Moving to New York

nia121

Hi

I am planning to move to New York in December. I am just finishing up a masters in Journalism and my Degree was in Education and Training.

I would be very grateful if someone could point me in the direction of some good job websites and also some advice on the best regions to live in.

Thanks!

silja

Monster.com and indeed.com as well as company websites are the best place.
What type of visa will you hold?

SarahT25

Hi,

I am moving in February to with a Graduate degree in Real Estate and don't know where to start :-? I did sign up for this app called Manhatten Jobs, you fill out what type of job your looking for and they email you most days.

As for where to live I havent a clue, i myself am hoping to do a room share or something in Manhatten :-/

Sarah.

InTheTrees

www.Craigslist.com is really the default for job ads (accommodation too). Everything from Wall street bankers to Brooklyn grocery baggers.

There's also Monster.com. Linkedin is good for establishing contacts etc.

I'd start with craigslist though.

Also if you're looking for salary/career jobs (as opposed to odd jobs) you should probably look for an agency that specialises in your area of expertise. Never pay an agency though, if anyone tries to charge for this service then they arent very good at it.

SarahT25

@ InTheTress thanks for that info, i have looked on Craigslist once or twice it seems like such a basic website though to what we have over here for rental lik daft.ie etc so I never paid too much attention to it...must actually check that out now.

I did google recruitment agencies New York but very little comes up its like links from one website to another...i find american websites very hard to use!

InTheTrees

True, it is basic. It hasnt really changed for years but it has taken over as the default site for Classifieds all over the US.

Its great for Apartments too. Remember most Apartments in the US are unfurnished.

For Jobs Real Estate obviously has been really hard hit so it may also be good to make personal contact with companies. A polite email with a resume can be far more effective than answering an ad. Proactive rather than reactive and all that..

For most companies placing an ad is the last resort.

http://newyork.craigslist.org/

InTheTrees

SarahT25 wrote: »

I did google recruitment agencies New York but very little comes up its like links from one website to another...i find american websites very hard to use!

As you browse ads on Craigslist and Monster you'll come across agencies that are appropriate. Again, obviously, never ever ever pay to register. And be wary of giving personal info.

SarahT25

Yes i have it planned out to approach a few companies before I head over...will probably look more at the rental/property management side as that is doing great here in ireland but sales are slow.

All I can do is hope! Im leaving a full time job here I am beginning to think am I mad! But sure if you never try you will never know!

crapmanjoe

SarahT25 wrote: »

Yes i have it planned out to approach a few companies before I head over...will probably look more at the rental/property management side as that is doing great here in ireland but sales are slow.

All I can do is hope! Im leaving a full time job here I am beginning to think am I mad! But sure if you never try you will never know!

New York is a great experience and will always look very impressive on your CV.

Im in New York 14 months now and love it. I came over with work so dont have any experience on that side of things but sadly yes craigslist is the best option accommodation wise.

Finding an apartment in NYC is the worst experience ive ever had due to my strict budget and list of "needs" and because of the sheer volume of competition for any half decent place but preserve and you will get something.

Ponster

nia121 wrote: »

Hi
I would be very grateful if someone could point me in the direction of some good job websites and also some advice on the best regions to live in.

Thanks!

There's a lot of paperwork to sort out before you can expect to sign a lease on an apartment and so you may not have a choice of the best areas depending on your salary. also, 'best' depends on a lot of things and can mean different things to different people. I'm currently looking for a place in Brooklyn and not Manhattan as that is what will be 'best' for me (even though I work in Manhattan.

Often the monthly rent will determine where you can and can't work. If you can legally work over here and are coming over without a job then you'll have to look up flatshares on craigslist before looking for your own place.

www.nakedapartments.com
&
www.renthop.com

will give you a good idea of what is available.

FrackMan

Hey guys,

I recently moved to NYC myself so I thought I would pass on the few tips that I have.

The first thing that I wanted to sort out was employment. In terms of looking for work I tried out Craigslist with mixed results. I would recommend talking to people that are already in your desired industry. I found out that there is an American website solely dedicated to advertising job listings for the particular job that I do. Finding the jobs was one thing, trying to get an interview was another and it proved to be very difficult at first. I sent my CV onto multiple companies with little or no response. I got someone to take a look at it and change it around into a more traditional looking American resume and that worked wonders for me. Every company that I applied to after that, I got an interview with.

The next issue was accommodation. Craigslist is absolutely full of places to live but what I found hard was finding a place that suited my needs and that wasn’t already snapped up. Also most people will want you to sign a lease which I wasn’t too pushed on as I had only arrived in the country and I was still finding my feet. What I did was read the New York Irish papers and look at the accommodation sections. I ended up renting a room in Queens from an Irish woman. I had to pay no brokers fees and didn’t have to sign a lease. The room was unfurnished but when she realized that I was only one week in the country she gave me a bed, TV, aircon and a few other bits to help me out.

