I'd suggest starting off in a co-working space since you can share resources and get help, instead of siloing yourself in a separate office.

Some resources to check out include:

Working Spaces

General Assembly - http://generalassemb.ly

New Work City - http://nwc.co

We Work Labs - http://weworklabs.com

DogPatch Labs - http://dogpatchlabs.com

LooseCubes (search for a place) - http://loosecubes.com

Email Events Lists

Startup Digest - http://startupdigest.com

This Week In NYC Innovation - http://bit.ly/nycinnovation

Other

Ohours - http://ohours.org

Meetup - http://meetup.com

NyHacker - http://nyhacker.org

Startup Weekend - http://startupweekend.org

Lean Startup Machine - http://theleanstartupmachine.com

I've never lived in SF, but as I understand it, it is not much cheaper.

There is a great community of tech startups, but they tend to be around the Union Square area in Manhattan. I spend a bunch of time meeting up with folks around Union Square, but its only a 15min train ride in from Dumbo in Brooklyn. Meetup is based here and there are a ton of tech and startup meetups. You wont find yourself lacking for social support as you build up your business.

I love NY. There is a fantastic culture of getting shit done. The city is cut throat, but that is inspiring. Everyone is on a mission. And its not all about technology. You meet inspired folks from all walks of life. Talented designers, musicians, financiers, advertisers, chefs and architects.

I'm going to miss NY. My company is heading to Portland, but I hope to bring the best of NY to Portland.

Most of the questions you asked have been answered already. So I ll give you some pointers about the housing question.

1. Craigslist. - http://newyork.craigslist.org/ 2. Padmapper - http://www.padmapper.com - maps all the apartments on craigslist. 3. http://www.nybits.com - for apartment listings from building managers.

The average "decent" studio apartment in Manhattan will cost you anything from $1000 - $3000. It might be a little lesser if you get a bigger place and share. Living costs are very high, but the fact that you could go shopping for groceries across the street at 3am makes up for it.

http://streeteasy.com/nyc/rentals/downtown-manhattan/rental_...

As far as office space, there are are couple of co-working spaces mentioned already, but there's also a great place called GreenDesk [1]. GreenDesk lets you rent anything from a single desk to an office for 6-7 people, it's relatively inexpensive, it's month to month so you're not locked into a lease, and it's in a pretty nice neighborhood with good subway connections.

Finally as far as culture, I'd say the NY tech scene is a more fractured than SF (there's a lot of finance folks here who usually don't interact much with the startup world) but within the startup space it's very active and friendly. One of the best things you can do to get involved and to get to know people is go to various meetup groups [2]. There are groups for virtually every neighborhood, specialization, and technology.

Good luck with the move and hopefully see you around NYC soon!

[1] http://greendesk.com/index.html [2] http://www.meetup.com/find/?userFreeform=10001&radius=5&...

I live about 2.5 hours from NYC and I pay $1400 a month for rent. I also pay $120 for car insurance, $20-50 a month on average for car maitenance, and around $300 a month on gas. Excluding car payments (I have a relatively old car that I have paid off). So my total cost of renting + a car is around $1850. I absolutely can get an apartment in Manhattan for that price that I would like, I've been in several. Obviously in Manhattan, I wouldn't own a car so thats why the comparison holds.

(I assume that utilities, TV, internet are basically constant no matter where you live).

Food is the big X factor. I can't quite figure out what the cost difference is. When I worked in Manhattan I ate out for lunch and it was generally around $10, sometimes more and sometimes less. My lunch now is around $7. Should I extrapolate that across my food budget? That makes me think it is going to be an extra $200 a month. I really don't know.

I think the cost of living gets so skewed because people try and compare price for a square foot. Right now I live in a 3 bedroom condo with a garage, a dining room, a laundry room, 2.5 baths, etc. I pay $1400 for that. But if I moved into NYC I'd have a 1 bedroom or a 2 bedroom and a roommate. Obviously if I wanted the same interior space I'd pay an enormous amount. But I don't need all that room. I don't even use it all now. So you have to compare lifestyle not the physical dimensions. In my current house, my family room is enormous and has a fireplace (that I never use). Do I need to be 15 feet from my TV? Of course not. It probably would look better if it I was closer. If you put me in the typical NYC family room, my couch will be 3' from the TV. I've lost a lot of space, but functionally the room is exactly the same. I still get the same enjoyment out of the place and the same utility.

A lot of people walk into a tiny NYC apartment and say, this is so SMALL! How do you even live here! But frankly, it just doesn't matter.

Right now I live in 634 square feet in the Bay Area -- not a tiny apartment by any means, but the smallest place I've lived for a long time. It has a view, which makes it feel more spacious, but I still find that the small size makes it slightly depressing after a while. I miss the idea of going for a walk around my house, or of going to sit in a completely different part of the house.

