Day 5: Attacking the Monster of Moving Madness — With a Trip to the Book Store!

April 30, 2008 Posted in Reality

(This is a continuing series on how to undertake a massive move to a new city using my upcoming bi-coastal move—from DC to LA (parents’ house) then to NY for the fall)

By Ccandysuzie

“The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.” – Socrates

I know NOTHING about New York! — I mean I know enough to know that I really can’t wait to live there but I know nothing about the stuff involved in finding and apartment.

So, because I am very wise (see quote above), I made a list of things I need to figure out before I can embark on any semblance of an apartment hunt.

1. Where to find a decently sized studio for under $1,000 – so obviously outside of Manhattan.

2. Of these places, which would be the best fit for my interests and safe enough to commute home late at night by myself (I grew up in LA and have lived in DC for 3 ½ years so I’m cool with walking quickly/being aware of my surroundings/ carrying pepper spray, etc. but I also know that there are some places you really shouldn’t be after dark)

Armed with these questions I hit the books:

→ To orient myself as to the city’s overall layout, I bought the NY@tlas, which I found in the travel guide section of Barnes and Noble. Within Manhattan each page is one square mile, for the other four burroughs, each page is four square miles. Since I’ll be relying on public transportation and my two feet to get around, this is a great tool.

→ My loving boyfriend bought me a copy of the Not for Tourists Guide of New York City. NFTG puts out books for most major US cities. I highly recommend them even if you’ve already moved.

For each district they include a map and a list of “essentials”—pharmacies, banks, supermarkets, schools, etc; “sundries/entertainment”—coffee shops, nightlife, restaurants, shopping, hardware stores, etc; and “Transportation”—bus lines, car rental, parking, and subway stops.

This is a great way to get a bird’s eye view of a neighborhood. For me, since most of my apartment searching has to be done online, comparing an online listing to the NFTG’s list of amenities allows me to figure out how manageable such a location would be for my needs. This also speaks to the safety issues—I can goggle the bars or other areas I’d be passing on my walk.

→ Most large cities have a magazine for locals. A guidebook will merely give you an idea of where tourists go; a local mag can give you an idea of how residents relate to their city. A great example is Time Out New York magazine , which, by extraordinary coincidence, came out with their annual Apartment special this week.

Stay tuned!