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The Complete Guide to Moving to New York City


At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, people were moving out of New York City in droves. About 70,000 New Yorkers left the metropolitan NYC area in 2020 alone.

But now that the pandemic seems to be coming to a close, The City That Never Sleeps is seeing a resurgence in terms of its population. People are starting to flock to NYC again in a big way.

Are you thinking about moving to New York City sometime soon? Whether you’re going to be doing it for work or simply because you’ve always dreamed about living in the Big Apple, it’ll be important for you to take the right approach to move to and living in NYC.


We’ve put together a guide that should help you make a move to NYC. Take a look at some of the tips that we’ve provided below before putting any definitive moving plans into place.

Begin by Making Sure That You’re Cut Out for Living in NYC

Before you even think about moving to New York City, you should put some real thought into whether or not you’re going to enjoy it. The simple truth is that not everyone is cut out to be a New York City resident.

Are you someone who loves enjoying peace and quiet on a regular basis? If you are, NYC might not be for you. They don’t call it The City That Never Sleeps for anything, which is why you need to be OK with lots of noise if you’re going to be living in NYC.

You’re also going to need to be OK with the idea of being surrounded by almost 9 million people who can be very, shall we say, “straightforward” when it comes to communicating with other people. New Yorkers aren’t known for being the friendliest people in the world, and it can be offputting to some people.

That is not to say that NYC isn’t a great place to live. It’s also not to say that the people of NYC aren’t fantastic. But it is to say that moving to New York City is going to be a big culture shock for some people who live in other parts of the country right now.

You should consider visiting NYC once or twice before moving there to see what we mean. It’ll help you decide if you’re going to be able to make it in the city while maintaining your sanity and happiness.

Learn About the Cost of Living in NYC

If you look at any list of the most expensive U.S. cities to live in, you’re almost always going to find NYC either at the top of the list or damn near close to it. The cost of living in NYC is very high.

How high? Well, if you were to rent a modest two-bedroom apartment in NYC, you would probably be looking at spending almost $4,000 on it. That is about two and half times the average mortgage payment in the U.S.

And it’s not just the rent that will be expensive when you move to NYC. Everything else will be expensive, too, including your utilities, your transportation, your food, etc.

It’s better to know this now than after you’re done moving to New York City. You need to plan ahead to be sure you have the finances to make it in the city for more than just a few months.

Think About Which Part of NYC You Want to Live In

If you’ve made it this far and you aren’t scared off by the idea of moving to New York City yet, congratulations! You more than likely have what it takes to move to NYC and thrive in the city.

But before you start packing your bags, you’ll need to make a decision as far as where you’re going to live in NYC. Manhattan and Brooklyn have turned into the two most popular options, but you can also move to Queens, the Bronx, or even Staten Island if you would like.

You should educate yourself on the five boroughs of NYC to see which one you like best. You should also do some digging into which neighborhoods you like the most in the borough that you would prefer. It’ll help you decide where you want to live after moving to New York City.

Search for NYC Apartments and See What You Can Find

Once you know which neighborhood you would like to live in after moving to New York City, you can really begin to buckle down and look at NYC apartments. The NYC real estate market is very hot right now since tons of people are moving back to the Big Apple, so you’re going to have to act fast if you see something that you like.

You should consider which kind of building you would like to live in once you get to NYC. The city has everything from historic buildings to new developments that you can check out.

You should keep an open mind as you sift through the different options available to you. You should also come up with a budget and a list of must-haves to guide you through your search successfully.

Consider What You’re Going to Do for Work in NYC

The good news for those moving to New York City is that there is never any shortage of job opportunities in the city. There are thousands of companies operating within the city limits, which should make it possible for you to secure a great job before you even get to town.

But you should obviously put some time into thinking about what it is that you’ll want to do for work when you arrive in NYC. You might want to stay in the same field that you’re in now or branch off into a different field if you’re trying to provide yourself with a chance to start a new life in NYC.

Whatever you do, you won’t want to just wait until you get to NYC to figure things out. Unless you have a ridiculous amount of money stockpiled in your savings account, doing this is going to put you in a tough spot. You should have a plan for your professional life and look to use it to your advantage so that you’re able to stay afloat in NYC.

