The Price to Live in NYC

From 2002 through 2004 I lived on a tree-lined block on Manhattan's Upper West Side. I had my own room, own bathroom and even a 24-hour doorman downstairs. My rent? $500 a month, about half the price my friends were paying for a shared two-bedroom, one bath in a fifth floor walk-up building situatied in a less than desirable neighborhood.

To be fair, I did make some compromises for that unbeatably low rent. My roommates were a newly married older couple. They were very nice, but it wasn't exactly the same as having a friend or co-young adult as a roomie. I pretty much just stuck to my bedroom and rarely used the common living space. It didn't really feel like it was "mine." And then the couple would fight…and later make up. Let's just say things sometimes got awkward!

A year into living there developers began constructing a new high rise condo apartment right next door. I mean, exactly next door. That meant one of my windows would have to get sealed up to allow for the new building to rest against ours. It also meant waking up each morning to noise pollution.

A year later, the married couple split and their cat passed away. Living there became kind of sad. But man, who could beat $500 a month in Manhattan?

Looking back, these were just small sacrifices this 20-something made to be able to work in New York City. And as the New York Times reported over the weekend, my slightly older generation of New York imports had it slightly better back then. "Statistical evidence suggests that today's new arrivals have a tougher struggle to live well, or even adequately, compared with their counterparts of just a decade ago. Battered by the one-two punch of persistent unemployment and the city's high housing costs, they are squeezing into ever smaller spaces and living in neighborhoods once considered dicey and remote," writes Constance Rosenblum.

Here's some budgeting advice when you're just starting to live in a pricey city:

Add a Room

With your landlord's permission, you may be able to put up a wall in your apartment (around $1,000) to create a second room. That way, you can rent out the space to a roommate.

Search Near Schools

Come to think of it – I wasn't just lucky to nab a $500-a-month deal back then. I was also looking in a neighborhood near Columbia University.

Here's my tip – search rental locations near college or university campuses in your area.  Those listings are often much cheaper, since landlords know the majority of applicants are either students or recent grads without deep pockets. The accommodations may not be as fancy, and you may have to shack up with a few roommates, but you'll make up for it in savings.

Some schools may also have their own off-campus housing Web sites, where neighboring landlords post listings.  For that, you'll need to find a friend who goes to the school who can help you gain access to the site's listings.

Sublet

Sublet listings sometimes come furnished and are more likely to be negotiable, since you're dealing with a lessee – who may be trying to sublet his or her apartment quickly. Just make sure you get a written letter from the building manager acknowledging your sublease; you don't want to wind up getting evicted.

Search "No Fee"

Fee-free listings usually mean you don't have to pay a broker's fee on top of rent. In New York City, this fee can be as high as 15% of your annual rent.

Artists: Co-Habitate

Many cities from Minneapolis to Seattle, Austin and New York have artist cooperatives where if you're a designer, actor, poet, musician, painter, younameit, you may qualify to live in a shared space with other artists that costs very little. The living spaces may not be much to write home about, but you could be looking at paying just a fraction of what it costs to live in a similar apartment across the street.