The Start of a New Chapter...Moving to NYC

I am beginning a new chapter of my life. Finishing undergrad and getting my degree on one chapter, beginning grad school and moving to New York is another. Actually, I think this could be put into two chapters. One would be moving to New York and two would be starting grad school. Of course, in the grand scheme of things, these are just two chapters in my whole life. A lot of chapters have already been written and a lot are still waiting to be written. For right now though, I am going to focus on the two newest chapters.

1. Apartment Hunting in NYC

Finding an apartment in New York is not easy. I have friends who have apartments in other states and places and they all said the process was relatively easy, you find an apartment you like, fill out an application and the next thing you know you are signing a lease. This is NOT the case in New York.

First of all, finding apartments you can see is a struggle. There are not endless places listed where you can just see the apartment. Instead, you have to call a real estate broker to help you out and after you call, you actually have to hope they are going to call you back. This process can go on for days. Another important piece of information, broker charge a fee of 11-15% of the entire first year rent! It is ridiculous! The whole time I was looking for an apartment I was staying in a hotel. Actually, it was hotels because I moved hotels 4 times before I was eventually able to find a place and sign a lease! During this time my parents had left to go back overseas, when things started falling apart, my mom flew back and helped search and actually signed the guarantors form on the way back to the airport to catch her flight back home. It was such a stressful time! however, we did have some really fun moments and I will always remember her coming back to help me out and to be my support system throughout everything! 

The apartment I will be living in is small, but it is perfect for grad students. It is located on the upper east side and is on the 4th floor of a walk up building. It is in a really cute neighborhood. It is about a 10 minute walk from the subway and it 3 blocks from a running trail along the river. It was great because we found it without a broker so we DID NOT have to pay the brokers fee! it is also a rent stabilized place, so while other places around us may increase in price, our place will stay the same! 

Below I have put some photos of the before and after of my room! I had to buy all of my furniture from ikea and bed, bath and beyond and put it together by myself. after lots of hours of manual labor and some frustration, it finally all got done! (I think I could get hired in Ikea to put their furniture together now!)

The before shots

The after shots 

Im getting a little couch, but for right now just have a comfy chair, and I don't actually have a door, so I put up a curtain to act as my door!

The view from my room

Our kitchen/bathroom. One of the quirks of the place is that the shower is in the kitchen next to our kitchen sink across from the fridge! We are not done with this room because we have just been focusing on our own rooms. We are getting a table and things this week though, which is really exciting!

So another interesting thing about the apartment is that the floors are slanted. It makes it kinda hard to keep furniture straight and things, but it just adds to the adventure of the place!

I was going to write about grad school and New York, but I realize this post got kinda long, so I will post tomorrow after my first day of classes!!!