Admissions Blog

Moving to NYC: Apartment Hunting Tips

By Diana Slobodian '26
Posted Feb 11 2026
NYC Skyline Winter

Moving to New York City is a dream come true, but the thought of finding an apartment can seem daunting, especially if you’re not physically here to tour places in person. Below are a few tips I’ve learned from moving around over the years that can hopefully make the process a little smoother: 

  • Start with Columbia Residential
    • Explore their website to find a plethora of valuable resources, links, and to see if you are eligible to apply for student housing. As a SIPA student, you may be eligible for off-campus housing. 
  • Check out StreetEasy
    • This is where I found my apartment when I was moving to NYC. Be careful of scams and make sure to never pay anyone up front without seeing the apartment first. Even if used just as a reference for neighborhoods, buildings, and prices, this can be a great place to do some research to help you refine your searches. 
  • Join a few Facebook Groups! 
    • There are a number of SIPA/Columbia Student Housing Facebook groups out there. Join a few, see what people are posting, and lean on the network of Columbia students who could also be looking for apartments or roommates. Also, don’t limit yourself to just Columbia housing Facebook groups - there may be students from other schools (NYU, for example) that could also have communities for incoming or current students who are looking for apartments 
  • BEWARE OF SCAMS
    • If it feels too good to be true, it just might be. If I can’t go see a place in person, I will typically try to schedule a Zoom or FaceTime call with the lister of the apartment to try and verify if the space they listed online matches what I see during the call. 
  • Reddit for references
    • I have found that digging through old posts on Reddit can help me weed out scams, point me in the direction of new forums for apartment hunting, and advice for communicating with landlords. I’ve even found that some people are looking for roommates or subletting through Reddit, but be sure to do your due diligence in weeding out potential scammers.