That's not to say that it's terrible, just that size does matter. My next place definitely needs to be bigger.

You just have to be creative about your use of space in the city. It doesn't end up being all that hard, you end up just pairing down.

I found this apartment via craigslist.org - I think that will be the easiest route to go without dealing with an overpriced realtor.

The Fresh Kills Landfill, which consists of 2,900 acres and includes the Richmond Avenue Truckfill, the Brookfield Landfill, the Isle of Meadows and parts of the William T. Davis Wildlife Refuge. This was a city planned land reclamation and waste management engineering project which would convert swamp and creek ground to habitable ground in the future. The landfill itself had daily covering over all new garbage dumped, and when it was closed, a 2 foot final cover was put on top of it.

The Fresh Kills Landfill project lasted 55 years in total from the start to the final dump; however that did not include all portions of the Landfill project. The Brookfield Landfill specifically (since that is what I am commenting on) was open from 1966 to 1980, and in it's 14 years of operation, there was unfortunately a scandal where there was illegal dumping of toxic waste at these grounds - at one point a sanitation supervisor was convicted for taking bribes for looking the other way. The Brookfield Landfill covers 132 acres of the 2,900 acres that was the Fresh Kills Landfill.

Since closing they have monitored all the landfill from this project for safety, and environmental impact and are currently transforming the grounds to the largest park in the 5 boroughs - even bigger than central park. In the 9 years I have lived on Staten Island, I have had no complaints about smells, etc. The landfill itself (as far as the portion bordered by Richmond Ave, Arthur Kill and LaTourette) is grassy and there is plenty of wildlife living there. Ecologically speaking, it is thriving.

It is unfortunate that there was illegal dumping - but the ground was not an illegal toxic dumping ground for 20 years. I am more concerned about illegal dumping of toxic waste in water ways.

As for it still being cleaned up; as I mentioned, the Fresh Kills Landfill is currently in a 30 year project to convert it in to the largest park in the 5 boroughs - and remediation of the Brookfield Landfill started last year, it was the last of the landfill grounds in the project to commence remediation. The ground is safe, and the only reason the residents that lived next to the Brookfield Landfill property line were sueing was to force remediation of the property so that it wouldn't just be overgrown land, and could also be turned in to a recreational area for the community.

Please don't just spew out things about the Landfill unless you actually know the background and what is being done. I didn't grow up on Staten Island, and I don't care about the jokes, so I have really no care in the world what people say - I just want informed discussions taking place.

Some sources of information for numbers and stuff I wanted to confirm while responding:

http://earthjustice.org/news/press/2010/staten-island-reside...

http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/pdf/fkl/about_fkl.pdf

http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/04/city_to_discuss...

The south shore is nicer in terms of houses and area, while the north shore is more convenient - but definitely a different type of neighborhood.

Manhattan is expensive; the further you go from Manhattan, the lower the rent. I live in Hoboken, right across the river in New Jersey. New Jersey carries a moderate stigma (snotty Manhattanites won't travel there) so you end up getting more for your rent. I wouldn't overlook it if you're trying to save money, as long as you're walking distance to a PATH station. (The PATH train runs 24 hours, just like the NYC subway, except it's slightly cheaper and cleaner.) I used to live on 138th St. in Manhattan, and now I have the same amount of space in a nicer neighborhood for less money - and my commute to the relevant parts of Manhattan is both shorter and more pleasant.

The tech community's there if you want it, but it's not omnipresent like it is in San Francisco. If you put in an effort to meet people you'll be fine. I wouldn't describe it as 'more cut-throat' at all. People are both nice and social.

Recruiting is brutal. Then again, I hear recruiting in San Francisco is also brutal.

Health insurance is a pain. If you've got real funding, a professional employer organization (PEO) like Ambrose is the way to go - they take care of payroll and health insurance. If not, talk to a broker and get something with a high-deductible - you're getting it in case of catastrophe, not for every sniffle. Don't go without.

I'm an immigrant, but I had my permanent residency sorted long before I started starting companies, so I can't help much there. I can tell you that as a Canadian, I found U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services inefficient and irritating to deal with, but not malevolent. They'd probably have a similar attitude towards you - Ireland's a first-world country. Just be completely honest and make sure your paperwork is perfect.

If you do relocate, send me an email, and we'll get lunch.

Apartments: nybits.com / streeteasy.com / nakedapartments.com. Look for no fee apartments. Brokers here take 15% of your annual rent as a commission and renters generally have to pay that. They'll also want to make sure you make 40x your rent. For example, $2500/mo apartment (~650sq ft in Manhattan) == prove you make $100k/yr with 2 years of tax returns, financial statements. If they could take a blood sample I think they probably would.

For camaraderie, go to events at GeneralAssemb.ly, check out meetups, check out Hackers & Founders.

