nyc: I have enough money for first months rent and last months rent for an decent apartment, have good knowledge of the streets of manhattan (including the subways), want to live downtown, but I live in Pennsylvania. I'm still in school, and won't seriously consider moving there until I graduate high school, but it has always been a dream of mine to move to the city. I just want to know what I would expect/ have to do moving to another state, especially NYC.|||First of all, you'll need more money that that. Just in terms of what you need to rent an apartment, you'll probably need to pay a "fee" on most apartments, particularly affordable but liveable apartments. And then you'll need to live on something. Plus, what happens when the next month roles along? And the one after that? Have you also thought about what kind of job will pay your rent without your having a college degree??? Remember, there are tons of college grads arriving in NYC every day who can't find work in the current economy. Plus there are a lot of people older than that who were recently laid off who are also looking for work - and they have skills and experience. You don't have any of that, nor do you have a degree. I say, go to college (you could even go to college in NYC.) Get a degree. By then, they economy may have improved, but even if it doesn't, you'll at least be more marketable than you are today in terms of finding a job.|||I'm going to answer this question as if you've already made your mind up about moving, since no one else seems to be answering it this way. What you should expect when moving to NYC, especially if you find an apartment in downtown Manhattan, which WILL be expensive, is to be prepared for a lot of traffic. Downtown is very congested and moving vans and trucks have a hard time manuvering down there. Plus, depending on the size of your vehicle, some streets are closed for trucks. There is a NYC truck map that you can pick up (for free) that let's you know where exactly you can drive a truck. You would also need to have someone helping you move, at least two other people. You need to be prepared to double park, since spaces for larger vehicles are very hard to come by anywhere in Manhattan. I would take turns swapping between moving things and watching the truck to make sure you don't get parking tickets. Depending on where you move, how many flights you have, and how much stuff you have, moving one person into a studio apartment shouldn't take longer than 3 hours tops. It will be much shorter if you have an elevator. Good luck!|||NYC is very expansive. But it's very good at the same time.|||What you need to expect is to be realistic - about everything. You say you have enough money saved up for first and last month's rent - is that by PA standards of rent or NYC standards of rent. There will be a huge difference! A good place to see what NYC rentals cost is Natefind.com: http://www.natefind.com Ok, now you have enough for your apartment. Landlords will want proof you can pay your rent. You WILL need a job BEFORE you can get a lease (in almost all cases). Now you have a job and apartment. You need furniture. At the very least a bed. So if you haven't already done so, start saving up for furniture. So if you now have a job, an apartment, and, furniture in your apartment. What is it that you seek out of NYC? Is it a career? Make friends? Try to become an actor? Whatever you goal is once you are in NYC then you need to follow the right paths to help you become a success. If you want to meet friends, don't go to bars - you won't meet quality people that way. Instead, take a class - it can be a cooking class, a language class, or, even an aerobics class - as long as it's something you enjoy. This way you have common ground with those in the class with you and it will be easier to make friends. I hope this helps to give you an idea of what to really expect. Living in NYC isn't anything like you see on tv or in the movies. It's pretty much like living anywhere else... You get up, to go work, pay your bills, run your errands, etc. Best of luck to you!