
Moving to USA (NYC) – Need Advice - JackOfAll
Hello All,
I need a bit of advice as my research on google has not cleared my doubts.
I am based out of Hong Kong as a C++ and Java developer (10 years exp) and my company (an Investment Bank) has decided to move my role to New York. I have persuaded my bosses to relocate me to NYC and they have agreed. Though the HR talks have not yet happened regarding salaries, i would like to prepare and set mine and their&#x27;s expectations.<p>After a lot of research on google&#x2F;glassdoor&#x2F;etc, i have come to the following conclusions:
1. I might not get the best market salaries (Asian&#x2F;NYC being high cost center&#x2F;non native English speaker&#x2F;first timer to USA&#x2F;etc)
2. I should range my salary expectations in a range of 130K-150K just to be safe in the zone and not miss out on the job. Is this fair?
3. I have no option but to work in NYC and live in NJ. It seems that this is the sanest thing to do.
4. Taxes being high compared in NYC, I can safely assume 40% of my salary being cut. So that leaves me in a range of 78K-90K after tax. Assuming my rental will be around 2k and monthly expenses around 1k, that would leave me with 42K-54K. This i believe should be more than enough.
5. My life-work balance might go for a toss given that longer hours are the norm in NYC (Wall Street). Am i right?
6. Given that i will be moving to USA on an L1 B visa? (not a senior management guy) i can apply for a GC (as in Green Card, not the other GC) as soon as i join and get it in around 2-3 years. Am i right?<p>My preparation for my move has not yet started and i am sure that i will have more questions. Since i have no one in USA (friends&#x2F;family&#x2F;etc) i am completely reliant on YC.<p>Please let me know on the above points and if any of my assumptions are wrong. Also please feel free to advice me on anything that you think would be a appropriate.<p>Warm regards from Hong Kong...
======
techsupporter
Regarding your question around becoming a Legal Permanent Resident (LPR, that
is, a green card holder): The L1B non-managerial category usually processes
slower than L1A (senior managers and executives). This is most often because
L1B holders fall under the EB2 (employer-based, 2nd priority) permanent
residency category. If your employer's immigration lawyer has the experience
to do so and sees that you meet the definition, see if you can get classified
as a "functional manager" (meaning that you are primarily responsible for a
critical part of the business), which would put you in the L1A visa category
and give you a much easier path to EB1 LPR status. Note that L1 visas, whether
A or B, have a general cap of 5 or 7 years before the holder must leave the
United States.

Your employer applies for LPR on your behalf. When using employment- or
investment-based visas, you will quickly find that all paperwork has to be
done by your employer or corporation and you're just along for the ride.

~~~
JackOfAll
Thanks techsupporter. I am not sure if i would be applicable for EB1, since i
would be functioning as a senior developer (of some critical SW). I guess it
would more likely be EB2. However, maybe in a year or so if my profile
expands, then maybe i can re negotiate and try to get an EB1.

By the way, do you by any chance know what are the likely time frames of
getting a LPR for both EB1 and EB2 given that i would apply for LPR as soon as
i join office?

------
teamgb
You should speak to a US tax adviser in Hong Kong ASAP.

You will be taxed on your world-wide income.

You will need to report all your assets - every single account number,
name/identifier, and the maximum balance during the year to both the Treasury
and the IRS.

You will also need to report every financial account such as PayPal, spread-
betting, online gambling, stock trading a/c, fx trading a/c etc. to both the
Treasury and the IRS.

You need to compute all interest, dividends and capital gains for the calendar
year (HK tax year runs to April) in order to pay tax due to the IRS even
though there is no tax in HK.

Some of your assets and accounts may have to be shut down as US
persons/taxpayers may be forbidden from operating those accounts e.g. spread-
betting.

Depending on your personal situation and net worth, the above may or may not
influence your decision to relocate.

Good luck either way!

~~~
hkmurakami
there was a recent article on Blomberg news about american expats giving up
their citizenship, and the burden of paperwork was cited as one of the key
drivers for the rich but not super rich types in HK and Singapore.

------
dylangs1030
Hey, I've lived in NYC and I currently live in Westchester, a county directly
above it.

If you're travelling to Manhattan, I'd like to echo what another commenter
said in that New Jersey is _not_ your only _or_ your best option. You can find
affordable real estate (especially with your budget of $2k) within
Westchester.

