People flock to New York City from all around the world to live, including students, which is why our list of average rent by neighborhood in NYC: 10 cheapest places to rent for students is a great reference. Most see NYC as the dream location, but it’s important to be reasonable when searching for a place to live as it’s very expensive.
While it is true that most of New York City has a higher cost of living index as compared to the rest of America, there are still places in the city with lower rental rates and sustainable qualities of life. Even so, the fact remains that in order to live in the Big Apple, there are a couple of sacrifices you have to make. Up to this day, New York City is still the second priciest US city for renters, which comes as no surprise.
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According to Rent Jungle, the current average rent cost in New York City is at $3,064. The average rent cost is derived from the neighborhoods, amenities around the area, and the overall ambiance of the place. Understandably, the most expensive neighborhoods in New York include those nearest to where the towering skyscrapers and business district is, such as Central Park and Tribeca. Manhattan and Brooklyn might both sound expensive, but both of them are pretty diverse communities. Some parts of those boroughs have cheaper rent that might even surprise you.
Moreover, neighborhoods with easy public transit access and nearby amenities naturally have higher rental costs as opposed to those that are quite far from the city proper. When a neighborhood has schools, shopping centers, bars, and subways in close vicinity, you can almost guarantee that it’ll have more expensive apartments and spaces.
Students aren’t the only ones looking for inexpensive places to live in New York. Most people are “rent-burdened” in the city, meaning that more than 50 percent of their income goes towards rent. It’s important to find a place to live that is affordable and still allows you the ability to get around in the city you love. I know the struggle pretty well because when I moved here I was a little shocked at how much it costs to live in a shoebox-sized apartment. People talk about it on TV shows all the time, but then you watch Friends and you think to yourself “well look at them doing that in their big apartment in the Village.” It’s just not realistic. We can’t all be Monica Gellar.
In looking for the cheapest places to rent for students, we sourced information from Curbed New York, New York Business Journal, and Zumper. To compile the 10 cheapest places to rent for students, we averaged the rankings from these sites.
The cheapest places for students shouldn’t only have to be affordable when it comes to rental rates. They should also have schools in the area and an easy commute. You could rent a super cheap apartment space, but if you have to spend too much time and money on transportation to actually get to school, then it makes no sense at all. Using that criteria, these results were concluded.
Students should also check out our list Uber, Lyft, Gett, Juno, Via: Best NYC Taxi Alternatives, as they’re bound to need a car at some point during their stay. Keep reading to find your perfect neighborhood:
