Dear Ed,
I am graduating from college this year and I desperately want to get a magazine job in New York City. The problem is I live in the Midwest and I don't have enough money to get an apartment ('cause, well, I don't have a job yet!). Plus I have no idea how to find a place. What is a girl with no trust fund but plenty of ambition to do? Help!
Greta*, Bloomington, Indiana
Congrats for making the decision to move! It’s a big decision and an important one. Here are some places you can start looking:
DORMS:
Ed lived at NYU when he first moved to New York; it's cheap and a great location. But there are 722 other colleges and universities in the city-certainly others have dorms available (especially in summer) for non-students. A quick search on google or yahoo will give you a list of places to start. Here are the two largest:
- New York University at 14A Washington Place; Phone: 212-998-4621, www.nyu.edu/housing/summer, Summer Housing only, from 3 to 12 weeks. Fills up fast!
- Columbia University - 1230 Amsterdam Ave at 120th St, 212-678-3235, 1 week stay max, available May - December.
HOSTELS/BOARDING HOUSES:
Many of these places have dorm-style living arrangements, meaning you'll share rooms and bathrooms with other struggling artist sorts like yourself. Ed hears that some churches and synagogues also have temporary housing. It's worth looking into. - Hostelling International New York, 891 Amsterdam Avenue (103rd St), 212-932-2300, www.hinewyork.org,
- Chelsea Star Hotel, 300 W. 30th at 8th Ave, 212-244-7827; www.starhotelny.com; Madonna reportedly lived here while she was a struggling artist; max stay 21 days,
- Manhattan Youth Castle, 1595 Lexington Ave btw 101st and 102nd streets,212-831-4440, 3-week max stay.
- Central Park Hostel, 19 W. 103rd, 212-678-0491,
- International Student Center, 38 W. 88th, 212-787-7706,
- West Side YMCA, 5 W. 63, 212-875-4247; ymcanyc.org to see rooms and get info
- De Hirsch Residence, 1395 Lexington Ave at 92nd St, 212-415-5650.
SUBLETS & SHARES:
You can sublet someone else's apartment (or room) while s/he is on vacation, living abroad, or otherwise absent from their abode. Ed has a friend who lives rent-free in a SoHo loft in exchange for watching the owners priceless art while he travels the world. You too can be so lucky. Here are some places to start
looking:
- Sublet.com (Ed found a on the upper east side share for $26 a day!)
- Craigslist.com
- Villagevoice.com
- http://rooming.virtualave.net for hostels and sublets
- Nypost.com
- Nytimes.com (you have to register for the Times, but it's free)
- Roommatefinders.com (one of many roommate services in the city that matches up young people with roommates in affordable housing)
HOTELS:
Most hotels in the city are $200 or more a night so these are certainly cheaper, though still expensive for long stays. Also try bidding for rooms at priceline.com.
- Urban Ventures (212-594-5650), World Bed and Breakfast (212-675-5600), Bed and Breakfast of New York (212-645-8134) - $70-100 a night
- Pioneer Hotel, 341 Broome St. btw. Elizabeth and Bowery, 212-226-1482
- Larchmont Hotel, 27 W. 11 btw. 5th and 6th Aves, 212-989-9333.
- Carlton Arms Hotel, 160 E. 25th, 212-679-0680.
- Murray Hill Inn, 143 E. 30, 212-683-6900.
Whew! Whatta list. Hope you're not too overwhelmed. Remember that New York is a city created for and by outsiders. Millions of New Yorkers, just like you, moved to this town with little money, no friends, no job, no place to live, and they made it! It's an intoxicating, fabulous, exciting, exhilarating place to live. Welcome!
Love,
Ed
Thanks to Claire Bernard for doing all
the housing research. If you do move to NYC, come to an Ed2010 Happy Hour and buy her a drink. She deserves it!
* Not her real name. Her real name is Amanda. Or is it Abby? Ed lost the original email.