A lot of people travel from New Jersey to Manhattan within a a half hour -
this is a pretty good commute. But you can still live within New York if you
live in one of the lower towns of Westchester and travel using Metro North.
It's a higher end train system than the subway, and it goes to Grand Central
station from just about every conceivable town that would be a commutable
option for you.

New York and New Jersey are fundamentally different. Yes, both can work for
you, but one will fit your personality more than another. The outer boroughs
and the lower towns of Westchester have a distinct "NY" feel that is still
very urban and metropolitan (despite having a lot of suburbs) because it is so
close to the city and within the same state. New Jersey isn't _bad_ because
it's not quite like this, but it is _different_ \- you should hang out around
both if it's realistic for you so you can see for yourself which population
suits you more. Coming from Hong Kong, you'll want to be as close to the city
as possible, I think.

I highly, highly encourage you to not just limit yourself to New Jersey. Good
luck :)

------
adamnemecek
Re: Green Card, you might also consider the Green Card lottery.
[https://www.dvlottery.state.gov](https://www.dvlottery.state.gov) I know that
it seems like a long shot (and it is) but I got it on my first try and a
friend of mine got it on the first try. Applying does not cost anything and
takes about 10 minutes. The application period starts in October I think.

~~~
hkmurakami
I know through friends that if you apply for a green card once and don't get
it, then it tends to raise a yellow glad on the next try. I don't know if this
lottery would raise such a flag but I'd do research on it before blindly
applying.

~~~
adamnemecek
I think that you are talking about the standard way of applying for a green
where it is imaginable that a rejection would raise flags during later
applications. But in the lottery, if you don't get it, it's not that you were
denied, it's just that you did not win it.

------
rdl
I think the biggest question you should ask yourself is "do you want to move
to NYC, or find a new job in Hong Kong?" I personally would rather be in Hong
Kong unless the job in NY were truly exceptional. If you want to go to NY, go
to NY -- the finances/etc. will work out, but unless you have some specific
fixed expenses, it's probably not the primary consideration.

~~~
JackOfAll
The problem is i am working in IT. For an IT guy moving slowly from low cost
center to medium cost center and from medium cost center to high cost center
is equivalent to a successful career progression.

Being in NYC means that i would be working on really interesting projects and
i will have more freedom with my work and the decisions that i can make while
programming.

~~~
rdl
That sounds like a strong factor in favor of NYC. The optimum would probably
be having some experience in NYC for a few years and then potentially moving
back to HK in a more senior role?

------
T-hawk
Glad to see NJ as a living option. It's great and highly underrated compared
to the trendier boroughs. I've lived on the NJ Gold Coast and worked in
Manhattan for my entire professional life, and quite happy with it.

There's no need to live way out in the NJ suburbs with a lengthy train
commute; there's quite decently affordable apartments within range of the Path
subway in Jersey City for a 10 minute ride to downtown Wall Street. Or try
Hoboken, a bit more costly but with great atmosphere and nightlife if you're
into that.

Bonus: NJ sales tax is less, and you dodge the NYC income tax, so that saves
another couple $k per year.

~~~
joonix
NJtransit and path trains are terrible. That's the problem. LIRR is so much
nicer...

------
zaxxor
I just moved to NJ myself and you can find very nice places for 1200 or so.
You will probably find that 1000$ a month for living expenses is very low. I
would raise that to 1500 a month.

Regarding your green card, are you a Chinese citizen? If so, be prepared to
wait a very long time. Citizens of India, China, Mexico and the Philippines
are artificially restricted in how many green cards are handed out a year-
took me 7 years although now I think it's more like 5. Also iirc, citizens of
these four countries are not eligible for the green card lottery.

------
JackOfAll
Thanks for all your comments. Here is what i have got 1\. Might not matter,
should auto-correct itself in a year or so. 2\. Still not sure about my
expectations wrt asking for 130K-150K ? I don't want to miss the boat while i
do not want to get in at a low, since getting rises is really hard nowadays.
3\. Thanks for all the wonderful information about neighboring places. Wow, I
have a lot of options and not just NJ. 4\. if 130K-150K works out, then i
should be fine with the after tax savings. Whew!! 5\. Might have to do some
long hours in the beginning, might tail off as i get more exposure. 6\. Will
follow up with my company's lawyers.

Also, I remember reading a blog about a person's experience while moving to
USA. He mentioned about SSN, DMV license, Moving his savings to USA, Credit
ratings, etc. Can someone point me to the url again or send me appropriate
urls where this information has been already mentioned.

------
mrjaeger
I want to start off by saying that I am a recent college grad and our
expectations of living conditions might be slightly different, but Ill add
what I can. But I am a native New Jersyian so I have some idea of what I'm
talking about :)

3\. This is definitely not the case, especially if you have no family to
support. Most of my friends who have started work in NYC earn anywhere from
75-100k and they live comfortably in Brooklyn. They probably will not accruing
much savings, but making 130-150k living in Brooklyn is very, very affordable.

4\. You will not pay 2k a month in rent. If you live in Brooklyn it will be
max 1500 and in NJ it will probably be closer to 1k. You would only be paying
~2k if you want to live in Manhattan itself. 40% is probably about right for
taxes maybe a little high.

That's all I can really add for now, but hope that help! And if you have any
follow up questions feel free to comment below

