Roommate Finder in West Village, Manhattan, NY

Frequently asked questions

• Who is looking for a roommate in the West Village?

  For many people in their twenties the West Village has become the one Manhattan neighborhood they will stretch a budget to live in, and stretching usually means sharing. One-bedrooms rent for close to $6,000, so graduates in their first finance, technology, media and fashion jobs pair up and take a two-bedroom walk-up together. Staff from Google's buildings at either end of the neighborhood search here, as do people who work in its restaurants and shops and want to walk home after a late shift. Long-time residents with a second bedroom advertise too. 3 people have open searches in and around the West Village on Roomster's roommate finder today. Because the apartments are small, habits such as cooking, guests and working from home decide a match here.

• What do West Village roommates pay to split a two-bedroom walk-up?

  Two-bedroom medians sit around $7,000 to $7,500 a month, which puts each of two roommates at $3,500 to $3,750, compared with roughly $5,700 to $6,000 for a one-bedroom alone. That saving of more than $2,000 apiece is the reason sharing is so common here. Rooms in a tenement two-bedroom are seldom equal: one often faces the street and the other an air shaft, or one is reached through the kitchen, so agree on an uneven split before you sign. To lower your share, look at fourth- and fifth-floor walk-ups, which owners price below the lower floors, or bring in a third person and use the living room as a bedroom. Ask who pays for heat; in most older buildings here it is included.

• Is Roomster a good roommate finder for new hires at Google's St. John's Terminal campus?

  It fits them well, because they tend to arrive in groups and want to live within walking distance. Google opened St. John's Terminal, at Houston and West Streets on the southern edge of the West Village, in February 2024 with about 3,000 employees, most of them in sales and partnerships, and the company now counts more than 14,000 people in New York. A new hire can look for a roommate with the same start date and a similar hybrid schedule, which matters in an apartment too small for two people to take calls at once. Two incomes also clear an income test that a single starting salary may not. Mention your office and your in-office days in your profile, and tour the apartment by live video if you are relocating.

• Should my roommate search cover the far West Village, the Meatpacking edge or the blocks near Seventh Avenue?

  They suit different people. The far West Village, west of Hudson Street toward the river, is the quietest part, with Hudson River Park at the end of the block and a ten-minute walk to the nearest subway; shares there are scarce and go to people who value calm. The northern edge by Gansevoort and 14th Streets is the liveliest, near the A, C, E and L trains and the Meatpacking nightlife. The central blocks around Seventh Avenue South, Bleecker and Christopher Streets have the most walk-up shares and the 1 train at the door, with restaurant noise below. Early risers do better toward the river, and people who are out most evenings do better near Seventh Avenue.

• When do roommate openings come up in the West Village?

  Mostly in the same weeks every year. So many leases here were first signed by new graduates over the summer that renewals, and the rooms they free up, cluster from June through September. That is when you will see the most openings and also the most people competing for each one, so answer quickly and have your documents ready. From November through February there are far fewer rooms but less competition, and a leaseholder covering an empty bedroom at West Village prices is usually open to negotiating. If you are forming a pair to rent together, begin about six weeks before your move date. Apartments in this neighborhood are often gone within days, so decide in advance who can sign on short notice.

• What should West Village roommates agree on before signing a joint lease in a walk-up?

  Settle the money first. On a $7,200 two-bedroom, most landlords want combined income of 40 times the rent, about $288,000, or a guarantor for each of you, and a joint lease makes every roommate liable for the whole amount. Decide who takes the larger room and at what price, how the electric bill is divided when each bedroom runs its own air conditioner, and how one of you can be replaced if a job moves. Then learn who you are signing with. Roomster's ID and address checks are free and optional, and each profile shows which ones a member has completed. Once your profile is validated by email and phone, you can message someone for free. Meet in person or on video before any deposit changes hands.