Manhattan Neighborhoods: What To Look For?

Moving Prep

Manhattan Neighborhoods What To Look For

Manhattan is one of the five New York City boroughs, it offers a unique living experience that is central to the New York lifestyle. It is home to the largest business district in the US, including the NYSE and NASDAQ. The district promotes a fast-paced lifestyle requiring its inhabitants to be in constant pursuit of achieving the best.

If you are considering moving to a new place for better opportunities in life, Manhattan will be a great choice. However, moving to Manhattan (even if you were previously living within New York City) can be challenging. Here are some tips to make your life a little easier once you have moved to a Manhattan Neighborhood.

How To Consider A Manhattan Neighborhood

Manhattan borough can be divided into four distinct sections namely, Uptown Manhattan, Downtown Manhattan, Midtown Manhattan, and West Side. However, these four sections do not have officially assigned boundaries and are based on approximations.

Each neighborhood offers a unique living experience that is mostly influenced by the ethnicities, races, and nationalities living there. Each neighborhood’s residents are proud of their heritage. To have a better understanding you can ask them about their experiences. This will help you to get a true idea and make your decision-making process easier.  

Gramercy Park, Tribeca, SoHo, And Carnegie Hill are the affluent neighborhoods offering the best lifestyle. They also have an extremely vibrant fashion scene which is fueled by the artisan residents living here. 

Get to Know the City Before You Commit

Once you have decided to move to Manhattan, you must visit the city before you finally move here. You will need to learn the basics so you can make an informed decision and your quality of life does not suffer. 

It is also possible that your work-life demands you to move to Manhattan. In such a case, your employer will be offering you reimbursements for moving and other related expenses. 

Your employer will pay for you to live in a hotel rental during your initial days. This will give you enough time to choose a home where you can settle into. So you can go around Manhattan, through its residential neighborhoods to decide where you want to live. 

Using The NYC Transportation To Move Around

New York City has one of the best public transportation systems in the world in terms of area coverage. It has taxis, buses and the famed subway, to get you around town quickly while being affordable.

Traffic congestion is a common problem in Manhattan. It will be expensive for you to own and drive a vehicle here. The busy streets and slow-moving traffic will keep you in a constant state of stress and anxiety. And to top it off, finding a parking spot can be like finding a needle in a haystack. 

Therefore, using the public transit system is your best bet when moving around the town. Cycling is also a great option for those seeking to stay fit and do their part in saving the environment.

However, if you already have a car and are moving to Manhattan for a couple of months, you can rent out a storage unit for it. This way you will not have to sell it and you can also use it for trips outside of the city. Storage units are easy to find and affordable if we compare them to parked charging.

Reconsidering Your Finances

The cost of living comfortably in New York City, that too in Manhattan, is much higher than anywhere else in the region. If your current city has a lower cost of living then you might have to reconsider the way you handle your finances before moving here.

For example, a family of four will need around $93,000 to have a comfortable lifestyle in NYC. The biggest expenses in NYC are housing, childcare, and insurance.

The cost of average monthly rent is around $4000, with rental apartments making up 75% of all homes in Manhattan. Therefore, it is important to adjust your budget so you do not have to face any financial difficulties after moving to New York City.

Expect Different Type Of Shopping Trips

If you are currently living in suburban sprawl, with a big SUV that hauls not only your kids but groceries from time to time you will be in for a surprise after moving to NYC. Since you won’t be having a car and most of your trips around town will be on the subway and by foot, you will have to change the way you shop.

Like most residents of Manhattan, you will have to get your groceries on multiple trips. This way you will not require a car to move them home.

You might be accustomed to stocking up household essentials and buying wholesale products in bulk for a cheaper price but this will not be practical in Manhattan. You will need to learn to buy enough groceries that you can carry home in a single trip.

Eating Out Vs Preparing Food At Home

After moving to Manhattan you will have to adapt to a different way of life. You will have to unlearn old habits and learn new ones to cope up with this place. If you are into preparing meals at home for your lunch at work, then you will have to reconsider this habit. This is because you will be mostly traveling on the subway and will have to carry the food everywhere with you.

It is common for people living in Manhattan to eat out regularly and it is a part of their lifestyle.

Adapting To The Fast-Paced Life

NYC has a fast-paced lifestyle based on survival of the fittest. You must be willing to adapt to new ways of life and have the urge to be in constant pursuit of chasing your dreams. You should be willing to walk and pace around the sidewalks without a laid-back attitude to keep up with others.

Reducing Your Belongings

With some of the highest prices, real estate in Manhattan is quite expensive. Therefore, you will be paying a lot even for a small place. So the recommended approach is to reduce the belongings to only a few essentials if possible.

Keep in mind to get every possible detail when you go apartment hunting, especially the total area occupied by the apartment. Then you can decide what items to keep and get rid of.

However, it is possible that you are moving to NYC for a short time and do not want to give away/sell some items. For such items, you can rent out affordable storage units that are readily available in NYC. This way you will be able to save precious space and will not have to buy these items time and again.

Moving To Manhattan From New Jersey 

If you are moving to Manhattan from a neighboring state such as New Jersey, you can call Bin It to help you in your moving process. You can rent the moving boxes and plastic moving bins by Bin It to pack your belongings as well. To learn more about their moving services in North Bergen, NJ click here: https://bin-it.com/