I work out of General Assembly, and have found the network to be really supportive. In general, I think the community is smaller than in SF (from what I'm told) but seems actually pretty tight knit. People are willing to help you get to where you need to go, to be sure.

The fact that things like Kickstarter and Skillshare were founded in NY attest at least some to the idea of community based collaboration and support.

Definitely couldn't have asked for a better start for our project Good Karma than in NY.

Offices in Manhattan are expensive - i'd look at shared workspaces that others have mentioned. Actually, everything in Manhattan is expensive. Brooklyn is a lot more affordable, though increasingly hot spots like Williamsburg, Greenpoint etc., are becoming just as expensive.

You should DEFINITELY check out the Startup Visa project that's being backed by big names like Brad Feld, Dave Mcclure etc. if you're looking at visa issues.

NY is fun. There's no other place in the world where people are passionately putting everything on the line to realize their dreams, failing, and trying to do it all over again the next day. It's energy incarnate.

Regarding rent, you'll be paying a lot, and finding an apartment in NYC is a grueling process. But, there's a reason rent is high -- people love NYC!

Does "support" mean "Hi, I'm the lawyer who will make this all work, like I've done dozens of time this year, so most of your contact will be with my assistant, and my fees and the expenses are already taken care of." If not, you've got a lot of work to do.

WRT moving to NY (or anywhere for that matter).

(1) Why and by how much will moving improve your chances of success?

(2) How much will it cost in time and money to move?

Is (2) less than (1)?

Seriously - the absolute best case is that you spend a week moving. The more reasonable best case is that you spend a month (preparing to move and dealing with the move after you're there will also take time). The likely case is that you'll lose 2-3 months and you could lose more.

On Monday there's a YC meet up here in NYC where PG is going to deliver comments on NYC as a startup community. I'm looking forward to what he has to say, he criticized New York in the past as a startup hub, but since YC is having a 500 person meet up here I'd expect his feelings have changed.

There's a lot of affordable co-working spaces in NYC if you want some sort office to start, but the most ideal space might be your apartment anyway.

You can also choose to live a little further out of the way if you're trying to save money - like in Queens, Brooklyn, or Jersey City. Depending on proximity to the subway etc, it can be just a 15 minute commute to Manhattan from any of these areas.

Email me if you want any help finding a spot. kevin [at] ignighter [dawt] com

[1] http://dogpatchlabs.com/about/

http://nwc.co/ http://hiveat55.com/

You'll be able to find local people to talk to at the NY tech meetup:

http://nytm.org/

For finding real estate, rentals, rooms/sublets, Craigslist is still probably the best bet (unless you're up for Airbnb):

http://newyork.craigslist.org/

It is generally cheaper to find a place to live right outside the city in Brooklyn/Queens that is close to the subways and/or bridges (if you want to bike).

Hope that is somewhat helpful, others can comment more on startups / immigrant issues.

Apartments - check out http://padmapper.com for data. Chances are you'll be spending between $800 (in places like Astoria) up to $2400 (in nicer buildings in central Manhattan) per person, depending on your living arrangements.

Office: I think desks are usually around $1000/month, though you might find some cheaper. How many are you? I can check in with my CEO and see if we have any vacancies (we have a whole floor, most of which we sublet, at 36th and 6th). I do agree with the advice to get into a General Assembly/DogPatch/etc. if you can, though.

As for camaraderie, the tech scene here feels very friendly and there're plenty of people helping each other out (I don't really have anything to compare it to though). Get in touch if you have any questions.

I imagine the public transport will be better in any case....good luck

Another tip - combine your office and apartment unless you need a brick and mortar place for sales. Just because you have funding doesn't mean you need to spend it.

A lot of places are shown by brokers who want a month or so worth of rent from the tenant - this is a ripoff, but it's common. If you can afford this or if you can get your startup to cover this, you've got more options than if you're just looking at no-fee listings.

Assuming you're a reasonably-competent developer, you don't have to worry about being out of work should it not work out at your startup - lots of companies are recruiting aggressively. So that, at least, you don't have to immediately worry about. (Future economic conditions may vary.)

Just make sure you're paid enough to live how you want to live in NYC, and that NYC itself is for you, and you'll be fine.

In California, you spend +- $800/month on car stuff... and your small apart. will eat another $1000/month...

In New York, no car is needed and you can found a shared space for a very good price...the keyword in NYC is "shared". shared apt. , shared workspace...shared girlfriend.

The most important is the people of New York City (including Brooklyn). They are amazing! It will take you a good two years to be accepted as a "local", but when you are "in", they will become your extended family... this is priceless... you won't get this in California.

I always compared New York City as a nasty girlfriend, you want to leave her because she is nasty to you, but you stick with her because the sex is so good.

Manhattan is more expensive than Silicon Valley but the "greater metropolitan area" is not as bad as the Bay Area. In California, even far-out suburbs are expensive. In comparison, you can live 45 minutes from New York pretty cheaply.