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Moving can be a time of great excitement and tremendous stress, as the optimism of your new start collides with the many realities—and headaches—that come with moving. Add to that the many unique challenges and complexities that come with trying to move to New York City and the distinct boroughs that make it up, and you definitely have quite the bumpy road ahead of you.

Thankfully, when you have the right tips and information to help guide you, you can help make navigating this journey much, much smoother—and that’s just what we’re here to do today. So whether you’re making a large cross-country relocation or just figuring out a smaller move, this guide will provide the foundational knowledge you need when moving to the big city in 2023.

Choosing Your Borough

I’m not sure if anyone’s told you this before, but New York City is absolutely massive. With a population more than double that of Los Angeles, there’s simply so much that’s crammed into these relatively tiny islands. 

To help you get around, and, frankly, to make the city easier to understand, NYC is divided up into five distinct boroughs; Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, Bronx, and Staten Island. They’re almost like entire cities in themselves, each with its own unique charm, culture, neighborhoods, slang, and so much more within it. So how do you choose which one to settle down in? Well, it all depends on what you’re looking for and what you’re trying to do.

For better or worse, the city’s many transit and transportation systems are its lifeblood. While you can technically own a car in the city, and while public transit services can often leave a lot to be desired, driving as your primary means of getting around isn’t recommended in most cases. Where you can work and what you can go do is often heavily dependent on these systems, so these factors should be at the forefront of your mind when choosing where to live.

Because Manhattan’s effectively at the center of the city, transportation systems tend to be pretty robust throughout, with several subway and bus lines running throughout it to the outer boroughs. Whether you’re up north in Harlem or settling in the East Village, you’re going to be able to get wherever you need to go without much trouble (in most cases).

However, as you begin to reach the stretches of South Brooklyn and Staten Island, your transportation options begin to narrow down. Although, as they do, rents begin to drop while square footage bumps up, so there’s a real trade-off there based on your needs. Again, your choice of where to settle down should ultimately be based on where you’re trying to work, what you’re looking for, and what you’re trying to do.

Also, price is going to be a big component of where you choose to move, and the price of apartments tends to directly correlate with your access to public transit and the amenities surrounding you. While New York City is often well-known for its lack of affordability when it comes to rent prices, there are some real diamonds in the rough out there if you know where to look for them.

Essential NYC Moving Tips

New York City just isn’t like other cities; there’s no real way around it. There are several things you’re going to encounter when trying to move to or within it that you’re simply not going to face in other places.

One of the biggest things you’re going to face when trying to secure a place in NYC are the absolutely useless broker fees. This lawfully- and ethically-questionable antiquated practice that’s currently being challenged has been in practice for decades. In essence, you must use a broker to secure an apartment in NYC, who charges a broker’s fee that’s typically either the equivalent of one month’s rent or 15% of the annual rent.

Mind you, and this is important, YOU are the one responsible for actually finding a place, not the broker. Despite the steep fee, the broker manages to earn the equivalent of a month’s rent purely for having a job in this middle-man position that’s purely a product of corrupt NYC bureaucracy—sorry for the rant. So while not an ideal thing to face, this is certainly something you’ll want to keep in mind when moving.

When scheduling your move, whether you’re booking with an experienced moving company or are just booking a truck for yourself, you’re going to want to book out as fast ahead as possible so that you can secure your preferred moving window. Ensure you familiarize yourself with your building’s policies regarding moving in and out, along with your street’s particular regulations regarding parking. After all, you don’t want to arrive at your new place on moving day and realize you have nowhere to offload your things.

You may want to consider downsizing a bit before actually making the move down. Depending on the borough and neighborhood you choose to move to, you may have to sacrifice quite a bit of square footage compared to wherever you may be coming from. 

Making Moving to NYC Seamless and Stress-Free

There’s no real other way to put it; moving to New York City is an outright adventure—a challenging, at times perplexing, yet undeniably exhilarating adventure. Every borough and neighborhood is its own little universe, each filled with unique vibes, cultures, people, and quirks. 

While you’re carefully trying to balance the various transportation options, broker fees (oh, those pesky broker fees), and the overall space of your place, don’t forget that millions of others have taken this leap before you, and they’ve all helped make this amazing city the bustling mosaic of life that it is today. 

While the entire moving process might seem overwhelming now, once you settle down and find your own little corner of this vast urban jungle, you’ll understand why so many call it home. NYC is not just a place to live—it’s an experience.