BrickUnderground

In honor of Memorial Day, we're knocking off a bit early today, and will resume our regularly scheduled programming bright and early Tuesday morning—though if you have a chance, stop by Monday for some recommended reads. Don't forget your sunscreen, and maybe an extra sweater (just in case), and have a safe and fun holiday! 

Writer Charles Bukowski said: "In New York you’ve got to have all the luck." He's right. And you've got to learn all the lessons. Because to survive this city is to be wrung by it and still be left intact, wrinkled by wisdom. It's not an easy city to live in, literally and figuratively, but it's a city in which you can live well, bank balance notwithstanding, if you know how to navigate it. Here, what we learned the hard way, real estate-wise, so you don't have to (though this being NYC, it'll probably end up schooling you, anyway): 

No offense to our newest "global ambassador" Taylor Swift, but when it comes to advice for New York newbies, there are some things you *might* not know if you moved straight from Nashville into a $20 million Tribeca penthouse. Things like how to work out for $10 or less a month, spotting the BS when a broker lists a Bed-Stuy apartment as "Williamsburg-adjacent," finding a roommate who isn't a nutjob (because you can't afford to live alone yet), and how to make any landlord love you (this is key—trust).

Want Windsor Terrace but are priced out? According to the New York Times, which ran a story recently about buyers heading back to Manhattan because they're finding properties too expensive in Brooklyn, you might fare better in Washington Heights instead.