Are you looking for affordable and convenient NYU off-campus housing options? Do you want to avoid long and stressful commutes to campus? If so, you're in luck. In this post, we'll show you the best NYU off-campus housing options that are under 30 minutes away from the university by subway or within walking distance.
Congratulations! You have just been accepted and will soon be paying high tuition for a worthy education at New York University (NYU) in the heart of Midtown/Lower Manhattan. The main campus of NYU is clustered around Washington Square Park which is slightly south enough of 14th Street to not be classified as Midtown Manhattan but north enough of Houston Street to not be classified as Lower Manhattan. As if waiting to get accepted didn't already make you nervous and sick to your stomach, you now have to deal with the realities of ACTUALLY attending the university. At the top of your bucket list is going to be dealing with the fact that you will need to move to NYC into an off-campus housing situation ideally as close to NYU as possible or if possible, apartments near NYU.
Let's Look At The Areas and Locations That Will Interest You For New York University Off-Campus Housing
One top criterion each student is going to have for off-campus NYU housing is going to be the proximity between where you live and getting to the university campus. And by proximity, the term is generally around commute times and how quickly you can get from home to campus. Generally, everyone can agree that an ideal commute time would be right around the 30-minute, maybe 40-minute mark. No one wants to spend that much time commuting unless they absolutely have to.
First, Let's Locate Where NYU University Is On The Map
Before getting into the specific NYC neighborhood areas that will be of interest to you, let's take a step back and look at where New York University is located in Mid/Lower Manhattan. The main area of NYU starts around Bleecker Street through around 12th Street with different NYU buildings scattered across the area but all are smack in the middle of Manhattan.
NYU in many ways is the epitome of NYC. It is in the heart and center of Manhattan and is where much of the action takes place. Restaurants, nightlife, shopping, tall buildings, corporate, education, anything you can think of, is close by.
Then Let's Figure Out The Various Subway Commuter Stops That Are Around NYU University
Commuting to New York University by subway drastically expands the off-campus NYU housing options. It allows you to essentially consider every neighborhood throughout Manhattan, as well as the outer boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens because EVERY subway in NYC stops near NYU. NYC subways are fast and run frequently even during the pandemic. We're talking about a subway arriving every 5 minutes which means you rarely have to follow a schedule, stare at the time, or rush to a subway because if you miss one, you know another one is arriving shortly after.
It is amazing how many subway lines stop within walking proximity to the main NYU campus. The subway line options to choose from are: Red 1 | Blue A, C, E | Orange B, D, F, M | Yellow N, Q, R, W | Green 4,5,6 | Grey L.
As long as you live near any of these subway lines, your commute time to campus will be within 30 minutes and you will get off at any of the subways right around the corners of campus.
In Manhattan, you could live in an apartment as far north as 96th Street on either the Upper West Side (take the 1,2,3 or A, B, C) or the Upper East Side (take the 4,5,6, or M, Q, R). Or you could live all the way down at the southern tip of Manhattan in the Financial District. You could also live anywhere in between and still be able to make it to the NYU campus in under 30 minutes as long as you are within a few minutes' walking distance of any of those mentioned subway lines.
Here, you can see all the transit lines on a map and how many of them go through the NYU area.
Then Let's Figure Out A Reasonable Walking Distance Around NYU University
One of the best-case scenarios of course is to find apartments near NYU for rent that are within walking distance to campus. The running adage is that it conservatively takes 2 minutes to walk one NYC street block and 5 minutes to one NYC avenue. That puts the off-campus NYU housing range of options in the Greenwich Village, East Village, Chelsea, and Gramercy neighborhoods. You could walk all the way from the East River, on the east side, all the way west to the Hudson River, on the west side, in under half an hour so anywhere in that radius would still be a breeze in terms of a walking commute.
