$2,325 | Murray Hill, Manhattan

Blake Bejan, 25

Occupation: Marketing manager, Uber Eats

Apartment hunting in New York vs. California: “I had to consider air-conditioning for the first time in my life,” said Mr. Bejan, who is from San Jose and has lived in San Francisco since college.

On using a broker: The broker’s fee gave him pause, but using a broker turned out to be a big help. “I was so overwhelmed seeing apartments,” he said, “and they kept certain things in mind.”

Good and bad surprises: A dishwasher, which he wasn’t expecting, and noise from the Queens-Midtown Tunnel. “At 6 a.m., it’s loud as hell,” he said. “I made a sound dampener out of a board and foam, and bear-cage myself in most mornings.”

The best things about New York: “I really like the people. I think they’re really genuine here; people in San Francisco can be fake.” Plus, the music scene in Brooklyn and the food. “I love Levain Bakery. I recently took visiting friends through Central Park and strategically navigated us through the park to end up there.”

As he and his real estate agent, Marien Richardson of Citi Habitats, toured listings around Murray Hill and Kip’s Bay, they kept bumping into another apartment seeker and his broker.

“Sometimes we’d be there first, sometimes they’d be before us. I was like, ‘O.K., you’re my competition.’” Mr. Bejan said. “It was really intense.”

At a building in the East 30s, the unit they had come to see wasn’t available for viewing — the tenant was in the midst of moving out — but the one below was empty.

For $2,325 a month, the apartment was not too small but not too large. There was a small entrance hall and space for not only all the furniture he owned, including the bed, but also for a small sofa. Plus, there was laundry in the building and an unexpected bonus, a dishwasher. And if the view was nothing much — the one window faced a brick wall — at least the wall was on the other side of a street, so there was natural light.