There are a few Irish Immigration centers, in Woodside and Woodlawn, and I found them to be a great help. I just chatted to them about general things really but the main thing that I found useful was different area in NYC, like ones that would be a good place to live and, more importantly, ones that should be avoided at all costs.

There is so much more that I could write but I can’t think of it at the moment! Hopefully this will help someone out anyway.

SarahT25

Hey Frackman,

I am relocating to NY to work in Feb 2013. I hope to live in Woodlawn too as I'll be playing football there.

Just wondering did you find a place in Woodlawn? If so how do you find the area and where would you recommend for me to look for a room/sharing accomodation?


Thanks.

FrackMan

Hey Sarah,

In regards to finding a place to live in Woodlawn, that should not be a problem. Most stores that you will go into up there will have bulletin boards with cards pinned to them advertising apartments and rooms to rent. The Emerald Isle Immigration Centre is there also and those guys are great, I would highly recommend calling into them.

InTheTrees

FrackMan wrote: »

What I did was read the New York Irish papers and look at the accommodation sections. I ended up renting a room in Queens from an Irish woman.

There are a few Irish Immigration centers, in Woodside and Woodlawn, and I found them to be a great help. I just chatted to them about general things really but the main thing that I found useful was different area in NYC, like ones that would be a good place to live and, more importantly, ones that should be avoided at all costs.

Great advice. Use the resources out there. And its a huge advantage to have people out there wanting to help out.

ProudDUB

FrackMan wrote: »

Hey guys,

I got someone to take a look at it and change it around into a more traditional looking American resume and that worked wonders for me. Every company that I applied to after that, I got an interview with.

Great advice. Get someone with experience in the field to turn your Irish CV into an American style resume, complete with the American spelling of standard words & phrases such as organization vs organisation or Honours Degree vs Honors Degree etc etc. A lot of them are different, and it would be shame if you were denied a shot at an interview simply because the first person who saw your resume thought you couldn't spell.

Re accommodation. Most US apartments are owned and operated by a property management company who use a set criteria to accept tenants. This is very different to the Irish system where individual landlords can pick and choose who they want and can use whatever criteria they choose. In the US, your credit score rules and controls everything. As a person fresh of the plane from Ireland, you'll have a very low credit score until you start to acquire debt and show how well you do or do pay it off. It's not the fairest of systems but that's just how it is.

If you find a place & you are the only person renting it, expect to have to pay a hefty deposit upfront that may be double the monthly rent or more, so budget for that. Electricity, gas, cable TV, phone companies etc etc also do credit checks of new customers. As your credit score won't be good, expect them to ask for deposits up front too. Once you are in the US while, and your credit score gets better, things will ease off on that score. Also, apts and houses are generally let unfurnished, so budget for having to buy everything yourself from furniture to pots and pans.

MaggieRow747

Hi,

I am planning on moving to new york (on my own) the end of this year, i will have an honours degree in the biological sciences field and i was wondering would anyone no where would be the best place to look for lab work?

Also any information on rent costs/cost of living/how much money to bring over etc would be greatly appreciated

Thanks for any replies

Ponster

These are kinda vague questions without knowing more info.

Do you plan to rent alone, in a couple or share an apartment?
What kind of visa will you have ?

Craigslist will give you an idea of flat costs. A 1-bedroom in Manhattan may cost up to $2100 monthly.

Not really possible to tell someone how much money to bring over I don't think. Do you think you'll have a job before arriving here ?

MaggieRow747

Ponster wrote: »

These are kinda vague questions without knowing more info.

Do you plan to rent alone, in a couple or share an apartment?
What kind of visa will you have ?

Craigslist will give you an idea of flat costs. A 1-bedroom in Manhattan may cost up to $2100 monthly.

Not really possible to tell someone how much money to bring over I don't think. Do you think you'll have a job before arriving here ?

Hi,

I was hoping to either get an apartment on my own but if it were to be $2100 a month that really wouldnt be visable, other than that i was thinking maybe rent a room ? Can accomadation be sorted out before im in the country or do i need to physically be there ?

I will be going on the 12 month graduate visa with goforless as i think that it is the cheapest ?

I doubt i will be able to get a job before i go over as i have no contacts in labs in NY. Would you have any idea where would be good to look for jobs in the science field ?

Thanks for the reply

Ponster

Maybe my post was a little bit more depressing than the situation actually is

$2100 is an average price for a 1-bedroom in Manhattan but there's no reason to live there. As you don't know where you'll be working you have pretty much the choice of anywhere. Some J1 folks have used www.roomorama.com for short-term rentals (pay per month) where you can get a bedroom for $600 a month.

I'll let the experts give you better help.