I suggest you get your hands on a New York news paper and check out rental rates etc you will get a good idea of the high cost of living. Renting an apartment you will need the first month's rent, a month's security deposit (some places two months), a cleaning deposit. Plus you will need security deposits for utilities. Pick out a place you would like to rent then multiply the rent by 10. Then you should have enough and that would include food, furniture, transportation just to start.