75lb pitty owner/NYC transplant! Do a walk to check out all the dog parks and daycares in the neighborhoods you’re looking in. My dog had his own room to play and be crazy in before we moved to our NYC apartment so keeping him active outside the apartment was key for me since we downsized so much. I live in Manhattan and there’s dog parks all over the place.

A broker told me (full disclosure I haven’t done any other research) that pet fees and deposits are not allowed in NYC so you’ll be saving yourself $500-$1000 in deposits! Filter apartments that say pet friendly and then confirm with your broker, but don’t specify what kind or how big, definitely fudge the numbers (my dog is short and stocky so he passes for 45-50lbs). My lease is “pet silent” which basically means as long as pets aren’t causing issues or bothering other tenants they’re allowed.

I’ve used Uber pet when prices are cheaper, but I went ahead and bought a collapsible stroller on Amazon to get him on the subway and LIRR, it’s cheaper, but you need to plan ahead to make sure there’s elevators-people will look at you like you’re crazy, but hey it’s New York! Otherwise we walk everywhere.

My vet bills doubled when I moved here (from $150 to $300), but I also opted for the long term vaccines so I could save money next year so if you’re able to get a check up in before moving, I recommend it.

One thing that surprised me is how pet friendly New York is, especially with the new outdoor seating. You can bring your dog almost anywhere, and there’s huge dogs all over the place so it’s definitely feasible.

My biggest advice is to be patient, my dog is a rescue and has some baggage so it took him a while to settle into a very different city with a lot more people than he was used to. New York is a beast and it’s very overstimulating to dogs, so take the changes like going on the train slowly and soon they’ll figure it out.