i go to new york

i think anyone would be laughed at if they tried to get a mortgage at this point! although you may be well within your rights to laugh at the bank, too!!

haha thanking u. i will doubtless be back with more questions when I am in town for interviews in the new year if this works out.

excellent, thanks. can I afford to get a 1 bedroom place

not that you wouldn't be able to find much cheaper, but the average rent for 1-bd apts in manhattan is $2700/mo. is columbia gonna provide you with housing? i vaguely remember them not having too much to go around for grad students, tho i'm sure they've expanded at least a little.

If I get the job then I won't be a grad student, so I'd be pretty much on my own looking for accommodation. This is fine with me because, having lived in university accommodation for more years than not in the last decade, I am through with that. I am happy to commute (reading time) so I'm not too bothered about being in Manhattan. My supervisor lived in Harlem when he was a postdoc there and says that is the place to go, but this was six years ago and I'm not sure I entirely trust him (he is French Canadian, you see).

I was slightly concerned because 47 is like 10 grand less than most of the other jobs I'm applying for

― caek, Monday, September 29, 2008 1:02 AM (12 hours ago)

1/3 of that 47 goes to uncle sam :(

I will tell him, "no taxation without representation". That should go over well.

haha i feel like 47k is SO much money right now :((((((

otm!!!

ya thats like $1300/mo in rent right?

lol. My income is in caek's ballpark and 1300 would fucking kill me.

(I've never used a broker, have lived in Brooklyn since '92, and am paying my first-ever 4-figure rent since July)

World cities and their fucking rents. London, Sydney and now this. It's never easy, is it.

http://newyork.craigslist.org/nfa/

Thanks guys. I was slightly concerned because 47 is like 10 grand less than most of the other jobs I'm applying for, and they're in buttfuck, not manhattan.

new york salaries are often higher than elsewhere because cost of living is higher. i'd view this as, on top of whatever academic/professional factors come into play, paying a premium (on top of cost of living) for the privilege of living in NYC. i'd say it's worth it, depending on where else you're considering. nyc v. bloomington, in - uhhh. nyc v. california - maybe a closer question, tho perhaps not for a londoner. one random factor to consider - our weather's marginally more extreme than yours, and exposed parts of columbia, like college walk, and housing west of broadway, get a lot of wind off the river.

I am happy to commute (reading time) so I'm not too bothered about being in Manhattan. My supervisor lived in Harlem when he was a postdoc there and says that is the place to go

probably right, at least as far as convenience to Columbia (if not necessarily elsewhere) is concerned. the charming-in-parts neighborhood around the school has some nice (old) housing and decent prices (tho a bit of a rodent problem). if you can get columbia housing - and making an effort is probably required given scarcity - that seems very likely your best bet. (you are talking about the main campus, right, not the medical school?)

you can read on a commute if you can get a seat, but our trains are less comfortable (and some of them more poorly-lit) than the tube. this is written in slightly over-dramatic undergrad style, but is worth considering. i'd estimate a commute from another borough would be about 0:45-1:15, depending on how far out you live (or what hour you go). if you live in close-in parts of queens, it could be less.

im w tza and harbl i would really kill to be making 47000 a yr

If you like to cook / bring a lunch to work 47,000 a year is super easy to do.

I TOTALLY LIKE TO COOK

lol max

thanks gabbs, that is gold. Yes, this is at the University, not med school. I'm very keen on the idea of NYC, and presumably Columbia wouldn't set their salaries at levels which are impossible to live on. Other options [*] are around the $60k mark. Some are in cities (Pasadena, Chicago, Austin), but some are more remote (Spokane, Little Rock, Sioux Falls). The Columbia gig is probably top of my list for both professional and location reasons, but has the lowest salary. That's life. None of these salaries are enough for me to save a meaningful amount if I ever return to the UK, so being able to save an $5k per year by living in, e.g. Sioux Falls is not an issue. Climate is potentially a problem, but what are you going to do? I visited Columbia last January and it was cold, but I did OK. I'll be able to get in at 10am rather than 9 if that helps any. That certainly makes a difference for getting a seat on the Tube in London. But yeah, those plastic bucket seats on the subway are uncomfortable. The "close-in parts of Queens" is Astoria, right?

[*] note I do not have offers from any of these places and may not get them.

I imagine with $60,000 in Spokane you could live like one of the Lucky Ones. Salaries being lower and costs being higher in NYC is (obviously) both a function of demand, and the reality of a city that sometimes suspiciously resembles a meat-grinder. C'est la vie?

Yeah, I checked spokane craigslist. Seems like I could get a three-bed penthouse with free hand jobs with that kind of money.

on the downside, that move would probably be the end of my research career a postdoc too early.

but the more i rewatch twin peaks the more appealing it seems.

visited Columbia last January and it was cold, but I did OK

it was a warm-ish winter btw, tho that may be the trend. Pasadena's beautiful, tho might be tough without a car (which 10k/cost of living could help with), but if NY is best professionally that seems an easy choice.

