New York can be a very expensive place to live. It can also be a cheap place to live. 10 grand, done right, will last you a long time in New York.
My advice would be:
- If you have a car, get rid of it. Do not, under any circumstances, bring it to the city. This alone will save you a ton of grief (parking, tickets, rules about which side of the street you can park on and when and so on) and money (insurance in the city I believe is higher) and you simply don't need it;
- Get rid of your stuff. You need a suitcase of clothes, a computer and, well, that's about it. The more of the rest you can get rid of the better;
- There are decent parks of Brooklyn and Queens you can find a room for $1000/month or less. Ideally you want to find a room and not sign a lease right away. It's more flexible;
- You can live out of the city and commute in for job interviews. This will save even more money.
I live in New York and love it. New York is the kind of place where attitude matters. You have to decide to like it. If you do you'll love all the great things: the energy, the proximity, things going on, etc. If you decide to hate it you'll notice the bad things.
Good luck.
If you have a car, get rid of it. Do not, under any circumstances, bring it to the city.
And yeah, it is fairly easy (and fun!) to pick up inexpensive furniture here. And, of course, the size of bed (desk/chair/sofa/etc) will depend on the apartment you get.
(Someone else mentioned $500 bucks for a nice bed. That is some one-percenter bedding right there, if you ask me!)
I had packed six boxes, and my parents shipped them to me when I finally found a place to live. Turns out those boxes are still unpacked (and taking up space in my room!)
And I don't think that $500 for mattress + bed frame is ridiculous, given that you spend roughly 1/3 of your life on it.
- if your floor is warm enough, a sleeping bag on the floor (or perhaps on a foam mat -- the kind used for camping) might work
- try a hammock (some are sold with special suspension intended to be used indoors)
- a couch or futon
My hunch is, driving the small truck ALMOST all the way with your stuff, then ditching it before you get there would be the most cost-effective approach.
If necessary, get a storage locker (way outside the city) for the first month (Public Storage has "first month free" offers) until you get settled in.
Don't deal with the hassle of selling it on craigslist, just take it all to Goodwill and make a large tax deductible charitable donation.
Try to line up a ton of them because most are going to "interview" a bunch of people and choose one among them.
I was so eager to leave my previous gig that I stayed at a youth hostel for the first two weeks while working and finding an apartment.
It was hard, but not completely unmanageable. The biggest blocker for me were price expectations; I had a 600 ft^2 1br for $650/month in NC, whereas I'm paying $850/month for a 4br share in Harlem. If you decide to live in Williamsburg (or a 'nice' part of Brooklyn) then you'll pay a lot more; $1500-$2000 per month in rent is fairly common for a newly-minted young professional who's decided that they want to live in a shoebox in midtown.
I think my best idea so far is to just find a 1-month arrangement on AirBnB where I can get settled to find a job and apartment.
I'm also planning to relocate - to London, ASAP - and I'm looking for the job before I make the move. I've been lucky enough to find one or two very exciting opportunities that offer relocation, but with that aside, it's not an easy thing to co-ordinate.
Also, I only took clothes, a computer, and my desk chair with me. I was able to fit all of my stuff into my car and just go. Now that car is parked at my friend's place, and I'm considering selling it.
If you feel like you can demonstrate skills, then once you get here you can go to tech meetups and let people know you are looking. You'll get interest.
My goal over the summer is to make significant contributions to open source, which I just don't have time for now with my schedule. Going to meetups is a very good idea. Is there a good way to find out about these other than just Googling "ruby meetup nyc"?