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You are here: Home / Balloon Juice / Celebrating Jackals / Help a Jackal in Queens

Help a Jackal in Queens

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Citizen Alan needs a few pointers and some help:

Barring something unexpected happening between now and then, I will be starting the Bankruptcy LLM program at St. John’s University in Queens NY this August. Yes, the loud-mouthed liberal from Mississippi is moving to the Big City. However, I am now in a panic mode about housing, as I missed the deadline for student housing and am on a waiting list. It’s probably too much to hope for but are their any Jackals from the Queens area who can give me some advise on where to get an apartment reasonably convenient to St. John’s?

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48Comments

  1. 1.

    Citizen Alan

    Thanks guys! More broadly, however, I’d love any advice on what I should be aware of in moving to New York from Hicktown, Mississippi. I’ve always wanted to live in a metropolitan area and especially in a blue state (even if only for a year or two), but now that it’s happening (and on fairly short notice), I am daunted by the thought of things like NYC apartment rental costs, driving in NY (I’m open to public transit, but have never lived anywhere that owning a car seemed literally counterproductive), driving to NY in a moving truck if it turns out I need furniture, and in general, what do I need to know that I don’t even know I need to know?

  2. 2.

    Major Major Major Major

    I don’t know much about that part of town, unfortunately.

    I’ve mostly only lived in cities so I don’t have many insights on what you’d need to know for your first time, except that you probably don’t need a car (I’d say definitely don’t except like I said I dunno that part of town. It’s on the E and F lines so you have a decent trunk to work with. The E has high frequency and id assume anywhere along it is fine.)

  4. 4.

    AWOL

    See if Glen Oaks Village (WARNING: Trumplandia) still offers rentals—it’s twenty minutes by bus to St. John’s via Union Turnpike. Equally convenient and less dull would be in Forest Hills or Kew Gardens if you can endure a studio. It’s 10 minutes by bus to St. John’s going the other way. I heard Rego Park is still fairly affordable, though you may need to take a subway and bus to reach the university.

     

    Affordable 1BRs in Manhattan are now $2200+. Queens should be 10 percent cheaper, at the minimum.

  5. 5.

    Gary K

    When I lived in NYC, a car was such a liability that I kept mine parked 150 miles away at my in-laws’ place. Granted that this was Manhattan rather than Queens, but really I advise using the public transit for all travel.

    I have to grimace when you mention “Queens area convenient to St. John’s,” because that’s a description of where TFG grew up.

  6. 6.

    Steeplejack

    @Citizen Alan:

    Good luck! Whatever happens, getting out of Mississippi (and away from your family?) sounds like a breath of fresh air that you sorely need.

  9. 9.

    trollhattan

    Exciting news about the jerb and impending move. Exciting!

    No help I can offer except maybe check with John Barron from Queens, I hear he knows people.

    Read today that the Greater Sac Metroplex rents are so high we’ve passed New York City, D.C., and Seattle. To which I can only respond “huh?”

  10. 10.

    zhena gogolia

    It will be an adventure! I hope you will enjoy it once you’ve adjusted. I don’t know anything about Queens, but Manhattan is a wonderland. Once you’ve settled in, you will be amazed at what you can do there.

    I understand Queens has a lot of great ethnic food.

  11. 11.

    Elizabelle

    My only question is:  how will they make you go back to Mississippi?

    Once they’ve seen Paris  NYC ….

  12. 12.

    NotMax

    Auburndale and Fresh Meadows are neighborhoods to check out, a short bus ride away. Might suggest also checking in periodically with the school’s housing office and also its alumni office (some alumni may offer rooms or small efficiency apartments to students).

    Whatever you end up, be prepared to also shell out “key money” (essentially baksheesh).

  13. 13.

    FelonyGovt

    I grew up in NYC, haven’t lived there for many years, but here’s the advice we give friends visiting for the first time and/or moving there:

    1. Don’t stand in the middle of the street and gawk at the tall buildings. People will get annoyed about walking around you.
    2. Don’t hesitate to ask for directions. New Yorkers are busy and maybe abrupt but very helpful.
    3. Don’t keep a car if you can possibly help it (even in Queens). Parking is difficult and expensive, driving is difficult and nerve-wracking, and public transportation is very reliable, fast and popular. At night you can get a cab (or an Uber), and if you want to go out of town it’s probably easier renting a car for a weekend.
    4. You will be (pleasantly) overwhelmed by your restaurant, shopping, and service (dry cleaners and the like) choices. Enjoy!
  14. 14.

    debbie

    It’s been too long since I left NYC to offer any practical advice, but I guarantee you will never be bored.