~~~
jhonovich
$1500 max in Brooklyn and live where? While it certainly depends on what part
of Brooklyn and what type of rental you can tolerate, $1500 is low. The
average monthly rent in north Brooklyn is now over $3,000 -
[http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/18/realestate/costly-rents-
pu...](http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/18/realestate/costly-rents-push-
brooklynites-to-queens.html?pagewanted=all)

------
rogerbooyou
1 - I wouldn't say it because you're a non native English speaker/first timer
to USA [non native English speakers are one of the most common things around
here]. I would say it because things are not going well in NYC at all.

2 - That's fine, but don't get frustrated if you get something between 75K -
100K.

3 - Check Brooklyn and Queens, maybe Harlem. Commute is not a problem here.

4 - 25% to 27%.

5 - It really depends on your company. Don't forget the Fall and Winter's
depression and loneliness. But don't worry, wait for the Summer [Oh yeah the
Summer - Hellyeah!].

6 - I'm not sure.

~~~
hkmurakami
4 - aren't you forgetting state income tax?

~~~
greenyoda
And if you live in NYC, NYC has its own income tax in addition to the NY State
income tax.

------
endtime
You certainly have a choice about where to live. You can easily live in a
decent part of Manhattan on 130k - you'll pay more for less space, but have
more time (shorter commute) and likely a better social life. If you're working
for a bank, the Financial District is actually a relatively cheap place to
live.

If you do decide to go that route, be very careful with real estate brokers,
who are the scum of the earth and love taking advantage of immigrants. You can
find some decent "no [broker] fee" listings on streeteasy.com.

~~~
S4M
I am pretty sure the OP should be able to negotiate with his company some
relocation package, including the bank finding for him a temporary
accommodation for some times (one month would be the minimum, maybe the OP
could have this up to 6 months).

------
endtime
You certainly have a choice. You can easily live in a decent part of Manhattan
on 130k - you'll pay more for less space, but have more time (shorter commute)
and likely a better social life. If you're at a bank - the Financial District
is actually a relatively cheap place to live.

If you do decide to go that route, be very careful with real estate brokers,
who are the scum of the earth and love taking advantage of immigrants. You can
find some decent "no [broker] fee" listings on streeteasy.com.

------
AznHisoka
"I should range my salary expectations in a range of 130K-150K just to be safe
in the zone and not miss out on the job. Is this fair? ... Assuming my rental
will be around 2k"

130K would be a bit too much. I know developers who get paid around 100K for a
normal development gig at an investment bank. And 2K is also a bit too much
for rent. Try to live in Chinatown, or at least Queens - they're definitely
less than other parts of the city.

------
cdvonstinkpot
You can save a ton of your living expense by taking advantage of the Metro-
North commuter railroad which runs all the way up into the Hudson Valley, into
Dutchess county where it's far cheaper to live. At the expense of an hour's
commute each way to the city. Google Beacon, NY which has a train station
about an hour from the city by train if you're interrested in saving money
this way.

------
maratd
> 3\. I have no option but to work in NYC and live in NJ. It seems that this
> is the sanest thing to do.

Hey now, there's nothing wrong with that. In fact, it's preferable. If you
live in Jersey City, Hoboken, etc. you're on the Path. That means you're in
the city in 10 minutes for minimal cost. Oh, you also pay less in taxes. How
do you beat that?

------
noname123
Hi, others have covered financial concerns.

I can try to answer 5).

Work hours probably depends on your assigned team. Probably best to get all of
the details firsthand from your potential team than to guess.

Now in terms of Asian/Asian-American culture in NYC, it is generally split
into three groups; a) the old-timers and descendants living in Flushing and
Chinatown, b) the professional's who moved into NYC to work for the banks, c)
the professional's who moved into NYC to work at Silicon
Alley/Media/Publishing etc.

Group a) are the people with the most Chinese culture; every weekend, extended
families go have dim-sum outings at the Flushing mall with multiple round
tables of family relatives. However, Flushing is a mixture of Chinese people
who came to the city during the 70's and a new wave of immigrants in the 90's
and 00's. So you have a eclectic mix of Chinese people who work in
restaurants, aren't as educated and also the sons and daughters of kids who
were brought up in the old-timers old school Chinese household who worked
their way up through the restaurant chains and became owners and sent their
kids to good colleges. The old timers' culture and attitude closely resembles
Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Group b) are the INTJ and class-A personalities. There's a good mixture of
both ABCs (American Born Chinese) and FOBs (first generation) in this crowd. A
lot of my friends in this group are very ambitious and try to climb the
management ladder by either obtaining a prestigious business degree (e.g.,
going to Wharton) or by working very long hours or by working on guangxi. As a
result, socializing is very superficial. Some of the people I kept in touch
since college or hang out with on weekends, I find that I hardly really know
them at all; they best represent the 'jing' of Chinese people as in Shanghai
and the Mainlander attitude of always being calculating for self-preservation.

Group c) are generally the more Americanized Chinese people as they work in
non-traditional fields. Although the degree varies depending on where they
grew up and their upbringing. You might find some Asian Americans are willing
to hang out with both Americans and Asians; some will only hang out with Asian
Americans but no international Asians; some will not hang out with any Asians
at all. The best way to describe this is the attitude of certain Hong Kongers
toward Mainlander immigrants in Hong Kong, some will accept them, some think
that they are superior because of their Euro-centric upbringing despite the
fact that we all are Chinese.

But in general, everyone is very nice in NYC as it is an very international
city. However, you'll have to make an effort to make new friends as it is a
big city where everyone hurries from one subway station to the next. But the
friends you make once you do make a real friend, you can generally count on
the person.

I hope this helps and this is only my opinion, best of luck to your
transition,