The "close-in parts of Queens" is Astoria, right?

i thot definitely LIC, maybe Astoria, tho it's still probably better than Brooklyn. not the best to ask in any event.

Spokane, Little Rock, Sioux Falls

i would not go. Twin Peaks is very far from Spokane.

not the best to ask in any event.

Understatement of the day.

Pasadena/LA is probably second on the list. I haven't spent a lot of time in NYC. The month or so I've accumulated in Cali, I loved. I don't mind needing a car. I wouldn't have one in NYC, right? It's like London in that sense.

JW, how long would it take you to commute to Columbia?

yes, Mr. Williams of East Williamsburg, NY and Bumfuck, RI.

u could live in sobro

i like the name

I don't know anyone who knows anything about the bronx though, which i took to mean it is not worth investigating.

seriously tho, pasadena is pretty nice but new york beats it hands down even if ur more crunched for $$--if you were actually living in LA it might be a little difft but my experience was that it was far enough away from cool shit that it wasnt really worth it--nightlife sucks, too... you wouldnt necessarily need a car depending on how bike-y you are, plus the gold line goes right through old town. i think tremendoid lives in pas actually you might ask him.

but if it were me id go for nyc.

dont live in sobro

it is not worth investigating because you can get somewhere affordable and nice that is much closer and because it is fairly residential, or at least free of destination culture/nightlife. it's the latter reason, plus the historic legacy of poverty and crime (which have been reduced significantly) in some parts of the bronx that captured national attention 2-3 decades ago that have prompted few of the young white people from the hinterlands who have thronged nyc in the last 10-15 years to move there. there are some very nice parts of the bronx that are a reasonable commute, but they are devoid of youth culture.

yes, Mr. Williams of East Williamsburg, NY and Bumfuck, RI.

― gabbneb, Monday, September 29, 2008 12:25 PM (9 minutes ago) Bookmark

I might have more in common with someone new to the city on a limited income than a rich, evil Manhattan jew.

yah, i have a lot of colleagues at caltech and have visited. pasadena itself seems fine, but I might live somewhere more "LA". but yes, nyc is the tops. i think the only place i'd take over it right now is sf (please don't kill me).

i cycle daily in oxford but it's many levels below cycling in london, which is probably a notch or two below LA or NYC in intensity. i should ask ed about this if/when i know where i'm going. it's far from a deal-breaker though.

all i know about the bronx is kubrick. how long does it take to get from there to say, the village? an hour?

I know nothing about the Bronx but I'd say try Washington Heights off the A train. My lady friend manages to get downtown quickly and regularly.

Kubrick grew up in a very different era. it could be an hour from the more urban part of the bronx (which has some nice old apt bldgs) to the village. from leafier parts, it's probably more than that. in the abstract, i think more people should live in the bronx, but i wouldn't advise you to do so unless you'd really like to live in a quasi-garden suburb (and even then it might not be the best choice).

Thank god for the A, when it's running express. Unfort it runs local after 11pm and frequently on weekends for service.

I was at 190th yesterday. :/

Unfort it runs local after 11pm and frequently on weekends for service.

^_^

runs local after 10:30 i think :(

but its a dope train nonetheless, gets me from bed-stuy to downtown in like 17 minutes

I have def seen the A be express after 11pm but I think it has to do with when the train departs from its station of origin (or some other important point along the way) rather than happening to all trains at the witching hour. Would like to know where the tipping point is for that, very much.

Yeah, thank gott for it yesterday, I was running late and the A took good care of me.

i spose so, i just never seem to be able to find express trains after 10--tho sometimes if im lucky for some bizarre reason itll run express btw hoyt and utica which is perfect for me

Washington Heights is a good place to look, but definitely a second choice after anywhere on the West Side between ~125th and 59th Streets (not that you'll find much that's cheap too far below 96th) and West of Central Park/Morningside Park (but consider ~Central Park North as far East as Lenox Ave?), with the possible exception of Amsterdam or further East between 100 and 104.

also, caek, ignore all this talk of the A train - you would take the 1/9 to Columbia

(from Wash Hts)

ignore the a train at ur own peril it is an ancient source of power in new york

gotta hang on to that "evil," jon

The important thing re neighborhoods is to make a list of places people rec and then GO THERE. Because I would pay more and endure a commute on the 4/5 to live in Prospect Heights if I found an apt I loved there. But that won't wash for everyone, esp if you have already sold your soul to Morningside Heights or whatev.

thanks guys.

laurel otm re the importance of getting boots on the ground. hopefully I will be passing through in January again, at which time I will tour the city of new york.

um i accidentally pulled a first interview for job in new york (i applied thinking oh they won't call me anyway i'm no good) but now i don't want them to hire me because then i have to debate whether i want to move to new york and i really don't want to be one of YOU PEOPLE. also i will probably be making . . . like 47k (if i get hired, which is unlikely). so i better act like a tard in the interview so i can avoid this serious dilemma. i can do that without even trying!

do you want to hang out?