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riverripper
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Business School Peers - Does Money abound? 22 Jan 2008, 09:39
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togafoot
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wooo....1500 a month? that's not really what I would consider a student budget, or am I completely not in the loop here?

wah! expensive for a 1 bed apartment!!! I`m going to need 2 or 3 bedrooms
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Four of the huge b-school locations also happen to be near or in 4 of the most expensive areas in the country. NYC, Boston, Chicago, and San Fran area.

Of those Chicago is probably the cheapest and $1500 for a decent 1 bedroom apartment in a nice area is pretty reasonable. Evanston and the northside of the city are more expensive seeming than south. If you go to GSB and live near campus in Hyde Park its cheaper than going to Kellogg and living near campus in Evanston. That said by looking at nicer apartments in the more desirable locations 1500-1800 seems fairly common...add 300-500 for each bedroom.

Boston is slightly more than Chicago, can be a lot more depending on the area though. There is a lot of competition for apartments near the schools because of all the students. There are a lot of 4-5 bedroom places if you get a bunch of roommates together though. Its a very college based city so tons of leases start in the mid to late summer, so there is a huge selection in the spring but the good ones go very fast.

NYC in a nice section of town (near NYU especially) rent is crazy. My brother has a brownstone in park slope brooklyn and pays like 4k a month. Trying to find a nice place near where you want can be tough. You might end up having to use a broker, at which point its going to cost you about a months rent for them to find you a place. If you dont have a broker you wont stand a chance at a lot of places, its all a scam the control those people try to hold over apartments.

Parking in chicago seems to be pretty common with apartments or is at least reasonably priced. In NYC or Boston parking is a nightmare so dont get a car, I know in parts of boston and NYC parking can be $500-1000 a month for a space. Parking on the street is possible but very tough in a lot of neighborhoods, forget about it when it snows...in Boston if you dont clear your space and keep it you are in trouble. If you take someones shoveled space your car will be ruined if you are lucky, if you are unlucky you might get shot.

Check craigslist its a great way to judge prices for apartments...make sure you talk to current students or people that live in the city or you might think you are getting a great deal on a nice looking apartment but end up in a crack neighborhood.
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Business School Peers - Does Money abound? 22 Jan 2008, 13:21
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NYC in a nice section of town (near NYU especially) rent is crazy. My brother has a brownstone in park slope brooklyn and pays like 4k a month. Trying to find a nice place near where you want can be tough. You might end up having to use a broker, at which point its going to cost you about a months rent for them to find you a place. If you dont have a broker you wont stand a chance at a lot of places, its all a scam the control those people try to hold over apartments.

Check craigslist its a great way to judge prices for apartments...make sure you talk to current students or people that live in the city or you might think you are getting a great deal on a nice looking apartment but end up in a crack neighborhood.
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I am afraid the fees are worse than that. The fee for a rental is 12-15% of annual rent, which is burning well over 1 month rent. You will be very very fortunate to get away with finding a place without going through a broker, and the no-fee places typically embed the fee in the rent (standard lower at the price). You just have to bite your lip and pay.

If you are moving to NYC, make sure you come well before August to look at the rentals coming through. It is often a wiser move to look early else you will need to rent after school starts - the market turns very quickly, and at the end of July I was quickly looking at September leases. With this being with me as an International student who officially couldn't enter the US on my visa before August 4, you either have to do the canada visa switch, or operate blind with a friend through the school (who you will not have met, most likely!).

August market in NYC is HOT. There are parents running in with check-books and bidding wars starting on their perfect offspring having the perfect apartment. I will never look for an apartment in August in NYC ever again, mark my words. It is a horrible experience.

In any area of downtown NYC you are looking at $1600 low for a studio (LES), converted one bed studios are about $2000, but do exist lower. Fantasize about finding a rent controlled apartment as much you like, and never believe NYC craigslist. It is a spectacular marketing teaser and you will rarely, if ever, see the apartment on the advert. The apartment on the advert that has been there for about 6 months, strangely never being leased as it doesn't exist.
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Business School Peers - Does Money abound? 22 Jan 2008, 13:46
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3underscore, doesn't Stern offer housing to its MBA folks in a dorm around Union Square?
Do a lot of students take that up?
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Business School Peers - Does Money abound? 22 Jan 2008, 15:54
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haha - yes they do, the Palladium. I would really only consider that if I were an International student who couldn't get someone to back my lease, and was on my own. Fortunately I have a relative in the city who has guaranteed my rent - which saves me paying a years rent upfront!

Palladium is pretty fun though. The rooms are small but the MBAs have a floor or two to themselves, so they can break out the booze if they want to (undergrads are on the other floors). The rent there is about $1700 for a small room (twin bed) with internet and bobbins I believe. You can rent for more value on your own if you put in the work, and it is more of an experience. Just you have to be able to secure the lease somehow without it being punitive.

