TimeOut NY & NY Mag Apartment Issues Have Arrived! Which means…it’s 
officially Apartment Season in NYC!
Think of it like the hunting season, except that instead of coming home with a poor, dead animal, you just get to come home. To your own place. No small feat!
It kind of baffles me that both Time Out and NY Mag come out with their ‘official apartment issue’ at the exact same time — but then I remember how baffled I was when I first moved here, so I suppose the more resources the better. Plus, each has their own way of covering the topic.
Here’s how I’d break it down:
First read New York Magazine‘s “The Most Livable Neighborhoods In New York” to get a general sense of the top 50 hoods. It gives you a pretty accurate view of each neighborhood, ranging from Flushing to Sunnyside to Bay Ridge. Oh, you haven’t even HEARD of these neighborhoods? Best get reading! (Also, check out the comments – they add more flavor and show how strongly people feel about their hood.) Ex-Chicagoan and current New Yorker Nate Silver, of 538 fame, conducted the poll/survey, so you know his rankings were legit:)
Seco
nd, read Time Out New York‘s most recent apartment article detailing The City’s 100 Best Apartments Under $2000 (all kinds of technical info from someone who has actually seen the place and an outlay of all fees). On one hand, this is totally awesome — they’ve done your work for you in scoping out the scene! On the other hand, now the secret is OUT so if you want to take advantage of their leg work, get crackin’.
The article also lists 10 of the city’s Best Brokers — which is normally info that’s only gotten through painful trail and error.
Basically, the two are perfect compliment to one another, which is perhaps the publication’s secret all along. You need both the big and small picture view…and now our favorite NYC magazines give you both!
Good luck:)
New York Times has just reviewed the rental market and found that Manhattan rents are starting to move up from last year’s lows.