Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Apartment: Found


Yes. You read that right. I found an apartment! Or rather, an apartment share in Manhattan.

Let's rewind a bit. By last Friday (July 29th), I had seen almost 10 places that week alone. From places with one-year leases to even a few one-month sublets since nothing else was working out. Again, the ones I wanted immediately never got back to me and I even missed out on one by 10 MINUTES. (Yeah, I don't want to talk about it.) Over the weekend I gave up and found a moving+storage company since I was completely out of options. They came on Saturday and moved all of my belongings: full bed+dresser given to me by the girl I had been subletting from, and 12 boxes. I made a plea on Facebook and was incredibly moved by all the offers of awesome friends to stay on their couches! I cannot thank them enough for their generosity while I'm "homeless."

So after taking a four day break from Craigslist which had been the bane of my apartment hunt in July, on Monday during my lunch break I couldn't resist going back on to see what had popped up over the weekend. I ended up emailing five places and then dove back into my work to have a few hours where I wasn't focusing on the fact that I didn't have a place to live... However, before I even left the office for the day, one of those places had replied to my email. We set up an appointment for that night at 8pm. I didn't have any expectations and I knew to avoid giving off an air of desperation this time around.

And then of course everything worked out exactly how it's supposed to.

I saw the apartment and fell in love with it instantly! And I met my now-soon-to-be (male) roommate and we clicked right away as well. The place is a 2-bed/1-bath with an open kitchen and living room plan. The building is on a very busy avenue but the apartment itself isn't on the street and faces other buildings which means it's very quiet. The location is also amazing! It's on the same corner as one of my favorite restaurants in the city in a bustling neighborhood, it's one avenue from Central Park and one avenue from the subway. As for the finances, my portion of the rent for the larger room with a closet is $1,200. Utilities run around $100 per person for cable, internet and electricity. Altogether it's more than I wanted to pay, but I'd actually set my max rent amount at $1,250 not including utilities so it still falls below that. Plus there's also the one month security deposit and the $75 credit check (ripoff!) fee. You know what? This place is WORTH IT.

I'll be signing onto the lease for a year. I am so excited, but most of all relieved. This is a huge weight off of my shoulders after all of the frustrations and emotional breakdowns I'd been going through! I'm so ready to be somewhere permanent instead of living a semi-nomadic lifestyle.

Life works in funny ways. Just when you least expect it. :)

17 comments:

Anonymous August 4, 2011 at 12:36 AM  

Yay!! Congratulations - your new place sounds perfect! And a 1 year lease means that you won't have to worry about moving for awhile.

I still can't believe how hard it is to get a place in NYC - what insanity!!

Anonymous August 4, 2011 at 2:27 AM  

Congratulations! I'm so pleased that you found a place at last.

CeCe August 4, 2011 at 11:23 AM  

Glad your time oof homelessness in NY was very short and you can finally settle in.

me in millions August 4, 2011 at 11:54 AM  

Congrats! I know what a pain this has been.

Money Matters August 4, 2011 at 12:58 PM  

Congrats on finding a place!!! And it sounds like the perfect location!

Unknown August 4, 2011 at 3:12 PM  

That's awesome! I can't wait to see and hear more about it :)

Anonymous August 5, 2011 at 9:33 AM  

Male roommates are awesome! No drama, no stress. ;)

Jerry August 5, 2011 at 2:04 PM  

Don't forget to get renter's insurance. It will definitely lead to peace of mind. I had it in while I was Boston and I was broken into twice. It came in very handy.

The Asian Pear August 6, 2011 at 11:58 PM  

yay! so glad you found something! just in the nick of time too!

Harri @ TotallyMoney August 9, 2011 at 8:57 AM  

So good to hear that it all worked out. Trying to find a flat in London sounds similar to NY- looking online is almost a waste of time because the flats get snapped up almost instantly. SUCH a pain.

Anyway I hope all works out well with the new flat mate!

Katherine August 11, 2011 at 11:35 PM  

Congrats! So glad you found an apt, I know how difficult it can be :)

MoneyMaus August 14, 2011 at 8:43 AM  

Thank you ALL! It seriously is such a relief and I cannot wait to move in. :)

Anonymous August 17, 2011 at 2:41 PM  

I'm thrilled!! :)

LC August 21, 2011 at 2:34 PM  

I'm sooo excited for you! Congrats on finally finding your home. Now I'd say you are absolutely officially a New Yorker ;)

banclothing August 22, 2011 at 4:27 PM  

Your adventure is really interesting; wish you posted more.

sophie September 1, 2011 at 3:08 PM  

Congrats on the apartment! I've always been curious what people pay for an apartment in the city.

Jerry September 2, 2011 at 6:37 PM  

Having a good place to live is insurance for your sanity. Even if it's close to max that you want pay at least it's below! It will lead to much more pleasant days ahead.

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