MOVING TO NEW YORK? FIND APARTMENTS IN NY!

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Tips you might find helpful if you are planning on moving to New York City.

Buy a sturdy backpack. You are going to be doing a lot of walking.

One of the first things you should put in your backpack is a quality collapsible umbrella. Remember all that walking? You have to do a lot of it in the rain.

Bring a sturdy pair of walking shoes.

Throw a light jacket and a camera in that backpack too.

Don't bring a car to NYC if you can help it. If you absolutely have to bring a car, sell it as soon as possible and/or find a friend who lives outside of Manhattan and has a parking space you can use. I'm still trying to sell the Toyota Camry that feels like an Albatross around my neck.

Start using the subway immediately on the first day you move here. This will be your lifeline. Remember that the Bronx is uptown and Brooklyn is downtown. Purchase an unlimited month metro card. They cost $70 and are a great value if you take at least two rides a day.

Bring a bare minimum of stuff to New York - your apartment will be very small. Don't bring a bicycle unless you actually plan on riding it - storage will be a hassle.

It's convenient to have a small, lightweight vacuum like an Oreck XL as your apartment will probably have wood floors. Vacuuming is much easier, especially if you have pets.

You can find an apartment that takes dogs and cats relatively easily in New York. It's easiest if you leave the pets back home for a few months and then fly back to get them. You can ship a large dog in a crate on most major airlines for around $80 one way. Most airlines won't take crated dogs during the summer.

Find a bank as soon as possible. You will be paying a lot of atm fees until you get your banking straightened out.

Cabs are a fast and relatively inexpensive way to get around Manhattan, particularly if you can split the price with several people. Particularly late at night a cab can get you home much faster than the subway. However, during the daytime cabs can be very slow if you get caught in traffic.

How cab signs work: official NYC cabs all work the same way. You can tell it's an official cab because the car is yellow and has a platic "medallion" fixed on the hood". There's an illuminated sign on the front roof of the cab. If the "off duty" part is lit, the cab won't pick you up. That takes precedence over all other combinations. If the cab number between the "off duty" signs is lit, the cab is available and should pick you up. If thecab number is off the cab has a passenger and won't pick you up.

It's the law that an official NYC cab must transport you to any address anywhere in the entire city limits of New York, no matter what.

Cabs without medallions are "gypsy cabs" and are not regulated in any way by the city. Use at your own risk (although my experiences have been fine). Typically gypsy cabs are more expensive than official cabs. Make sure you get a price from the driver before you get in the car.

You can't phone for an official cab - instead you have to call a car service. Pricing will be flat rate - there's a lot of crossover between gypsy cabs and car services.

If a parking meter is broken, it's a legal parking space for one hour.

There only legally has to be one parking sign per block. Some blocks are really, really long - so look sharp.

You can't make a right turn on red in New York City. Get used to it.

Put your wallet in your front pocket and get used to carrying it there.

You are going to spend a lot of money on drinks at bars, because a) your apartment will be tiny, and b) you'll go to bars to meet people. Dive bars such as Rudy's (9th Ave. btw 43rd and 44th) offer the best drink values, such as $3.00 for a Pabst. Try to like drinking Pabst because it's consistently available and cheap. I personally like it. A typical mixed drink at a dive bar is going to set you back $5. I've paid $5.50 for a Bud and $7 for a vodka tonic at the nicer bars (and I don't mean really fancy ones, either). The East Village is by far the best dive bar area of the city. For example, you can play pool and get cans of PBR for $2 at 2x4, which is on the corner of 4th St. and 2nd Ave.

Prepare to do a lot more coughing than you are used too. I find that my disposable contacts don't last as long here, and my throat is always a little scratchy. My theory is that although the smog here is not terrible, there's a lot more particulate matter in the air.

Invest in some sort of portable music device. I've got a Rio 500 MP3 player myself, but a CD player works too. Headphones create a magic protective bubble that most street bums and ragamuffins won't cross.

Say you actually have to park in Manhattan for some reason? Remember the following:

• You're going to pay cash
• You're going to pay up front
• You're going to pay a lot.

When you pull into a lot, someone will approach you and demand money. Try to determine if they actually work for the lot. Are they wearing some sort of uniform or shirt with a company logo on it? Do they talk to (yell at) the other people working in the lot? Are they surly? Your answer should be yes on all counts.

The wheels of commerce in New York are greased with tips. You tip for everything. Never leave the house (well, apartment) with less than $5 in singles on you.......