Tips On Moving To The Big Apple? -

Hi! My name is Aaron. I am 20 years old and am in the US Army. Growing up, I have lived in 11 different cities, 8 states, and have been to 3 different army posts. I LOVE traveling, and the Army has given me an opportunity to do that. The Army life is not for me though. My contract ends on August 17th, 2012, and I become a civilian again. Out of all the places I have lived at, Brooklyn by far was one of the greatest places I have ever been at. When I become a civilian again, I plan to move to New York City. I have a Aunt and Uncle who live in Park Slope, and my Dad was raised there growing up. I have a general idea of what NYC is like. Here is what I would like though:What steps I need to take starting now until the time I get out of the Army in order to move to New York City. As much details as possible would be greatly appreciated.FYI: I have the Post 9-11 GI Bill which gives me free tuition and fees to any public college in the USA.I know about the insane housing prices, the diversity of people, the holy all mighty metrocard , and what spots in NYC are safe, and spots that are sketchy. I know about all the shopping and tourist traps, Katzs Delicatessen, the greatest pizza in the world, the crazy street preachers, the most awesome halloween festival in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, and the different cultures of the 5 million people there.The most information gets 10 points, and any and all answers will be greatly appreciated.

You sound so much better prepared to move here than the vast majority of people who ask questions here on Yahoo Answers!I think the only thing you need to work on is where you will go to college. As far as public colleges go, there are two kinds of public colleges in the State of NY - colleges in the SUNY system and colleges in the CUNY system.The SUNY system is the system funded by New York State (SUNY stands for State University of NY.) The SUNY schools are, by and large, outside of NYC.The CUNY system is funded by the City of NY (CUNY stands for City University of NY.) CUNY schools are, as City schools, within NYC. The four year colleges in the CUNY system are:1.Bernard M. Baruch College (in Manhattan)2.Brooklyn College (in Brooklyn)3.The City College (AKA CCNY - in Manhattan)4.College of Staten Island (In Staten Island)5.Hunter College (In Manhattan)6.John Jay College of Criminal Justice (In Manhattan) 7.Lehman College (In the Bronx)8.Medgar Evers College (In Brooklyn)9.New York City College of Technology (In Brooklyn) 10.Queens College (In Queens)11.York College (In Queens)The best four year colleges in the CUNY system are: Hunter CollegeBrooklyn CollegeQueens College But if you are interested in Engineering, you might prefer CCNY, which is known for it s Engineering program. As far as the issues of actually moving to the City, you sound like you have them covered. The truth is, it s way too far in the future to start looking for housing, so you can t do much more than figure out where you want to look. And, since you have relatives in Brooklyn, you have a much better idea of what is affordable and what is livable than most people moving to NYC. The one thing you CAN do is investigate which college has the programs you are interested in, and perhaps even contact the department you wish to major in to discuss what is involved. At the very least, you could contact the admissions dept. for the school(s) you are interested in. Good luck! You sound like someone who will do very well here! I wish you all the best!EDIT: Oh, just a few little corrections - there are 8 million people here, not 5 million. And the Halloween parade you are talking about is in the Village, not on the Lower East Side. But these are tiny details. No biggie.Again, the best of luck!