University of Massachusetts alumna Sarah Hill has a simple answer about living in the Big Apple.
“Like Frank Sinatra said, if you can make it here, then you can make it anywhere,” she said, after giving a presentation called “Moving to NYC 101” last night.
Hill’s presentation, sponsored by the Alumni Association, gave detailed advice to students about moving to New York City for the first time. Hill discussed the entire process of moving to the city, starting with landing a job. She then took the audience through the steps of finding an apartment and a roommate, choosing a neighborhood and working with a broker, while also offering general advice on living in the city.
Hill, a 2010 graduate with a Bachelor’s Degree with Individual Concentration (BDIC) in real estate and entrepreneurship, moved to New York City after graduating from UMass. She works as an executive assistant at a property management firm in midtown Manhattan.
After her experiences working in real estate and trying to navigate the challenges of moving to New York City as a recent college graduate, Hill founded the company Perfect Strangers of NYC.
The company works primarily with students and recent graduates who are moving to the city and are in need of a roommate and a place to live. Perfect Strangers attempts to connect possible roommates, help them plan their budgets and ultimately find an apartment they can afford.
Hill acknowledged that moving to New York City might be difficult, but it can be done. Before a friend convinced her to apply for jobs in the city, Hill hadn’t considered moving there.
“I always thought it would be really nice but [that] it was too difficult and I could never do it,” said Hill.
Once moving there, however, Hill said that she would definitely recommend that students move to New York City after graduating. Moving to New York City is a huge learning experience, she said. And moving to the city was also an advantage when applying for jobs at almost any company., Hill said.
Despite the advantages, Hill stressed that moving to New York City can be very expensive. She advised the audience that if they move to the city with a job lined up, they should be able to pay for two months of rent and have about $1,000 for spending. If unemployed, they would need at least three months of rent and approximately $2,000 for spending.
Hill also recommended that people who move to the city without a job should sublet an apartment. Subletting has lower costs, usually a faster move-in and less of a commitment, said Hill. Many landlords don’t permit subletting, however, so it has the potential to generate legal issues.
Much of Hill’s presentation focused on finding an apartment. She asked the audience to name the five boroughs – Manhattan, Queens, the Bronx, Brooklyn and Staten Island – and to point to each on a map in order to familiarize them with areas of the city outside of Manhattan.
Audrey Hanlon, a senior hospitality and tourism management major, said she found Hill’s information very helpful. Hanlon will be moving to New York City after graduation to work at the Grand Hyatt New York. Hanlon said that Hill’s information and advice on finding an apartment was helpful.
Manhattan is the most expensive of the five boroughs, said Hill, with the West Village, Tribeca, SoHo, the Upper East Side and the Upper West Side having the highest living costs. The average rent of a studio apartment in these neighborhoods is about $1,600 per month, according to Hill’s estimates.
“When you can’t afford to live in any of those neighborhoods, you go to the boroughs,” said Hill. She also recommends that newcomers to the city look for apartments in boroughs like Queens and Brooklyn if they find that Manhattan is too fast-paced.
Parts of Brooklyn are close to Manhattan, but it can also be more expensive. Queens is often the cheapest option out of those three boroughs, said Hill. Queens generally has the largest apartments for the lowest rent, she said. Hill currently lives in Astoria, Queens. When she first moved to New York City, Hill said that she wished she had known more about living in Queens. She originally lived in a Clinton Hill, Brooklyn apartment that cost about $1,000 per month. Had she known about Queens, she could have gotten a similar apartment for $400 less, she said.
Having a roommate to help cut costs can make living in New York City more affordable. In her presentation, Hill recommended different ways of finding a roommate. When she first moved to the city, Hill met with potential roommates that she had found on Craigslist, which can be hit or miss, she said. She also recommended living with a friend of a friend or using Perfect Strangers New York City to find a roommate match.
When meeting a potential roommate that you don’t know, especially someone from Craigslist, Hill advised the audience that they should always arrange a meeting in a public place.
In addition to advice on landing a job and finding an apartment in the city, Hill shared some wisdom that she has picked up from her experiences.
When people question the safety of the city, Hill said, “It is safe. You just have to be smart – don’t be stupid.”
She also said that no matter where you end up living in the city, people often take pride in their neighborhoods, no matter what its problems are.
“Never tell anyone that you live in a sucky neighborhood,” she said. “They will get really mad at you.”
Sarah Hardy can be reached at [email protected].