Finally, Let's Review What The Actual NYU Off-Campus Housing Options Are
Realistically, off-campus NYU housing for university in NYC comes down to a few solutions:
- You Can Rent An Entire Apartment
You get your name signed onto the main lease agreement with the landlord/property owner. Whether you are renting alone, with a significant other, or have found a few prospective roommates to live with, the idea here is to have the apartment be your own by getting your name(s) on that lease. The vast majority of people go this route because the assurances of long-term housing are more guaranteed considering most lease agreements are a minimum of 1 year. This time frame rightfully aligns with university programs that range between 1-5 years. How do you find these off-campus apartments? This is also narrowed down to two solutions:
- Get help. NYC rentals are tricky. Many students opt for assistance in the form of a local real estate broker for guidance. However, it will cost money in the form of a broker fee which will run any renter a few thousand dollars. It is very well known that it is a costly but perhaps worthwhile option. There are hundreds of brokerage firms and thousands of brokers.
- Otherwise, if you are cost-conscious and are willing to do the work yourself, do the online research and the groundwork, such as viewing the place yourself, gathering all your documentation together, and getting that apartment yourself. There are many no-broker fee buildings in NYC where you can rent directly from property managers to bypass the broker fee. Transparentcity is a key source for no broker fee buildings. There are many apartments near NYU for rent where you can go directly from property managers without having to pay the broker fee.
- You Can Rent Rooms Within An Apartment
Living with people you do not know. There has been an explosion in NYC co-living over the last 5 years with the success of the co-working space WeWork. Startups have taken the same concept and have applied it to residential renting. The options range from renting an empty room to roommate matching to subleasing a room from an outgoing tenant. The application process is also entirely done online. There is no need for brokers to assist with this process because all of these companies have internal leasing teams.
- List of CoLiving In NYC
- You Can Rent By Taking Over Someone Else's Apartment Entirely
Mainly as a sublease. This means looking for an apartment with an existing renter who is looking to get out of his/her apartment for whatever reason and take over the place. This is almost entirely done online and can be researched through different platforms.
- Leasebreak
What About NYU Off-Campus Housing Options For Graduate Schools And Students?
Where Can I Find Apartments Near NYU Medical School?
NYU Medical School is located all the way on the east side of Manhattan on 1st Avenue in the area of Kips Bay and the borderline of Murray Hill. The institution blocks off and extends over multiple streets on a large plot next to the East River. Fortunately for NYU medical school students, off-campus apartments near NYU Langone Medical Center are prevalent. There are many luxury high-rise doorman apartment buildings densely covering that area.
Where Can I Find Apartments Near NYU Dental School?
NYU Dental School is located all the way on the east side of Manhattan on 1st Avenue in the area of Kips Bay. Fortunately for NYU dental school students, the Kips Bay area is a densely residential area that provides plenty of off-campus apartments near NYU Dental School. Everything is within walking distance. Taking into account pandemic prices, apartments may go for as low as $1800 but will generally hover in the $2300 per month range due to the prevalence of the luxury high-rise buildings in the area.
Where Can I Find Apartments Near NYU Law School?
NYU Law School is located within the general graduate campus. For NYU Law School students, searches for off-campus apartments near NYU Law would be the same as for an undergraduate student due to the location. Because the location of the school is centralized in the middle of Manhattan, options for apartments near NYU Law are more prevalent. You can go north, south, east, or west of campus.
What Are The General Requirements To Rent Off-Campus Housing For Students?
There is no doubt, there is a large demand for off-campus housing for NYU students. Considering the 2018 statistics where there are 60,000+ students crammed into 'on campus' housing that is allotted for 11,000 people, it is a surprise there aren't more students stowing away in the student library full time.
What Are The Requirements For Foreign Students To Rent An Apartment In NYC?
What type of documentation do you need in order to get off-campus housing?
- Proof of savings (2 months to 1 year of bank statements)
- Approved loans
- Fellowships
- Scholarships
- Guarantors - Varies between landlords on whether they accept out-of-country guarantors
- Even though there are new rent laws stating landlords can only take 1 month upfront, it isn't being fully enforced yet and the rules are still vague.
What Are The Requirements For Out Of State Students To Rent An Apartment In NYC
Almost exactly the same as foreign students but with a handful of exceptions
- Your U.S. Credit Score will be checked
- U.S. guarantors are basically guaranteed to be accepted by all property managers
Now that you know where to find the best NYU off-campus housing options under 30 30-minute commute, why not give it a try? Visit Transparentcity today and start your search for your ideal home near NYU. And if you have any questions or feedback, feel free to send us comments at hello@transparentcity.co. We'd love to hear from you.