| Listening to: Keane - Is it any wonder |
It's good to be home in San Diego. The trip to New York was beyond crazy. There's nothing that could've prepared me for the process of finding an apartment in the city (that's what New Yorkers call Manhattan). I arrived on Tuesday night on-time but what took a long time was the 2 hour shuttle ride to the hotel in the Upper West Side. The hotel is situated on 95th and Broadway (keep that in mind as you keep reading…95th and Broadway). It's so nice to have a direct flight from San Diego to New York. It took close to 6 hours but with a stopover it would have taken 8 or more. The shuttle wasn't terrible and I guess it's worth it when you're traveling alone because it's only $17 and it'll take you anywhere in Manhattan.
I got to the hotel around 10:30pm and my dad was still up. We talked for a few minutes and then I attempted to go to sleep but it was only 8pm my time so I knew I wouldn't be getting much sleep. We woke up the next morning and both of us were pretty tired. The room wasn't that bad (we stayed at the Newton) but the beds we're both twin size so my dad and I definitely had a hard time fitting in them. We got ready and went to the diner adjacent to the hotel which was refreshing but not exceptional. We were expecting my broker to pick us up from the hotel but instead he wanted us to meet him at his office on 72nd (our first mistake: assuming he had a car and would be driving us around…no way!).
We walked from the office up a couple of blocks and saw the first place. It had 10' ceilings so it seemed big but it wasn't in the greatest shape but it was a start. I knew about how big my apartment would be and I knew what I wanted, it wasn't this apartment. We went to a couple more after that but none of them appealed to me. One was a 2nd floor walkup that wasn't very pleasing and the other was actually a mistake in the listing because it was a HUGE apartment with two floors, a patio and garden and beautiful hardwood floors. I wish that one was in my budget because it was gorgeous!!! Not to mention that it was on 86th and Central Park West and literally ½ a block from Central Park on a tree-lined street.
It was hard to see any other apartments after that because I couldn't get it out of my mind but it was waaaay outside my budget. So we walked another 7 blocks down to an apartment that was being shown for the first time. It was a 1br 5th-floor walkup that sounded good except the walkup. Basically I wanted a doorman and an elevator for my first apartment. I saw it anyways just to get a look at another place and it was decent. The layout wasn't wonderful because everything seemed small but it was also because two people were still living in it. Plus, the 5th floor walkup really didn't appeal to me. It may not sound bad at first but walking up 5 floors everyway would definitely get on my nerves. If I had a late day at work and came home dead-tired I would be pissed that I would have to walk up 5 floors!
At this point my dad and I needed to take a break especially since my dad has a sore back and we'd been walking all over the Upper West Side already. We stopped at a restaurant I saw in my Frommer's guide called Good Enough to Eat. We just got a cup of coffee and an apple muffin but they were both very good, good enough for us to come back for lunch later on. After that quick break we headed we're going to head across town to the east side to look at a couple places since nothing on the west side was to my liking. We found a cab after 15 minutes of waiting and started a slow trek through the park. About a block later my broker got a call and we immediately hopped out of the cab without explanation. He said that there were a couple places that a friend of his was showing right now and that they were going to go fast. We jumped on this opportunity and found another cab to 79th and West End near riverside park. The building was very nice and it had a doorman and a nice, big elevator… I had a good feeling about it. We went up to the apt and it was BIG! It was at least 500 square feet and that's a lot for a studio in New York. The kitchen was really, really tiny and I would barely be able to fit in it, so that was one of the downsides but otherwise I really liked the rest of the apartment.
Next we were off to see the two other apartments that this new broker had to show us. They were in the same building on 72nd and Central Park West, which is an ideal location for me so it was already sounding good. There was no doorman but I was willing to sacrifice that if it was a really nice place. We went up to the 10th floor and saw the first room. It was spacious and clean but it wasn't too great. It was a lot better than most of the places I had seen earlier but it still wasn't ideal. I had to think about it but in the mean time we went down to the 8th floor to see the other apartment. We walked in and it immediately spoke to me. I wanted it! There were 6 windows, a bright, wood floor and a sizeable space for a studio. To make things even better it had a great southerly view of the city and a lot of light coming through the windows. It shone so bright and it felt like this was the place for me. I turned to the broker's and told them to put in an application immediately!
We walked out with our heads held high because it had been a disappointing day up until that last place. We hurried to the broker's office which was only 3 blocks away and filled out the application. Then we had to wait… We went to lunch at Good Enough to Eat and really enjoyed it. I saw Ben Stiller and his family eating at the same restaurant which was weird but at the same time exhilarating. He walked out and I had to take another look just to make sure it was him. What a crazy world. We went back to the hotel after that and waited to hear from the broker. An hour or so later we received a disappointing call, we didn't get the apartment. My heart sank and I was so frustrated! I really wanted that place. It felt like the world crashed on me and that we were never going to find an apartment in this insane housing market. My dad pushed for it though and he worked really hard to get it. After a restless night thinking about the apartment we found out in the morning that we still didn't get in even after all of our hard work.
We dragged our tired bodies and disappointed minds out of bed to look yet again. I felt hopeless and the search didn't start until well into the afternoon. At 1 we walked down to 83rd and Amsterdam to meet my broker at another office. By the time we got there he called with a new apartment on the Upper West Side. Great! However, it was on 95th and Broadway (remember from earlier). My dad and I walked back up a couple of blocks and took a taxi the rest of the way. This place was literally across the street from the hotel we were staying at. I didn't notice it at all until now. The lobby was beautiful!
We took an elevator up to the 4th floor and as soon as I walked in I was stunned. It was huge! I found out later it is 500 square feet and is very spacious. They layout is fantastic! The kitchen was walled off, not open like most studio's, but it was fairly big too. I could definitely move around in it and there was even a cutout in the wall and a small bar looking through to the main living area. This was the place and I wanted to make sure of it. As soon as we stepped outside to see the next place down on 72nd and Broadway I told my broker to call the person showing the apartment and tell her I wanted it. I had a better chance of getting it because it was privately owned rather than being owned by a management company (which rejected us the day before). We saw the next place which was very, very nice but there were a lot of people looking at it and I would've had to really stretch my luck to get it. So we walked back to my broker's office and put in the paperwork for the apartment on 95th and Broadway.
After many hours of rushing around getting cash to pay the large sum I had to put down as a deposit and the broker fee up front we were told that the owner had approved my application! WOO!!! I was very excited but knew that there was still a chance I could be rejected. I had to sign the lease and then it had to be approved by the building's board team (which is still pending). So there is a very, very slight chance that I could still be apartment-less but I will most likely be living on 95th and Broadway for the next year.
It was quite an experience to go through. I had no idea finding an apartment in Manhattan would be so difficult but because the rental market was so poor and that fact that I didn't make 40 times my monthly rent make it very hard to find a place. It's all luck. That's all it is right now. If that place hadn't come up I could still be there looking for an apartment. I am so relieved that I found such a great place and am so fortunate to have found this apartment and be approved for it. It was incredibly stressful and nerve racking but the hard part is over. With my dad's help I made a floor plan today and started to think about things I will need to buy. It's time consuming and a little stressful but the hard part is over… I have a New York Apartment!
