NYC Summer Sublets

To say that my first few days were stressful in the city would be an understatement. I am (finally) excited to say that I found a great summer sublet in NYC in the West Village (my favorite area) with a girl that in the 5 minutes we talked seemed very normal!

It seems that many people leave NYC for the summer so it should be easy to find a sublet right? WRONG. Many people (like myself) also come to the city in the summer as well, so it is highly competitive to find a place.

I used Craigslist and while in London I emailed several people and set-up showings. In the 3 days between setting them up I figured that they would still be free right? No. Subletting in the summer in NYC happens lightening fast.

I had to check Craigslist several times a day to send emails and scour for places to send an email before someone else snatched it up and saw it before me.

Looking at places and running all over the city was stressful enough, but then you also had to make a decision on the spot about whether or not you wanted the room. A snap decision had to be made if the person seemed like they liked you, or by the time you decided that you wanted the room, it would be gone. This happened to me more than once. Quite stressful for the most indecisive person alive and when every place had a huge downside- this is NYC after all.

Some places had no windows in the room, one I would have lived alone, one was with a woman in her 30s that seemed high strung and had a big stuffed dog in the room (weird right?) and one was with a man in his 40s and his girlfriend who basically lived there.

I decided on the place with no windows, called the girls less than two hours later and then waited around. I got news the other two places I had seen that day were gone. And then I waited and waited to hear from the place I had finally decided on! It was ironic that the place that I chose turned out to be with also two indecisive girls... Frustrating on the other side (I finally hear from them more than 48 hours later that I could have had the room).

In the meantime I ended up finding the place that I wanted in the West Village. It was an open house so I had to act really, really interested and positive so that after meeting 10 people she would remember me and choose me. I even got there 10 minutes early!

While I was waiting for her to decide, I got word that one of the places I thought would work, the person who took it fell through. I was determined to wait for the one I wanted though and got pushy and called, even though I believed she would keep her word and call later that night.

FINALLY the apartment that I chose and really wanted, chose me too! And now I am no longer homeless and do not want to look for an apartment here again. I am 95% sure that after my sublet is up in August I will never live in the city again.

Other updates:

It is WAY too hot in NYC. I think that I am starting to not like the heat. I can't even imagine what it's like for people who are actually bothered by it physically.

I got a new South American contact and I am hoping to have something set-up for the fall. And I am planning on applying to grad school for fall 2011!