Choosing an Apartment in NYC
If you're looking for a place to live in New York City, you'll want to know what to expect while apartment hunting. Although you may not be able to find the spacious loft you were hoping for, you're likely to find something smaller but centrally located to all the things you need to access. It's a trade-off that many people make when moving to the Big Apple.
When searching for an apartment, these are the considerations you need to make:
This is among the most important things you'll have a voice in. After all, you want to live in a safe part of the city and in a central location so you can get to where you need to go with ease. You'll want to study the statistics for the area so you can make an informed decision about the place you call home
How much square footage you'll have.
This gives you an idea of how much storage you have to work with if any. The nice thing about living in NYC is that you're able to rent an urBin storage bin for as low as $20 a month. You can keep your belongings safe and secure but won't need to account for the extra space they take up in your new apartment.
The proximity to grocery stores, public transportation, and work.
If it takes you hours to travel to a destination, you might have chosen the wrong apartment to live in. If the rent is low but the commute is long, it may be a trade-off you don't mind making. When researching a neighborhood, see what attracts residents to it. Does it have what you need to feel comfortable?
Whether or not you'll need a roommate or roommates.
If living on your own is way out of your budget, you'll need to account for the fact that you'll have less living space the more roommates you have. This is where it pays to be organized. Choosing home furnishings that double as storage is ideal because you won't have free reign over the apartment. Whatever you can't keep inside your space, you can put in a storage bin and retrieve it whenever you need it.
Whether or not you're allowed to alter the space.
If you're able to install a loft bed, floor to ceiling shelving, and other alterations, you might not have too much of an issue with storage. If you cannot, however, make changes to the apartment, you'll want to invest in storage bins for whatever size of belongings you have on hand. An urBin ranges in size from 10'X10' to 100'X100' to meet your needs. Best of all, you're able to monitor your belongings online and ask to have them back to you in no time flat
If pets are permitted.
If you have a dog or a cat, you'll want to make sure that they're allowed to live in the space with you. Don't presume that it will be ok without inquiring about pets first. The last thing you want to do is pay a deposit on a place only to learn that you can't stay there because of your dog or cat. Most pet-friendly locations state that in their listing. You'll be able to know right away if having a furry friend live with you is permissible.
Finding the right apartment that meets your needs takes time. You can significantly reduce the amount of effort you put into looking for the perfect space by knowing what to expect and keeping your belongings to a minimal. The things you can't live without are worth having on hand and the rest of what you own can go into a storage bin where the items are accessible day and night, 365 days a year.