~~~
JackOfAll
thanks noname123 for your comments....

------
cantrevealname
> _i can apply for a GC (as in Green Card, not the other GC)_

What's this other GC?

I looked at 146 GC's here:

[http://www.acronymfinder.com/GC.html](http://www.acronymfinder.com/GC.html)

and none of them make sense in this context.

Edit: The joke is quite funny -- now that I get it.

~~~
dewiz
not in context at all, but considering his BG I thought Garbage Collector :)

~~~
JackOfAll
thanks dewiz... apologies cantrevealname...

While typing GC, i could'nt help myself adding that... thought i was being
smart :)

------
joonix
Why not stay in HK and keep more money?

~~~
GigabyteCoin
Also consider that you'll be required to pay income tax even after renouncing
your U.S. citizenship, should you ever wish to leave for greener pastures.

[http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-10-15/us-
ca...](http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-10-15/us-canada-
news/34471897_1_green-card-treaty-country-citizenship)

~~~
hkmurakami
I don't think this duty artists if you limit yourself to green card status and
not citizenship.

~~~
rogerbinns
Green card holders also have to pay US tax on worldwide income. Note that if
you permanently move out the US you are supposed to relinquish your green
card. The last time I looked at this (~2 years ago) the guidelines were that
being out of the country for up to six months was okay, and up to a year
required official notice, and longer than that was only acceptable under
exceptional conditions.

~~~
jtheory
That's right -- a GC-holder moving out of the US would normally relinquish the
GC and stop paying US taxes at that point.

I don't recommend trying to hold onto a GC while living outside of the US...
this is one of those areas where there's no strict rule on what's "okay", just
vague guidelines, so if you are trying to hang on to a GC while living outside
the country for a few years by visiting twice a year, a DHS official in a
cranky mood is perfectly able to decide you're "cheating" and eject you from
the country... which will not be a good thing to have on your record if you
ever want to come back.

I'm American but moved to France w/ my non-American wife, and we tried to hang
on to her GC for a while like this... but it was far too nerve-wracking.

------
cletus
Let me add some perspective as an expat (Australian) living in NYC.

1\. You may not be a native English speaker but honestly your English (based
on your writing here) is fine. Assuming your conversational (rather than
written) English is at a similar level, it should be a non-issue.

As to whether it will hurt you in terms of your organization and negotiating
renumeration, that I can't say. It depends on your employer.

