Living
Considering New York
CONSIDERING NEW YORK
It’s one of those cities that you either love or hate, and despite being relatively small in terms of square miles, there is plenty to love, and plenty to hate, depending on your mood. For a start, the city never sleeps. This is a good thing if you fancy a bite to eat at 03:00, not so cool if you have an early morning meeting and happen to live in a busy neighbourhood. The city can get mighty pricey, what with astronomical rent prices and not so high wages. You’ll bump into many a starving actor/singer/dancer. But budget right and take advantage of the city’s many freebies, and not only will you get by, but you’ll get to live a life of culture, excitement and community on a shoestring.
The cost of living in NYC is high and seems to always be creeping ever higher. Manhattan is often seen as a desirable neighbourhood, but it’s worth considering moving to the boroughs since the gentrification process sweeping the city is turning certain areas into absolute gems. In fact, certain parts of Brooklyn and Harlem are already surpassing parts of Manhattan in terms of property prices and general standards of living. You’ll need a job that pays well if you want to keep up. So before jumping on the first plane, test the job market by sending some emails to potential employers and monitoring the overseas appointments pages and recruitment websites.
You also need to consider how you’re going to enter the country and how long you can legally stay there. Residency in the US isn’t that easy to come by, but you can probably enter on a visitor’s visa for a limited period and go from there. Whatever you do, don’t overstay your welcome, no matter how much you love the place. The penalty for overstaying your visa is severe with a ban of up to six years in place for serious offenders.
It’s one of those cities that you either love or hate, and despite being relatively small in terms of square miles, there is plenty to love, and plenty to hate, depending on your mood. For a start, the city never sleeps. This is a good thing if you fancy a bite to eat at 03:00, not so cool if you have an early morning meeting and happen to live in a busy neighbourhood. The city can get mighty pricey, what with astronomical rent prices and not so high wages. You’ll bump into many a starving actor/singer/dancer. But budget right and take advantage of the city’s many freebies, and not only will you get by, but you’ll get to live a life of culture, excitement and community on a shoestring.
The cost of living in NYC is high and seems to always be creeping ever higher. Manhattan is often seen as a desirable neighbourhood, but it’s worth considering moving to the boroughs since the gentrification process sweeping the city is turning certain areas into absolute gems. In fact, certain parts of Brooklyn and Harlem are already surpassing parts of Manhattan in terms of property prices and general standards of living. You’ll need a job that pays well if you want to keep up. So before jumping on the first plane, test the job market by sending some emails to potential employers and monitoring the overseas appointments pages and recruitment websites.
You also need to consider how you’re going to enter the country and how long you can legally stay there. Residency in the US isn’t that easy to come by, but you can probably enter on a visitor’s visa for a limited period and go from there. Whatever you do, don’t overstay your welcome, no matter how much you love the place. The penalty for overstaying your visa is severe with a ban of up to six years in place for serious offenders.
