I have a job offer at 42nd St and 3rd Av in Midtown. Where is a reasonably priced decent area to live in? Has anyone relocated to NYC from South Florida? What are your experiences? Would you do it again? I really would like to keep a car. Is this possible?

It costs anywhere from $200 - 400/month to keep your car in a garage/parking lot.

If your planning on renting expect to pay at least $1400 for a one bedroom. There are many places, just depends how close you want to be to your office and what kind of neighborhood you want. Have any places in mind

What about Queens? I heard that you can sometimes park your car in the street there and that rents are less. My job would be right near Grand Central so any line that goes there I could live near.

Check out newyork.craigslist.org for rental listings, and the housing community message board for detailed assessments of each neighborhood. To live in the area you work, I doubt you could get a studio for $1400. And leave your car at home. You will find it a thorn in your side.

Queens is, how do I say this nicely, not very nice. Kind of trashy? If Manhattan rent is too steep, try Brooklyn. I personally would never plan on parking my car on the street all of the time, it's just too risky, even in the nicest neighborhoods. The Upper East Side has lots of new buildings opening up in the 80s and 90s near the river, you might try there.
How old are you and what are your intersts/pasttimes? That will influence where you might want to live. I am a 22 year-old foodie/fashionista living on the Upper West Side, which is very family/suburban, but the neighborhood for me is really downtown, either Soho, Tribecca or the West village.
I wouldn't recommend keeping a car unless you have children or relatives nearby who can't be reached by train. They are jus tsuch a pain to take care of in the city. (The cars, I mean.)

There are nice sections of Queens. I'm not too familiar with the borough but Forest Hills and Astoria are 2 nice ones that come to mind.

I would definately look at brooklyn over queens. Williamsburg or Brooklyn heights or good places to look at.

Having a car is nice but not a necessity. I have one and only use it on the weekends to get out of the city.

A one bedroom for $1,400?? Where?? I haven't seen walk-up studios for less than $1,900-$2,000, let alone a 1 bedroom. The Murray Hill area is close to where you'll be working. For a one bedroom (doorman), expect to pay $2,600-$2,800 -- no doorman $2,200 - $2,400. Parking in that area will cost you between $400 - $525. I used to live in that area and would never consider having a car as parking is outrageous.

Most people in NY do not live in the same neighborhood as where they work so I wouldn't worry about the rates in the areas right near your office, like Murray Hill, unless that's what you're specifically hoping for.

Jim, since you mentioned correctly that you will be working near Grand Central, virtually half of the city is within a 20 minute subway ride from where you'd work, including much of Queens (Jess--with all due respect, "Queens is Trashy"??? --grow up a little... )and Brooklyn. You need to define your budget and the type of neighborhood you'd like to live in--edgy/hip, family oriented, gay, artsy, whatever, how far you're willing to travel, type of building you'd consider (3rd floor walkup vs, luxury doorman building). Unfortunately as others here have mentioned, "decently priced" might be very different from what you're used to. I find the prices listed here to be a bit on the
"scare you" side so realize that you can do it for less. But basically you're talking about $1000++/month in most decent neighborhoods.

As far as a car, yeah, it's extremely expensive in Manhattan and [parts of Brooklyn}, less so elsewhere .Figure $300-350 month for an indoor lot, under $200 for a lot at the edge of the city if you're only going to use the car occasionally .

You could also consider living in New Jersey--there are lots of new semi-luxury hi-rise buildings going up in places like Edgewater, right over the Hudson River, that look very nice and include parking and health clubs in their rents.
These places are certainly not cheap, but you might get somewhat more bang for the buck (the 1500 bucks, that is.)
Big downside is that your commute will be longer since these areas are closer to the West side of Manhattan and you'd be working on the East side. Many people there commute by Ferry and then take the ferry's free shuttle bus to the East side. I suspect the trip in total must take about an hour.

Of course, none of this takes into consideration other factors of living here that might interest or concern you:
Weather (we have all kinds), the arts (we have all kinds) etc. etc.

I see a number of newer, or newly renovated places while riding the Metro-North commuter train down to GCT from Poughkeepsie. Further north is much nicer than the city, altho not all the excitement of city life. I've always figured if I moved to a big city I'd try to find a private home out in the "burbs" with unused garage or parking space to keep my car in weekdays. I can't imagine having one in the city. Good Luck.

Michelle is right on the apartment and parking prices in Manhattan.

Very important - are you married or not? Will you have children living with you or not? Manhattan is great for singles...you don't mind your tiny apartment so much if you're going out all the time! If you have a family though, a Manhattan apartment can be extremely expensive an feel very claustophobic (assuming you're not a millionaire). If you're married or cohabitating, well hey, a one-bedroom doesn't seem so expensive if you're sharing the cost!

Also, I must say that your office is in an excellent location for commuting from either in or out of town. It's only a block from Grand Central Station. This means you can easily commute from anywhere in Westchester County (in general, very beautiful, and where I would choose to live if I didn't live in the city) or from many areas in Queens and Brooklyn and the Bronx. If you choose any of these locations, it would be a heck of a lot easier to keep your car. Though Queens and Brooklyn have alternate-side-of-the-street parking rules, in many areas you don't have to move your car every day for street cleaning (like Manhattan)...just twice a week or so. Or you could keep it in a garage or lot for $150 or less a month.

Jim,
If you want a town with a decent nighgtlife and numerous places to eat, for rents that are below Manhattan rates, you might want to check into Hoboken, New Jersey.

It is located on the Hudson River, just across from NYC. There are several ways into NY including the bus to Port Authority, the PATH train, and a ferry. The ferry is a good option as the ticket prices also includes a shuttle bus. One of which runs across 42nd St.

There are several new buildings in town, several of which have great city/river views.

The Shipyard complex (where I live) is on 14th and Hudson St. Our building has a free gym, space for indoor/outdoor parking, a rooftop sun deck, all within 100 yards of the ferry dock. Door to door, my wife's commute to 42nd and Park is 25 to 30 minutes.

One last thing, we pay $3,400 for a large 3 bedroom with a balconey and a terrace.

Hoboken, btw, is popular with young singles and slightly older married couples with small children.

Jim: The good news is that rents are down about 15% over the past year. You can get a large studio in a doorman building for between $1,700 - $2,000, 1 bedrooms for $2,000 - $2,500. No bargins but several hundred less than last year.

There is a large new apartment building called the Avalon Riverview that is directly oposite 42nd St. on the Queens side of the river. Checkout their website avalonriverview.com, the rents are more reasonable,studio $1,500, 1 bedroom $1,850 and parking is available. Best of all, everyting is brand new and you are a 4 minute train ride to Grand Central Station. Good Luck.