2\. As for your salary expectations, different companies have different
structures/mixes with regards to base salary, bonus, stock and other benefits.
Your salary range doesn't seem unreasonable however.

3\. Where to live. OK, this one is a lot more complicated and largely comes
down to what tradeoffs you're willing to make.

If you live in NJ you're basically looking for something along the PATH line
that goes into Wall Street. The problem with PATH is it doesn't run after a
certain hour and doesn't have great service on the weekends. I know people who
live in NJ who drive into the city on weekends. This means living in NJ can
mean a more isolated existence (socially/culturally) and/or owning a car,
which is an expense that you don't really want (IMHO).

If you live in NYC you pay a city income tax, this is true, but IMHO it's the
one tax I don't mind paying because you get a ton of services for that money:
24 hour subway, a responsive police force (eg it took the NYPD 15 minutes to
show up on a Saturday night to disable an unattended car alarm outside my
building), a fairly new (and seemingly popular) city bike program ($95/year).

Working on Wall Street makes living in Westchester or Long Island more
difficult as those commuter lines generally go into Grand Central or Penn
Station (respectively), which means you have the train ride and then a subway
ride. That's a long commute.

Living uptown means a relatively long subway ride. Upper East Side means
catching the 4/5/6, which is the worst and most crowded line. Queens is
relatively inconvenient too.

So, if I were you and wanted to live in NYC I would look at downtown Brooklyn
or somewhere around Chinatown. Get a small apartment, pay $2k+ for it but have
the subway, have a shorter commute (you could walk from Chinatown) and be
around more people.

4\. I don't think 40% is accurate. The marginal rate might be that but it
won't be 40% total. Living in NYC you pay the city income tax but the NY state
income tax (which you also pay) is lower than the NJ state income tax IIRC.

5\. I can't speak to the working conditions on Wall Street but my
understanding is that Asian working hours are pretty high anyway so I wouldn't
expect anything more than that.

6\. Processing times for Green Cards come down to what category you're in and
your country of _birth_. This is super-important. Hong Kong, I believe, is
treated differently to mainland China (the latter having much longer
processing times).

EB1 category is hard and unless you have a PhD, are published and cited and
you've been in a position of judging other people's work in that regard, you
won't meet the bar. Being a "senior developer" certainly isn't enough.

This leaves you in EB2, which is employer-sponsored. If that interests you,
negotiate that as part of your relocation (that they begin that process
straight away). Expect it to take at least a year or two.

But in all matters visa and immigration related, make sure you speak to a
qualified immigration attorney rather than relying on any advice you get here
or elsewhere.

Some additional things to consider:

\- Living outside the city makes not having a car more awkward. Factor this in
as an expense;

\- Don't make a decision based on relatively small differences in income tax
rates. There are far more important factors than this such as being happy
where you live;

\- When you move here, take a sublet and figure out where you want to live;

\- As part of a relocation package, get your employer to pay a broker fee for
finding an apartment and ideally give you 2+ months of corporate housing to
find your feet. Broker fees on rentals are typically 15% (of the annual rent)
in Manhattan and a month's rent outside of Manhattan;

\- Even if you have to pay that fee yourself, it's well worth paying (IMHO).
It'll save you a ton of time and if you get a good broker you won't waste your
time with buildings you can't get into (no credit here will initially be a
problem) and you should get something below market enough to justify the cost
if you stay in it for 2+ years;

\- Take a 2 year lease when you get an apartment instead of 1. It's easy to
get rid of a reasonably priced apartment if you change your mind;

\- Cathay Pacific has 4 direct flights a day from JFK to HKG (and they've just
added one from Newark). I love Cathay and fly that route a lot;

\- You might get an L1B but next year, as a backup, get an H1B. You never know
how long a GC will take;

\- You shouldn't need to take a sub-market salary to move here. Don't lowball
yourself just to make sure you get here. If HR wants you to pick a number, go
_high_. You can always come back and say you're somewhat guessing because
you're not familiar with the market if you're way off. It's perfect actually.