  15. 15.

    WaterGirl

    @Citizen Alan: You might inquire about the possibility of what we called a “sabbatical house” when I was in college.  People who would be gone on sabbatical loved having someone older than college age to stay in their homes for the year they are away.

  17. 17.

    beef

    Someone should say:   Congratulations!

    St John’s is at the eastern end of Queen’s.  It’s closer to Long Island Proper than it is to Manhattan.   (Not that there’s not good stuff there.   Forest Hills is quite nice, and Flushing is the real Chinatown.)  You can keep a car out there, and it’ll be a balance between useful and pain in the ass.   I think you need to decide how urban you want your experience to be.   Then study the public transit lines and schedules.

  18. 18.

    Martin

    So, a few things.

    • Almost everything you do in NYC will be different. Don’t fight it. Lean into it. Think of it like a study abroad experience.
    • The closer you are to Manhattan the more counterproductive a car is. If you live within a mile of the subway, ditch the car. The savings from not having a car fills in at least some of the added cost of rent. Understand that NYC has this thing called ‘alternate side of the street parking’. Basically, you can park on the left side of the street one day, and the right side of the street the next day. And you will learn all the jewish holidays as the rules are suspended on NYC recognized holidays. This is basically a scheme to ticket cars for revenue, and the holidays help trip people up. At a minimum it’s a massive PITA.
    • Driving in NYC is a unique skill. Not dissimilar to India or Rome, but it’s not like Mississippi. Its often combative, there’s a subtle understanding of how to bend every rule of the road. There’s a fairly sizeable gap from what you think of as driving to what they think of as driving.
    • Things in NYC happen on a more granular scale. There’s really no going to Walmart for 2 weeks of groceries. You pick up a few things on the way back from the subway. You shop almost daily, but you grab some stuff on the walk to get coffee in the morning. It’s nice. But it’s different.
    • In a place like MS, you probably feel compelled to seek people out and engage with them. You say ‘hi’ a lot, ask them how they are. In NY people are up in your face all the time. Your survival skill is learning how to filter them out. In time you develop patterns and that routine enables relationships, but it’s a different way of managing interactions.
    • NYC is optimized for efficiency. Not much please and thank you. If you order a ‘regular coffee’ that means cream and sugar. Just faster that way. People get impatient VERY quickly. A lot of what feels rude is just efficiency. NYers are very direct and appreciate directness. Don’t take it personally, and they’ll like you better if you reciprocate.
    • Everything is loud. You’ll probably interpret loud as angry. It’s not. It’s just loud. Angry is loud. Happy is loud. Everything is loud. The subway will feel overwhelming, just go with the flow.
    • NYers are very smart at judging people. Until you feel like you fit in, a lot of people will try to scam you, especially if you roll in with a MS accent. Do your best to not fall for it, you’ll pick it up in time.

    On the plus side, it’s a wonderland. Every culture is there somewhere. Every kind of food. More museums than you’ve ever seen in your life. It’s the kind of place where it’s easy to never live the same day twice. It’s impossible to lack for something to do there. It’s terrifying, thrilling, beautiful, enchanting, irritating all at once. But the best thing about NYC is that you have to be confident. There’s so much going on, so many decisions that you could be making, that you just need to go with your plan and not worry about whether it’s different from those around you.

    I didn’t go from hicksville to NYC, I went from NYC to hicksville so I might be off somewhat with what you find easy or hard in the transition.

  19. 19.

    eddie blake

    @FelonyGovt:  there AREN’T any tall buildings in that part of queens.

    i used to live out there, on the hollis hill. i’m gonna second fresh meadows. you’re probably gonna want a car, the nearest trains are on hillside avenue, and the busses kinda suck.

  20. 20.

    Citizen Alan

    @Jeff: Thanks Jeff. I’m on Facebook under the name Johnny St. Angel (fake name) if that works. Otherwise, I’ll send my real email to David and he can forward as needed.

