What It's Like Apartment Hunting In NYC
What It's Like Apartment Hunting In NYC
#1What It's Like Apartment Hunting In NYC
Posted: 5/27/13 at 9:47am
This is too funny. It stresses me out even reading it but for all the people who come on here asking for advice when moving to the city, THIS is exactly what it's like when looking for an apartment in NYC.
Thank You, Buzzfeed. Click If You Dare.
#2What It's Like Apartment Hunting In NYC
Posted: 5/27/13 at 9:56amIt's dead-on. I just spent the last three weeks doing this.
#2What It's Like Apartment Hunting In NYC
Posted: 5/27/13 at 9:58amI saw this last night. It reminded me of my early days in New York. The whole "roommate who doesn't actually want you to live there" bit is so freaking true--I always laugh when I read those ads.
#3What It's Like Apartment Hunting In NYC
Posted: 5/27/13 at 10:00amKad, hopefully you're ok. Whenever I hear that someone just moved or was apartment hinting here, I want to buy them a massage and a full weekend at a spa to help them relax.
#4What It's Like Apartment Hunting In NYC
Posted: 5/27/13 at 11:24amYeah, I've looked at Craigslist a bunch of times, just because I was curious. Not completely serious yet. But, I don't get the ads for the roommates and the person basically will let you pay half of their rent and that's it. I also love the ones that are like "You have full use of the kitchen, but you can't use the stove or cook meat because I'm a vegetarian. But, it's totally cool if you aren't."
#5What It's Like Apartment Hunting In NYC
Posted: 5/27/13 at 11:35am
But, I don't get the ads for the roommates and the person basically will let you pay half of their rent and that's it. I also love the ones that are like "You have full use of the kitchen, but you can't use the stove or cook meat because I'm a vegetarian. But, it's totally cool if you aren't."
Moving into someone's existing apartment can be difficult. Many times, the person you are moving in with can tend to treat you like a guest, rather than a co-inhabitant. If you find yourself in such a case, you basically have to assert yourself and say that you're not a guest--you pay rent, this is your home, etc.
That said, if you can tell that there will be red flags from the ad, it's probably best just to not even put yourself in that situation.
#6What It's Like Apartment Hunting In NYC
Posted: 5/27/13 at 11:50am
I am fine now that I have a place lined up. I was literally seeing a place or two in the morning, going to work, then seeing two more places afterward at night every night. I'm able to discern which ads are legitimate- everyone I met and the places I saw were, for the most part, fine.
The ads are ridiculous. So many "no living room use, no kitchen use, no guests." Like, what? If you're lucky, someone might have put a microwave and a mini fridge in your room. F*CK your needs, right?
#7What It's Like Apartment Hunting In NYC
Posted: 5/27/13 at 12:00pmYes. I find those odd too. I also love the ones where they just give you a number to call with no information. You bothered to make an ad on Craigslist, so surely you can at least say what the person would be paying for.
#8What It's Like Apartment Hunting In NYC
Posted: 5/27/13 at 12:19pmBasically, if I see an ad that says anything like the examples Kad gave, it's an immediate red flag for me and I don't even pursue it. That said, back a few years when I was looking for a roommate situation, I encountered a couple people who had normal sounding ads that turned out to be that way when I met them for interviews. Basically, you want to be treated like a roommate, not like a guest who's overstayed his welcome.
#9What It's Like Apartment Hunting In NYC
Posted: 5/27/13 at 6:09pm
I don't live in NYC, but I've heard the horror stories on this board and elsewhere about trying to find a place to live there.
Based on that link, I think apartment hunting in NYC would drive me bonkers!
#10What It's Like Apartment Hunting In NYC
Posted: 5/27/13 at 7:02pmAccording to NYS law, a room cannot be called a bedroom if it doesn't have a window. Now, I know on Craigslist this is meaningless but if you are using a real estate agent, keep an eye out for this.
#11What It's Like Apartment Hunting In NYC
Posted: 5/27/13 at 7:31pmThat article has reminded how amazingly fortunate I was when I moved from Miami back to the New York Tri-State area 2 years ago. I was blessed to have friends with a HUGE home renting out a room with it's own private bathroom...and if I posted what I am paying a month for my digs you would all want to kill me. So, it's good to have great friends who've got your back...
Tom1071
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/1/04
#12What It's Like Apartment Hunting In NYC
Posted: 5/31/13 at 11:42amThat about sums up my last two apartment hunting experiences and why I have only moved once in the last 6 years.
blueroses
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/18/04
#13What It's Like Apartment Hunting In NYC
Posted: 5/31/13 at 11:58amAmen to the one about cleaning up before showing people your apartment. How about doing that before photographing and placing the ad for it in the first place? Make your bed and throw out your garbage, while you're at it! Some of those gross pictures blow my mind. How do people not even think about making a good impression?
#14What It's Like Apartment Hunting In NYC
Posted: 5/31/13 at 1:03pm
Carlos, when you say you're in the New York Tri-State area, does that mean you're living in Bridgeport?
I've been in NY since 1980, so I still have that mindset that "New York" means "Manhattan between Canal and 86th."
I did ONE roommate situation with a stranger in like 1988 - it lasted 4 months; sometimes it works, but most often it doesn't, because this city make people INSANE. If you gotta live with someone, and you're older than 30, it needs to be a friend or lover.
The place I have now, I've had since 1990. It's something of a dump, but it's a cheap (that's a relative term, out-of-towners) dump in Manhattan.
#15What It's Like Apartment Hunting In NYC
Posted: 5/31/13 at 1:21pmSome of those places look like the previous renter is currently in prison for kidnapping and rape, but they just left his stuff there and bumped up the rent to list it as "furnished".
#16What It's Like Apartment Hunting In NYC
Posted: 6/1/13 at 5:06amWhen I moved from LA to NYC, I expected to see signs in windows that said "For Rent". Then I was told you needed a broker. Whaaaaaat?
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