co-op is similar to buying in a real estate investment trust (SCI), in that you don’t own the walls but the shares in the apartment.
Good to know: 75% of the city’s real estate is purchased under the Coop system.
Condominium
A condominium allows you to buy the walls of your apartment, which is part of a building managed by a trustee. There are, therefore, common charges and property taxes to pay.
Buildings purchased in condominiums are more expensive than Coop apartments, generally between 15 and 30%.
The Townhouse
You buy an entire building that contains several apartments. However, this type of purchase is relatively rare and represents only a tiny percentage of the New York market.
To find the best place to live in New York, we recommend that you make an offer to your real estate agent as soon as you find a property that interests you because of the high demand.
