Ask HN: What’s it like moving to NYC today?

5 pointsquickaskq3y ago5 comments

I’ve been sensing a trend of techies making moves to NYC. I’ve also heard of insane rent increases by the order of $500 - $1000, and a huge scarcity of available properties.

Has anyone recently made the move to NYC? How was your experience?

5 comments

nla3y ago

I've been living here for a long time. Rents are astronomical. A building near me that was renting for $4300. for a one bedroom is now getting $7600. for a one bedroom. The thing to do now is to buy if you can. Prices haven't come up that much and there is a lot of inventory for purchase. Not so much for rent.

temp2343y ago

Contrary to OP, I'm having trouble imagining tech and the arts thriving in NYC, if this keeps up. Will it become one of those cities where lots of the properties are really being used as investments, not homes or commercial spaces? And the edges of what we consider the metro area get pushed further and further out? Even more so than pre-pandemic? Someone explain the possible futures here to me if you can

trompetenaccoun3y ago

The government also seems unfriendly towards innovation. Basically they're protecting old capital, which isn't surprising, that's the way it goes.

I'd be cautious buying into NY real estate. As far as rent goes if my job didn't cover the cost adequately I'd simply not live there. Buying something just because it's already pricey isn't generally a smart move, and pouring too much of your life and savings into a single market increases the risks.

1 more reply

aborsy3y ago

It doesn’t seem that bad

https://www.zillow.com/

You mean in Manhattan?! Even there …

capguy2553y ago

Recently moved to NYC from another city on the east coast. It is expensive to live here, but month over month rent is not excessively expensive depending on where you live. The more frustrating thing about living here is the peculiarities of real estate transactions that I haven't seen in other American cities. There were some substantial discounts pre-COVID but things are normalizing.

In short -- there are five boroughs in NYC - the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, and Staten Island. When most people talk about NYC they are talking about Manhattan, but most people tend to live elsewhere. The housing stock is very old (e.g. pre-WWII) and not very sizable compared to other cities. If you are looking for a one-bedroom high rise in Manhattan, expect to pay a lot and see high rent increases. Rents are going up throughout the area but nowhere near what is described in OP.

One of the bigger and more frustrating issues for renters is that due to the density in the area, there is a strange custom where rentals are often managed by real estate brokers who charge a commission similar to the closing cost for the sale of a property, but unlike selling a house where closing is covered by the seller, the broker fee for a rental is typically born by the tenant. The broker fee is often about 8% of the yearly rent -- in other words, about a month's rent (!!). The justification for this is that NYC is a high-density area where there are lots of tenants chasing a small number of properties. In reality, due to Internet postings brokers due practically nothing but opening the door to a prospective tenant and showing up for the signing. This isn't a universal thing, but unless someone tells you that there are "no broker fees" you should likely expect this to be a common occurance

There are some odd things about renting in NYC compared to most US cities that long predated COVID.

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