I am planning on relocating in the summer of 2007 and obviously I am researching everything first. This book is a great way to start getting your facts in order and planning your move. It has helped me tremendously. The only thing that wasn't touched on enough were the outter boroughs. She covered Manhattan extensively though! Great book, definately gives you a heads up as to where to go and how to start and finish the move!

I am planning on relocating in the summer of 2007 and obviously I am researching everything first. This book is a great way to start getting your facts in order and planning your move. It has helped me tremendously. The only thing that wasn't touched on enough were the outter boroughs. She covered Manhattan extensively though! Great book, definately gives you a heads up as to where to go and how to start and finish the move!

The author has portrayed a very incorrect picture of the city, almost every neighborhodd is mentioned as great place to live, which is not really true.
I wish author was more truthful, would have saved a lot of people a lot of time.

I'm moving to NYC for the first time and this book has been like my BIBLE! Ellen Shapiro has put together a wonderful book with great advice from real New Yorkers who give great tips on living in the city on a budget and how to catch free shows, etc.

I just want to say that yes, for some this may be common sense, but for people with no relocating experience, it's really helpful. I've been able to give advice to friends based on what I've read here. A second edition would be great!

That should be the title of this book. Although it claims to have everything you should know when relocating to NYC it focus more on advice on moving that common sense (most part). It doesn't give much information to help you choose the neighborhood. If that's what you're looking for, buy Zany's New York City Apartment Sales and Rental Guide instead.

That should be the title of this book. Although it claims to have everything you should know when relocating to NYC it focus more on advice on moving that are common sense (most part). It may be helpful for first time movers. Neverthless, It doesn't give much information to help you choose the neighborhood. If that's what you're looking for, buy Zany's New York City Apartment Sales and Rental Guide instead.

For all the aspiring actors, writers, and other penniless dreamers trying to make it to NYC, you would probably be better off with a good guidebook ("Let's Go New York" is the best I've found) and some solid internet research. "Relocating" is great for someone who has a job lined up in New York already; not so great for someone wondering how they can find an affordable room while they get on their feet.

This book might be pretty useful if you don't know anyone in NYC. But it bugs me that the chapters on the actual move process are labeled "By MonsterMoving.com", NOT by the author, and need more tailoring to be NYC-appropriate. Sentences like "If your new state collects income tax, you'll want to figure that into your salary calculations" are not very helpful.

What I *wanted* was recommendations about whether I should start out in a furnished sublet and take time to really look for a good apartment. I WANT concrete tips like "It can be cheaper to have your moving company store stuff in your origin location than to store it in New York", "A 1.5 cubic foot box of items usually weighs 10.5 pounds but the same box full of books can weigh 50 pounds." I NEED to know, What are the pros and cons of making an advance apartment-hunting trip? How many weeks should I spend looking? What are the best times of year or weeks of the month to get apartments, sublets, etc.? How do I fill out a change of address form if I haven't found an apartment yet? How do I get estimates from my moving company if I don't know where I'm moving to yet? Will they hit me with extra prices if it turns out I rent a 5th floor walkup instead of a 1st floor apartment and, if so, what kind of price markup can I expect?

The book answers none of my questions.

Note that the only move-specific site mentioned in the book (and it is mentioned repeatedly) was MonsterMoving.com. I could've used pointers to other handy sites like www.movingscam.com.

On the bright side, the neighborhood guide is well-organized and there is a list of local telephone numbers (more than 3 years out of date though). But I can't shake the feeling that I could have gotten a lot of this information online.

This book has the potential to be a very useful guide to NYC. However, the book's value to non-white, non-elite readers is questionable due to the almost complete lack of information about Harlem, one the NYC's largest and most historically significant neighborhoods. In two sentences, Shapiro totally dismisses it, stating that once you get north of Harlem, "you come back to relative safety and tranquillity."

There is no excuse for this blatant bias. Harlem has a fascinating history and is a very livable neighborhood, even for single white professional women. It is also home to important historical landmarks such as the Apollo Theatre and the Schomberg Center for Research. However, the only Harlem "landmark" that Shapiro mentions is Patsy's pizza, but not without the warning, "It's a touch-and-go neighborhood, so plan your travel during daytime or with a group." This makes it sound as if visiting Harlem is akin to going on a jungle safari.

The latest "Harlem Renaissance" has been going on since the mid 90s, and gentrification is now in full swing. In terms of quality of life, Harlem offers everything: affordable housing, proximity to several parks, Museum Mile, and midtown offices, as well as an array of restaurants, diners, churches, supermarkets, dry cleaners, jazz clubs and more. In terms of safety, I have never once felt threatened here and have been welcomed into this tight-knit community with true friendliness since the day I arrived.

There are other minor problems with this book, but it is this dismissal of Harlem which is the most major oversight. For this reason, I would not recommend this book as it is. For future editions, I strongly recommend that Shapiro explore Harlem-alone-and see what's she's been missing.

For young people, there are listings for temporary cheap housing and temporary employment agencies. Essays on how to organize and plan your move which really only applies to families moving an entire house. There are tips on hunting for an apartment and on finding sublets. But the neighborhood descriptions are lacking. I better bet would be Zany's NYC Apt Sales & Rental Guide for great neightborhood descriptions-a must have. Forget the "Getting To Know Your Town" section, you're better off with a tourist guide with color pictures.