     

    @Jeff:

  21. 21.

    eddie blake

    @Martin:

    “please” and “thank you” go farther than you’d think. even in brooklyn.

    eta- i’m from, and currently living in, brooklyn.

  22. 22.

    Citizen Alan

    @WaterGirl: Just me. And if there’s anyone who can put up with a somewhat slovenly redneck, I’m open to that. I can make up for it by being an excellent cook. :)

    As for my email address, I probably need to update that. The one linked to me here is the burner email I entered probably 14 years ago and never updated.

    @WaterGirl:

  24. 24.

    Martin

    @eddie blake: Oh, yeah, they certainly help, but when I went to hicksville, leaving out a ‘thank you’ was hurtful, rude, would often get a verbal rebuke. You won’t get that in NY. It helps, but it not rude, and he shouldn’t take it as rudeness.

  25. 25.

    WaterGirl

    @Citizen Alan: When you make a comment with your new email, the comment will go into moderation and one of us will have to approve it manually.  After that, WordPress will know who you are, and comments will show up right away as they do now.

    @Jeff: Jeff’s email doesn’t look real, either.

    If you guys both want to email me, I will put you together.

  27. 27.

    Ohio Mom

    Ahem, you NYC Juicers: which one of you is organizing the Welcome meet-up for Alan? Also, maybe send a bat signal to HeleninErie in case she’s still in Queens. I have a feeling she will have apartment-hunting advice.

    Alan, good luck with your studies! Keep us posted, we’ll be cheering you on.

  28. 28.

    karen marie

    Maybe if Citizen Alan isn’t overly busy once he arrives in NYC. he could do an occasional post about his experiences. I think it will be fun! I wish I’d moved to NYC instead of Boston when I was in my 20s. I’d probably still be there instead of now being exiled to Arizona.

    Life choices – how do they work?

  30. 30.

    Ohio Mom

    Martin:

    Forty (!) (wow I’m old) years ago, when I came back home to Queens for a visit after moving to Cincinnati, everyone asked the usual questions about my new job and did I have “someone special.” Except for my Uncle Leo, who only needed to ask one question to deduce the overall quality of my new life: Do they have alternate side of the street parking there?”

    Eddie Blake:

    Yes, no skyscrapers in Queens, it doesn’t have the geology for it. Unlike Manhattan, which does.

    I agree, living in Queens, a car will be useful. Alan will learn all the tricks he needs to find a legal space.

  31. 31.

    ExpatDanBKK

    My Thai wife’s Alma Mater! But she graduated in 2007, so her information would be too far out of date to be of much use, I’m afraid.

  34. 34.

    Citizen Alan

    @Ohio Mom: LOL. I have not worn a swimsuit in public in a while. I’d be afraid that Greenpeace would show up and try to shove me back into the water.

  35. 35.

    Chacal Charles Calthrop

    let us know when you’d like to have a Queens meetup.  We could meet in Flushing, there are lots of fabulous restaurants and someone could bring a green balloon so everyone would know which table was Balloon Juice.

  36. 36.

    Captain C

    First off, (anticipatory) welcome to NYC! Martin and the others here have given some very good advice. There’s a good website and book by Nathan Pyle that is both amusing and can help you learn some of the weird little details of living here that will help.

    I would also mention (as have a few others here) that New Yorkers tend to be direct and blunt, which some non-NYCers interpret as rudeness; it’s not. If you’re going to be taking the subway a lot, it may be better to get a monthly pass; it’s a good idea to calculate your anticipated subway trips. For museums and cultural sites, look into the Culture Pass (the city’s 3 library systems [Queens, Brooklyn, and NYC which covers Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island] will have access–and when you get your place and have proof of address you can get a card at all 3 if you live anywhere in NY State)–you can get free admissions to a lot of very cool places with it (though generally once per year or so). You’ll have access to tons of music and theater as well (assuming the reopening goes well), so don’t be overwhelmed, but definitely take advantage if you have the time. If you wind up living in Queens and don’t want to deal with Uber, ask around to see which car service is reasonably good and reliable, as Yellow cabs (and Green cabs–basically Yellow cabs that aren’t allowed to pick up in certain areas of Manhattan where they would otherwise cluster) don’t frequent every part of the city. If you’re a pizza fan, you should have several local options to try out.

