Still worth paying exorbitant amount of rent in NYC in midst of finance blood bath?

Living in Murray Hill with 3 roommates and it's not too bad ($2K/person) but we're facing a 20% rent hike end of winter as part of our previous winter covid special renewal. Thankfully we're top-tier analysts but we're also looking to not renew and perhaps find a place that is cheaper and thinking about a flight to Bushwick. Has anyone else also considered this? The commute seems to be decent if off the L train. We're hitting our 2nd year soon so there can be exit opportunities that can take us outside midtown so a commute to downtown/ fidi from Bushwick will be less than 30 minutes. What does everyone think? We have been to Bushwick a couple of times and it's a good time and scene. The cost of living seems to be less too. 

 

People have a lot of different living preferences in NYC, but I prefer the East Village. 

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
 
quarantineduser

Have you seen the costs of hanging out in the East Village go up and do your friends suggest hanging out in Brooklyn? Are you also in your early to mid-20s? 

I'm not in my 20s. I lived in East Village in my 20s though. I like grunge/art and cool bars and places to eat all around. 

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
 
Most Helpful

I feel like the L train is always the one that is down. I also would not assume your exit will necessarily be downtown... very few firms are actually downtown, and the commute may be 30 min to fidi but is more like 45 min+ to midtown. That's a pretty long commute.

Bushwick is a cool area but your social scene would definitely be more in Brooklyn so hopefully your friends/potential dating scene is there as well - it's a lot harder to just run into the city for drinks or a date. If I were you I would try to figure out your next step work-wise before you move out there and potentially end up with a brutal commute. Not saying renew with a huge hike, but at $2k a person you should be able to do another year in Manhattan 

Array
 

Have you thought of Fort Greene / Prospect Heights / Park Slope / Downtown Brooklyn? Decent rents, good space, and can be a short commute to both downtown & midtown (20-35 min) if you have the right trains (e.g. B/Q/N/D).

 
technoviking

is there data out there to support a lower increase? My lease is up at the end of the month. The landlord quoted me a 35% increase... with data, I was able to get him down to a 5% increase

The landlord isn't going to be super receptive to that when he's just sacrificed a ton of wild growth last year because he gave these guys a deal.  My guess is OP is only getting a 5% rent bump from market... it's just that his rent was so far below market that it seems wild.

 

Out of curiosity, what does your rent have to do with what's going on on Wall Street?  You have a job, so it doesn't seem applicable.  Is the point that you think rents should come down?

You could also go north and find cheaper rents.  You could go to Queens... you live in one of the more expensive rental markets in the city, you have a lot of options.  Bushwick/Ridgewood is cool, but so are a lot of other neighborhoods!  Spend a couple weekends hanging around in them and see what appeals - if you like it in February you'll definitely like it in June.

 

It depends on your hours.  If you work 80 hours per week, then yeah, it is worth it.  If you are working 50 hours per week, it is probably not worth it.  Hoboken or New Brunswick would cost a lot less but still have a good night life and are pretty close to NYC.  

 

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