Where to live in NYC: Upper East Side studio

If you’re trying to work out where to live in NYC, check out one New Yorker’s experience moving into the city from Scarsdale. Find out about the search, the apartment, why they chose the Upper East Side over the LES and advice for negotiating a deal.

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Sarah Marshall, 23, executive team leader of operations at Target.

Brokers: Morgan Turkewitz, Citi Habitats (516-314-6309, mturkewitz@citihabitats.com; citi-habitats.com); Tosh Marks, Chartwell F.H. Realty (917-687-1143, toshmarks@chartwellfhrealty.com; hartdiamond.com).
Brokers’ fee: 15 percent of annual rent ($2,970), split between Turkewitz and Marks.
Deposit: Two months’ rent ($3,300).
Moved in: August 2012.

THE SEARCH: Marshall had been living at her parents’ home, located about 40 minutes by car outside the city in Scarsdale. The culture aficionado focused on the Upper East Side, partially because it would be easy to commute to work in Queens. She relied on friend and broker Morgan Turkewitz to be her liaison. “I told her I wanted to be near the museums [and in] a quieter area, because I wanted to live by myself,” says Marshall. “We looked at my apartment by noon the next day, and I signed the lease right away.” Marshall looked at only one other place—a Lower East Side studio that she found far less impressive. “It was on a very crowded street, right next to a busy restaurant and bar,” she recalls. “The kitchen was right next to the closet, so you’d be cooking on your clothes. The bathroom was right there too. It was like a dorm!”

THE APARTMENT: “It feels more like a one-bedroom,” she says. “It has a long hallway, a separate kitchen with a dishwasher and a really big main room. Everything feels new, fresh and bright, and that’s what I wanted.” Other selling points for Marshall were the hardwood floors, marble countertops and storage space above the apartment’s two closets. “And my bathroom has a window, which I was excited about.”

THE NEIGHBORHOOD: “This [area] feels like my town growing up,” the Westchester native says, adding that she always feels safe, even when heading to work at 5am. “There are people out who seem like they’re going to work, too, and when I come home, there are kids coming back from school. I like the restaurants, and there are lots of dogs—and I love dogs.”

HER ADVICE: “Find out what other people pay, and think about the environment you want to live in, rather than where you want to socialize. If they’re the same, great. If not, factor it in.”