Hope that helps.

~~~
JackOfAll
cletus, thanks for the wonderful post. It has lots of information and i will
read it multiple times to soak it all in. Regarding location, I would
definitely prefer a place where people can walk/use public transport
heavily/etc rather than rely on cars. Not only it saves money, but i
personally feel that seeing fellow people and having a good level of
interaction with different people is really the KEY to a happy life. You would
never feel isolated and when in stress, it lets you see things in the correct
perspective.

for now i have some queries regarding your comment, please indulge me if you
can spare few minutes: \- not sure about the terminology, but by sublet you
mean a very temporary accommodation before moving into a rented place? \- can
you please clarify a bit more on why 2 years is preferable than 1 year? does
re contracting every year has a recurring expense? \- Is it possible to get
H1B visa while having a L1B visa as you have suggested? I thought that would
not be possible? In case it is, will the H1B sponsor be the same company that
is my L1B?

Also, your last point is entirely valid and it makes perfect sense. Thanks for
that.

------
tkm
I'm just going to comment on number 3, in depth, b/c I don't have insight on
your other questions and if I was in your shoes I would absolutely want as
much detail as possible (apologies if this is too long-winded for you).

As others have said, NJ is not your only option and definitely not even the
best option. The options include: the outer boroughs (The Bronx, Queens,
Brooklyn, Staten Island); countless towns in Nassau County, Long Island (right
on LIRR, the commuter rail that shoots east of the city); countless towns in
Westchester County far closer to the city than, say, Dutchess County, which
another commenter suggested (no offense to that person!) (Westchester is north
of NYC and on the northern commuter rail MetroNorth); countless towns in
Fairfield County, CT (again, "north" of the city and on MetroNorth); and then
New Jersey as well, which is just as good an option as those other ones
depending on how close you can get to the city.

The only place it _might_ be harder to live comfortably is Manhattan, but
that's not really true either. If you're pulling down 78k after tax--the low-
end of the range you cited, which I can't comment on so take all this w/ that
in mind--you have plenty of money to live on and live well on unless you have
some major fixed monthly expenses (people in the states might have student
loans, for instance, that would eat up material portions of their income or
you want to save a bunch of your post-tax salary (which of course makes sense
10 years into your career)). Still, you can live AND save at 78k post tax in
some pretty good areas around and even IN NYC, which brings me to...

There are absolutely apartments in Manhattan that rent for close to $2k/month
in fairly PRIME locations that are no more than a 20 to 40-minute commute to
Wall Street, including the Upper West Side (don't let people tell you it's no-
man's land--it's not!) and even downtown in the Village and elsewhere (case in
point, I just rented a (small, but not Hong Kong small 1 bedroom) apartment to
an NYC Law Student for $2300/month in Greenwich Village, just south of Wash
Square and I felt fortunate to get that much rent for the place). I understand
that 2300 is north of 2k, but it's not much when you're talking about 78k
post-tax income.

Couple of more things... If you don't know anybody, the city can get lonely
(odd when there are thousands of people right outside your door, but happens
all the time as you might know living in HK). That said, it's far better to
live in the city, surrounded by people, than to jump on the aforementioned
MetroNorth, Long Island Railroad (LIRR) or NJ Transit at 9pm, after a long day
of work, only to arrive home to a suburban apartment, go to bed and repeat the
cycle.

Assuming the 78k post-tax turns out to be true, if I could sit you down and
argue for the "right" choice, I would strongly advocate living in the city, in
a neighborhood where there is healthy street life and where you avoid a long
commute (anything more than 45 minutes (literally from the moment you step out
your front door and arrive at your office) would be a deal breaker).

Using that as the rule, I recommend you only look at very close-in suburbs
(some of the closer towns in those places I mentioned above on the commuter
rails) or in one of the boroughs themselves (which is what I would even more
strongly suggest).

Two final comments: getting an apartment in NYC (Manhattan or outer boroughs)
often comes with a broker's fee. It sucks, but most people pay it and it can
be fairly expensive (normally 10-15% of one YEAR's rent (i.e., thousands of
additional dollars out of your pocket that you'll never see again)).

Again, though, if you have some savings it's absolutely worth paying the fee
if a) you can't find a place that charges no fee (it's possible, but it's not
the norm and many native New Yorkers struggle with finding a place when they
go this route) or b) your alternative breaks my 45-minute rule above
(remember, 45 minutes door to door!).

Hope that helps. Sounds like a great adventure if you can get what you need
comp and visa-wise.

~~~
JackOfAll
TKM, Thanks for the wonderful reply. I have now more options to consider than
just NJ. Thanks once again.

~~~
frenchman_in_ny
Another thing to think about, if you're working for a Wall Street bank (and
likely other firms, but I can't comment on what their policies are), is that
past a certain time you get a car service home. Opens up the search a bit as
well.

