Hey all,

So I'm a Montrealer who goes to NYC more than any Montrealer should. I'm completely in love with the city, and all I ever do when I get there is walk around the boroughs, get a coffee, sit, talk, etc. I actually don't think I've bothered doing any of the touristy stuff... that being said, I'd give anything to actually live there.

Greenwich village is basically my dream neighborhood; not only is it beautiful in itself, it's also more like Montreal than most other parts of New York. It would be the perfect home away from home!

Unfortunately, after countless hours of research, I just don't see how it's possible. I'm certainly not a millionaire, and I don't plan to be in the next decade. So how would it be possible to live in the village modestly but comfortably? Any suggestions? This is my life dream, and I'll do whatever it takes to make it happen! Help me!!!

Thanks a lot. NYC rules!!!

This is a tough one.

Any suggestions on a cheaper area that would provide a similar experience? Maybe one that's an easy commute to the village?

Gotta start somewhere!

I have no advice to offer you, only to tell you that You Are Not Alone! I feel EXACTLY the same...the Village calls to me and I have spent hours there walking around and going into every little nook & cranny...I want to know the history of everything...there are so many stories in those walls!

I have spent too much time looking at monthly rental sites...yikes the prices. When I come to town I stay in Inwood (The nosebleed area of Manhattan...at 207th st) But someday I WILL rent an apt in Greenwich Village for at least a month...3 would be better...I gotta do it!

Wow, I thought I was the only one! I realize how sad this is but I probably spend about an hour a day looking through craigslist and other rental (and sale) listings hoping that I'll somehow snag something good. It's become quite an odd yet interesting hobby. (I actually found a 1 bedroom this week for 330,000$ on Thompson Street, 2 blocks for Washington Square Park; is this worth pursuing, people???) I have this ridiculous fantasy of finding a deal, dropping everything in my life in Montreal and moving down there, no matter how little sense it makes. Sometimes as I'm wandering aimlessly through the area, I stop at a particularly nice building and stare at it for a while, kind of as a ceremonial congratulation to the tenants of those apartments.

It's amazing how those people, probably as simple as the rest of us, can become my true idols for as indirect and unexciting a reason as where they live!

I will definitely, as you said, blow some money and rent for a few months there just to soak it in for real and get it out of my system.

$330,000 is possible in that area but it would be extremely small. Also it could be a co-op as opposed to a condominium. Co-ops are usually cheaper.

Is there a downside to co-ops? I've been meaning to speak to someone who knows the new york real estate market well enough to give me an overview of how I should invest my money properly if I was to purchase in the city. I'm guessing it's not that simple, me being a Canadian citizen. All I know is, $330,000 isn't too bad for a location like that, no matter how small! (it was actually a 380 sqft junior 1-bedroom.. definitely tiny)

If $330,000 is the price, then it's expensive because everything in the area is expensive. How can an apartment in a prime location have a relatively low price and be expensive? It can be an absolute nightmare. Come on down and check it out. I'll bet you won't like what you find. And it'll teach you a lesson about just how bad some apartments can be in what you think are great neighborhoods. There aren't any bargains in prime location Manhattan real estate, unless you're related to the owner or you've got a mobster or politician looking out for you.

Well, quite honestly, that's what I figured. Real estate in Montreal is really very simple, and finding deals is a matter of looking around and choosing what works for you... clearly this isn't the case in New York. At the same time, however, I noticed that there's a whole other side of the market, namely that rental pricing is heavily dependent on location, and not on quality of the apartment (which might have something to do with rent stabilization... maybe?). Also there's a huge sublet market for people wanting to stay in the city for short periods of time.

What bugs me (and I don't mean to offend any New Yorkers) is that the city has built up through the media an image of itself as a magical utopia where anything and everything you could ever want in life is right there at your doorstep; if you watch too much Friends, you start to feel like living anywhere outside of Greenwich village is a mediocre and imperfect life. Even when walking through the city, tourists feel this way. But once you start to look at the details and ask yourself if moving there would really bring that perfection that you've been seeking your entire life, you realize that the city may have reached its peak of perfection and is only going down hill from here: the quaint businesses are being shoved out by high costs, and so are the quaint people, being replaced by a style of life that has gone from sustainable to heavily decadent and, in a sense, impossible.

What I'm saying is, especially through this recession, what happens when everything of charm disappears and Manhattan is just an overpriced borough for overpriced people? I still am passionate about the city, and I feel like I'm missing some key notion that, once figured out, would allow me to experience the New York we've all dreamed about.

And maybe that missing link isn't a matter of real estate... Any thoughts?

Let's be clear here. You're the one who "built up...an image of (NY) as a magical utopia where anything and everything you could ever want in life is right there at your doorstep." You're the one who "watch(ed) too much Friends, (and) start(ed) to feel like living anywhere outside of Greenwich village is a mediocre and imperfect life." This is very clear from your posts.

New Yorkers are much clearer on these issues. Almost all New Yorkers do not live in the Village and have no desire to do so. I grew up very close to the Village and have never felt that it is a particularly desirable place to live.

Well what I'm saying (indirectly, I admit), and you make my point very clear, is that most actual New Yorkers don't realize what people who want to come live in the city from abroad are actually expecting. What you said was just me really isn't just me, it's a lot more people than one might think. We dream of the village, and the city as a whole, in a certain way, and what you seem to suggest is that maybe that isn't what it's really like. If this is the case, by all means please tell me now so I stop wasting time wishing that I could have a life like that. And I don't mean that in a condescending way!! Honestly, can you imagine me working my ass off trying to build up enough money to spend some time living in or around the village, essentially spending tens of thousands of dollars on this, just to find out that it's actually not worth it??

And I have a feeling that I speak for a lot of people out there. The 4th post in this thread by jeans tells me that, at the very least, there's someone else thinking of doing this.

I'll be quite honest here. My goal in life is to do what I've described, to live in Greenwich village for some period of time in a hopeful attempt to experience life at its finest in terms of culture, socialization, food, art, etc. I asked the initial question to find out how this might be possible. I now refine my question...

Is it worth it?

When I talk to people here about how much I'd enjoy this, they tell me that Montreal is everything I've described and I don't need to move to Manhattan to get this, since it's all right here. Unfortunately, being born here and living here most of my life, I haven't gotten that feeling what with the difficult political issue of language and all that's associated with it. I just see the village as a place where they got it right, and again, I'm guessing others have too.

So really, is it worth it?

Oh and by the way, just to clarify...

I realize that there's no such thing as a life like that in "Friends." It was an exaggerated example, and I don't mean to suggest that I think this is something I could have. I mean honestly, I've seen the rents on apartments like theirs.. you can't be paying something like $1800/month, at least, for a room in a 2-bedroom apartment as a moronic actor or masseuse with little to no work whatsoever, while spending most of your time in a coffee shop where you buy at least one item every day. I can't even do that here, and Montreal is dirt cheap!

I'm trying to be somewhat reasonable here.. let's not forget that!