The amount of information, hard data, clear advice, and insider knowledge packed into this volume is truly amazing. There seem to be a couple of reviews here claiming there is not enough detail in the book. I can only guess these people either didn't bother to read it [...] or are shilling for the competition [....] I can assure, you having read this book from cover to cover and having used it to guide myself in a start to finish highly successful relocation, nothing could be farther from the truth. In addition to providing me with fact, facts, facts, I found that the book spoke to me personally. Moving to New York was a scary process -- a huge plunge for this "small town boy." Armed with this book I felt I had a seasoned New Yorker in my corner. Indeed I did. I even e-mailed the author ellen@relocatingny.com for some very specific advice about a personal matter and much to my surprise she answered promptly and in great detail. Also with compassion and understanding. Thanks, Ms. Shapiro, for this one of a kind book.

There is a difference between giving advise and listing considerations. I was looking for specific advise; all I got was a bunch of considerations I need to take into account. I am in the process of buying apartment in Manhattan; how do I find a dependable lawyer? Which regions of Manhattan have good schools assigned to them (specific streets/avenues, please)? Which public schools are good? How much time should I reserve for finding the apartment and closing the deal? "Ask your real estate agent" - that's the best answer the author gives. After explaining you normally don't use an agent. And so forth. And in places where people are REALLY better off referred to other sources (e.g. restaurant review), instead of suggesting Zagat's, author provides a her review of restaurants - hardly justifiable since in her 2 page review of Upper East Side she forgets to mention how limited subway system there is. The latter would perhaps be of more consequence to the readers than her suggestions on where to find best hot dogs. So in short, I put this books on the shelf and keep looking for something more informative. But whatever your questions are, I believe 5 minute conversation with a New Yorker would give you tons of real advise you wouldn't find in the book. It's a disappointment.

In the process of relocating my family to NYC I looked at four different books that claimed to be moving guides, newcomers guides, whatever, and found them severely lacking. This was the one volume that time after time seemed to answer all my questions even some rather esoteric ones. The best thing about the book is the neighborhoods section which includes not only subjective descriptions but also a lot of hard data from census and other statistical compilations plus key points of interest. Many of the mistaken beliefs I had about neighborhoods in NYC were dispelled by this book but swallowed hook line and sinker by the other books. The overall attitude and approach in the voice of a real New Yorker were invaluable. Not just a question of data but also of strategy and the whole way to look at New York were very revealing to the outsider. Also very up to date. Quite a bit of personality for a reference book as well. Unusually good to read.

This book isn't that helpful, at least for someone who wants basic advice about New York neighborhoods, ways to find an apartment, etc.

My spouse and I have visited New York several times, and have a good idea of what neighborhoods we want to live in. We found the neighborhood descriptions and basic advice in Candace Walsh's Moving to New York to be far more helpful, though a bit dated.

Moving to New York City from Switzerland and not knowing anybody was the hardest thing I've ever done. Thank God I found this book before I made all the mistakes I was going to make! This book gives a true "insider" perspective on New York and helped me make several critical decsions -- I think I made the right decisions about where to live, how to look for work, and how to meet new people, and I think I might not have made those decisions were it not for the help of this very informed author. I actually have purchased four copies and given them as gifts. I think some people who have already moved but have not perhaps completely mastered the city could use this book to good effect.

I relocate folks for a living, at one of the big Mahattan real estate brokerages, and I wish I'd written this book--though I doubt I could have done as good a job. I can't imagine a better volume on the subject of moving to and settling in New York City and the nearby suburbs. I recommend it to all my clients.

I'm no stranger to NY, I live pretty close, so I can say with a good deal of accuracy that the author really does a great job of defining the neighborhoods in NY. Most people moving to NY are moving to Manhatten so she goes over that pretty extensively. It's an easy read, and although she does give empirical data and demographics, she puts a face to it with her stories and her humor. This really is the best of the lot.

As an educational consultant who specializes in helping relocating families find NYC schools, I'm often asked to suggest a book that will help with the many other areas involved in moving to New York. Ellen Shapiro's book always comes to mind. It's a terrific resource that helps frazzled families sort out and make sense of what would otherwise be a very complicated move. Moving to New York City is never easy, so it's always good to have advice from an expert like the author.

This guide was written by the friend you wish you had who moved to New York and never stopped exploring it (and so she knows more about it than most people who were born there). It makes sense of the school system and the housing craziness. It helps (really) in finding a job and a good margarita and free things to do and a helicopter. Reading this book is like getting a note from your dentist saying she had it all wrong about the root canal: everything's fine, and now you can go to the party.

A nice surprise, in addition to all the listings: The author writes with good humor and candor, sharing a wealth of information that would not be readily available to the newcomer. It's like having an in-the-know New Yorker to take you under her wing, which makes the move far less terrifying. The book contains lots of tips from native New Yorkers, and the sections on neighborhoods and apartment rental/purchasing are quite thorough. This is the definitely the best (and most current) of the New York guides.