    And I second the idea of a (when safe) Jackal welcome get-together (though with the current state of my knee, I could only attend if there wasn’t too long a walk involved, though hopefully that will be mostly fixed by fall).

  37. 37.

    JAFD

    Good luck !

    My ‘adopted baby sister’* went to law school at St John’s, but that was several decades ago.  However, I’ve asked her for her thoughts.

    Otherwise, hope we’ll be having a BJ get together sometime in near future, and I’ll see you there.

    *We’re both only children.  Waybackwhen, I said “I’ve always wanted a little sister like you.  If you’d like to have a big brother…”

    Anyway, the public radio stations online streams are at wbgo.org (jazz) and wqxr.org (classical, their website has links to their ‘sister’ news station)

  38. 38.

    pat

    are their any Jackals

    I haven’t read any comments so maybe I am the only nit-picker to pick up on this, but
    Are THERE any …..

    Sheesh.

  39. 39.

    Peale

    O.K. Advice on living in Queens I can give.

    1. I’d still keep a car unless you found a place close to St. Johns. I look at it as “Way out there”. The subways are nice and all, but they are really meant to whisk you into Manhattan. Unless you live on the line that goes near campus, I’d keep a car.  Since you are going to school, I’d try to live near campus. St. Johns is not actually well served by the subway system. If you want to give it a go, look for neighborhoods served by the F line. If you want to live in Manhattan, because, hey, who doesn’t…you’d probably need to live on the Lower East Side to catch that F train.
    2. Hillcrest isn’t a bad neighborhood. Richmond Hill, Kew Gardens, Briarwood, etc. Those aren’t bad neighborhoods. Quiet and very Queenslike.
    3. Living advice: I moved to the city in phases. I started in small town Wisconsin, then St. Paul. Then D.C. then Queens. I kind of had to get my toes wet first. LOL. Anyway, the biggest culture shock for me when I moved here was just the kind of confrontational struggle to do what should be simple things like doing laundry in a crowded laundrymat. Or grocery shopping. You need to get used to be closer to people than you’re used to.  Leave what you think is a proper distance between yourself and someone else in line, and someone will take that space.  Just go with it. In places where people walk fast, walk fast. Where they walk slow, walk slow.
    4. Yeah, there are plenty of books about walks to take in New York and you should take advantage of those things and of course don’t forget to do touristy things…it would be a shame if you left us and didn’t go to our cultural institutions.  But you’re in Queens, which is still about the most diverse place in the country.  You can plan a good quest for yourself to experience that. Like you know those food shows on TV where they make something and the host goes “Oh, this obscure ingredient can be found at any (Insert Ethinicity Here) market?” Well, in queens, they actually have any ethnic market somewhere. It may be a chore, but it can be found. Like around St. John’s there’s a “Little Guyana” and there’s all the east Asian neighborhoods in Flushing or Elmhurst. Or Colombian, Indian and Tibetan in Jackson Heights.  It can be a slog, to get around, but if you’re going to be living out there, have a feast.
  40. 40.

    ema

    Look both ways before crossing the street, even for one-way streets, in the crosswalk, with a green light. And be alert getting on/off buses; they won’t always stop near the curb.Traffic rules are mere suggestions for a lot of bicyclists. Jaywalking is OK but I’d hold off until you get a bit more familiar with traffic patterns. Also, a good way to pass as a local – pick a side, stick to it and walk with a purpose (with a mildly put out expression).

  41. 41.

    PJ

    @FelonyGovt: ​

    @FelonyGovt: ​
     

    Don’t stand in the middle of the street and gawk at the tall buildings. People will get annoyed about walking around you.
    Don’t hesitate to ask for directions. New Yorkers are busy and maybe abrupt but very helpful.
    Don’t keep a car if you can possibly help it (even in Queens). Parking is difficult and expensive, driving is difficult and nerve-wracking, and public transportation is very reliable, fast and popular. At night you can get a cab (or an Uber), and if you want to go out of town it’s probably easier renting a car for a weekend.