They also offer apartments in Stuyvesant, which are priced absurdly and really in a pretty weird location. I prefer living in my apartment with crackheads next door, but that is me. I can walk to school (though many other students think it is way too far - 15 mins, no alternative to walking really - no subway, no real bus service) and hang in all the great bars round here. Plus my girlfriend can live with me, which is impossible in the Palladium.

That way I was looking at here ($1800 1bed, 7th & Avenue B) versus about $3000 for a 1-bed in Stuyvesant. And trust me, my apartment is was the 20th I saw and worked out cheap. I have seen some bat-**** crazy apartments in my search (showers in the kitchen of $2000 1-beds where you could touch the stove while washing)
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Business School Peers - Does Money abound? 22 Jan 2008, 16:19
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Fees are cheaper than Japan, where you typically pay around 5months :-

1 months deposit (which you don`t usually get back)
2 months key money (used to modernise the apartment before you move in.. e.g. change the tatami mats)
1 months gift for the landlord
1 months fee for the estate agent

1 months advance rent ;)

so you need that much money just to move.

Just some cultural insight for you guys ;)
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Business School Peers - Does Money abound? 22 Jan 2008, 16:20
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Hmm, sounds like it might be difficult to get a reasonable sized apartment at a decent proce for a family of 4.
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Business School Peers - Does Money abound? 22 Jan 2008, 16:30
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If you are doing NYC for four, I would suggest looking out at Jersey City / Hoboken and the PATH train. You lose a lot of the point of NYC out there (to my mind), but you have a good reason to look out at prices there. They are definitely cheaper.

A family of four would be difficult in Manhattan period, let alone whilst attending business school.
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Business School Peers - Does Money abound? 23 Jan 2008, 03:16
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Thanks for clarifying to me why I did not shoot for NYC schools... ;)

That much money for an appartement you barely see anyways because of all the big city distractions (that will cost you again).
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Business School Peers - Does Money abound? 23 Jan 2008, 08:58
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I think you're paying for the big city distractions, branson. Sometimes they're worth it.

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Thanks for clarifying to me why I did not shoot for NYC schools... ;)

That much money for an appartement you barely see anyways because of all the big city distractions (that will cost you again).
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Business School Peers - Does Money abound? 23 Jan 2008, 09:56
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sure, but I am sure its better for me to not expose myself to them during business school. ;)
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Business School Peers - Does Money abound? 23 Jan 2008, 10:33
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I guess coming from the SF Bay Area, except for NYC, everywhere else (including Chicago) is relatively equal or cheap, haha. :)

Of course, the down side is not being able to find many schools in cities that are comparable to SF Bay Area... :(
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Business School Peers - Does Money abound? 23 Jan 2008, 13:47
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kryzak
I guess coming from the SF Bay Area, except for NYC, everywhere else (including Chicago) is relatively equal or cheap, haha. :)
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Actually, from what I have seen, Chicago is pretty reasonably. Downtown Chicago is significantly cheaper than downtown Seattle, much to my surprise.
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Business School Peers - Does Money abound? 23 Jan 2008, 17:03
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I guess coming from the SF Bay Area, except for NYC, everywhere else (including Chicago) is relatively equal or cheap, haha. :)

Of course, the down side is not being able to find many schools in cities that are comparable to SF Bay Area... :(
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I was in the Bay Area before business school. Everything here does seem cheap.

My rent is $420 per month and includes cable TV
...and internet
...and furniture

That's way less than property tax each month on my house when I was in the Bay Area.
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Business School Peers - Does Money abound? 23 Jan 2008, 17:20
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OMG that's cheap!
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Business School Peers - Does Money abound? 23 Jan 2008, 17:49
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do you rent a furnished apartment, pelihu?

pelihu
kryzak
I guess coming from the SF Bay Area, except for NYC, everywhere else (including Chicago) is relatively equal or cheap, haha. :)

Of course, the down side is not being able to find many schools in cities that are comparable to SF Bay Area... :(

I was in the Bay Area before business school. Everything here does seem cheap.

My rent is $420 per month and includes cable TV
...and internet
...and furniture

That's way less than property tax each month on my house when I was in the Bay Area.
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Business School Peers - Does Money abound? 23 Jan 2008, 18:38
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solaris1
do you rent a furnished apartment, pelihu?
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Yeah, would have been only $400 if it were unfurnished.
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Business School Peers - Does Money abound? 23 Jan 2008, 18:46
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that is simply amazing how cheap it is...
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Business School Peers - Does Money abound? 23 Jan 2008, 19:37
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pelihu, I think you just convinced me to change my dream school to Darden...
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Business School Peers - Does Money abound? 23 Jan 2008, 20:58
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There's a bar that has $2 pitchers of beer. Not $2 beers, but full-sized pitchers.
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Business School Peers - Does Money abound? 23 Jan 2008, 21:03
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I suppose that's where Darden's semi-secret drinking society (forget what it's called) has its regular meetings?

pelihu
There's a bar that has $2 pitchers of beer. Not $2 beers, but full-sized pitchers.
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