Figure Out How You’ll Get Around in NYC

After you’ve spent a few months living in NYC, getting around the city will be a breeze. The subway and bus systems in NYC are pretty easy to manage once you know what you’re doing.

But when you first move to NYC, getting around is going to be a challenge. It’s not all that practical for most New Yorkers to have cars, so you’ll have to rely on subways, buses, and taxis to get you from point A to point B. And you’re going to get confused if you don’t do your homework on the city/state’s transportation options.

There are tons of New York City subway guides that will help you learn the ropes. But you’re also going to have to get out there and experience NYC’s transportation to really get a good feel for it.

Also Read: Essential Benefits of Choosing a Reliable Out of State Mover

Be Sure You’re Ready for the Harsh NYC Winters

Are you going to be moving to New York City in the spring or summer? If so, you’ll be in luck! NYC is usually gorgeous at these times, save for a few really hot days when you’ll want to stay inside as often as you can.

But if you’re going to be moving to New York City in the fall or winter, you’ll want to make sure that you bring a heavy coat along with you. Because NYC can get cold in the wintertime and send a lot of out-of-towners scurrying for the hills.

You’re definitely going to experience all four seasons in NYC, which is why you’ll want to expand your wardrobe as necessary to stay comfortable. At the same time, most NYC apartments don’t offer a ton of storage space, so you don’t want to overdo it and pack too many clothes, either.

Just be sure to bring at least the essentials for each season. They’re going to come in handy as you move through your first 12 months in the city.

Put Together a List of Things You Want to Do in NYC

One of the things that make moving to New York City so exciting is that there are so many things to do in NYC. There is actually so much to do in NYC that you could spend your entire life living there and not ever get around to doing everything you want to do.

With this in mind, you might want to do yourself a favor and compile a long list of the best places in NYC based on your own personal interests. You can then work your way through the different things to do in NYC overtime to ensure that you see everything you wanted to see from the beginning.

You still might not get around to doing all these things. But you’ll give yourself a better chance of doing them when you have a surefire plan in place.

Save Up as Much Money as You Can Before Moving to NYC

If you’re deadset on moving to New York City, you might be tempted to do it, like, next week. But moving to New York City isn’t something that you should decide to do overnight.

As we’ve tried to stress a few times in this article, you should create a plan for yourself before moving to New York City. You should figure out where you’re going to live in NYC, where you’re going to work in NYC, and even what you’re going to do in NYC ahead of time.

But maybe most importantly, you should also set aside as much money as you can before jumping in your car or getting on an airplane and moving to New York City. The more money that you can save, the more you’re going to be able to enjoy NYC upon your arrival.

In a perfect world, you should calculate what it’s going to cost to live in NYC for a full year and save up that amount of money. That will give you a safety net just in case something goes wrong when you move to New York City.

It might take you a little while to save up that much money. But it’s better to put off moving to New York City for a little while so that you can save money as opposed to moving to New York City with no money and being forced to move back home before long.

Get Ready to Soak Up Every Second of NYC Living

Moving to New York City and spending a portion of your life living there is going to be an experience that you’ll never forget. Even if you do flame out like we just mentioned, you’ll have the time of your life while you’re doing it.

If you’re going to move to NYC, do it without any expectations and soak up everything that comes your way. You’ll learn so much about yourself and the world in the process, and you’ll make memories that will last for a lifetime.

Moving to New York City Might Just Be the Best Decision You’ll Ever Make

Now that you know how to go about moving to New York City, what are you waiting for? You should start drawing up some plans that will make it possible for you to get to the Big Apple.

Keep everything that you’ve learned in this guide in mind as you set out to make a move to NYC. These tips should make your move a little easier and give you the opportunity to start soaking up the city from the second that you first set foot in it.

Get your hands on some other useful moving tips by reading the rest of the real estate-related articles on our website like:





Bill Wilson

Bill has been writing for Weblyen’s writing team for more than one year now. He loves to write about gadgets, social media, movies, music, and whatnot. His keen interest in gaming and sports has made him write numerous blogs about the same for several popular magazines and blogs. He even writes lifestyle

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