    I’ve lived in NYC for 17 years, so take this with a grain of salt as I am a newcomer, but:

    1) I stand on the sidewalk and gawk at beautiful buildings all the time. This is legit one of my favorite things about the city. Today I spent 15 minutes looking at all the carvings on the Bowery Savings Bank Building on 42nd St. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowery_Savings_Bank It’s really something.

    2) Yes, ask for directions, and feel free to give them, particularly when you have no idea how to get to where the person asking wants to go.

    3) I’ve had a car for about six years now, and parking is kind of a pain (you have to move it at least once a week for street cleaning) but it’s not that bad (at least in Brooklyn), and driving in the city is a lot less crazy than it was in the 1980s. It doesn’t help that New Yorkers don’t have Driver’s Ed in high school and many never learn how to drive, even long after they’ve gotten their licenses, but it’s not harrowing anymore.

    4) NYC still has a lot of choices, but less than it used to, and, honestly, I feel live the city is done. Bloomberg turned the city into a playground for the wealthy, and De Blasio has continued that. Culturally, it’s pretty dead, and that’s not just because of Covid. I don’t know if it will come back, but I’m not optimistic.

  42. 42.

    Betty Cracker

    @pat: It was a comment from a person who is about to embark on a great adventure — a request for practical advice. Sheesh indeed.

  43. 43.

    HeleninEire

    @Ohio Mom: Hi All. Yep still in Queens. Late to the party, I Just saw this. I’ll send an email to Watergirl. In the meantime if any front pager sees this please feel free to send Citizen Alan my email address. Happy to help.

  44. 44.

    matt

    I met a bankruptcy lawyer once, and he seemed to have the highest job satisfaction of anyone I’ve ever met. He said he gets up in the morning and spends his day figuring out how to take money from the biggest banks and corporations in America.

  45. 45.

    Bupalos

    My one piece of advice would be to select one of the many NYC situations where there is no car involved. That was a huge (positive) part of the experience for me. I mean, lots of things flow from it, in a kind of immersive social sense. It goes way beyond “well parking is a pain” or whatever.

  46. 46.

    Madeleine

    Something that hasn’t been said: generally most of the shopping and other everyday needs you might have (groceries, pharmacy, cleaning, etc.) can be reached within walking distance. Also, everyday life tends to go on within neighborhoods. You’re not really taking on New York City as a whole but a bit, or bits, of it. Enlarge that as you need or wish.

  47. 47.

    Citizen Alan

    @matt:  That was exactly my attitude when I was in private practice. I took nearly sexual pleasure in getting tens of thousands of dollars owed to Chase and tower loans and places like that discharged. But the chance for a 2 year bankruptcy clerk ship with federal benefits was too good to ignore. And it saved my life, because I don’t think I would have survived the pandemic if I were still in a small town private practice.

  48. 48.

    Nicole

    @Citizen Alan:

    https://www.buzzfeed.com/alisonroman/how-to-find-nyc-apartment

    There are some good links on this.  And it’s not wrong to recommend Craigslist; it’s how we found someone to take over our lease on our old apartment (we were only halfway through it but found a larger place and needed out), and ten years later, we’re still friends with the couple who took our old place.  We just saw them last night, in fact!  NYC is great that way.

    Also, put the word out on social media.  You’d be surprised at who has a friend of a friend looking for a roommate.   Depending on your budget, you may have to do a roommate or roommates; huge numbers of NYCers do; one of my good friends is 52 and still living with a roommate.  They’re not friends who hang out together, but they’ve been companionable roommates for about 20 years now.  A ton of older NYC apartments have the kitchen and bathroom kind of in the middle and the bedrooms on either end of the apartment so it’s not hard to manage living with someone.

    If you don’t desperately  need furniture, it can wait until you get here; NYC is filled with Goodwills and Housing Works and Bob’s Discount Furniture stores.  NYC apartments can be weird and sometimes it’s better to see the space before you bring things you can’t fit into it.

    Depending on how far out you are in the borough, keeping the car may make sense.  Just be prepared to move it every two days for street cleaning.

    I see the LIRR (Long Island Rail Road) is a transit option; that gives you some more possibilities for where to live; depending on how much of a commute you want, you don’t “have” to be in Queens.  That said, Queens is great, Jamaica is great; it’s all great, and I’m really happy for your new adventure!

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