Intern Guide to Success in Manhattan: Housing
If you are an intern in Manhattan, finding a place to live for the summer can be a daunting task. You want time to be successful, spend time with friends, explore the city, and of course live in a somewhat decent apartment. I firmly believe that the environment that you live in contributes to your lifestyle and success. If you live in a complete dump, that is the way your life will turn. If you live in a clean and functional apartment, you will be that much better off.
The old adage, “The early bird gets the worm,” applies here. Obviously, your first step is to actually know if you’ll be working in Manhattan/New York City area. In line with that, you should *speak* to your employer on the telephone and ask for any resources for finding a place to live this summer. A lot of firms have recommended living areas or prearranged housing for those that act early. If your employer doesn’t have any valuable information, start looking at the near by universities and educational housing services. For example, search for *university* on Google Maps for NYC you’ll receive various locations of local universities, small and large, that can help you with your housing decisions. Do some research of the top 10 university housing options you can find and call their summer housing department. Most of the time, they can provide you with critical application deadlines, information about other housing options, and guide you through the application process.
If you missed the cutoff for the applications for the university housing options, you’ll need to do a little more work. Look into EHS (http://www.studenthousing.org/) because they have housing options open relatively late in the semester and can place you on a waiting list to get into the apartment of your choice. You can browse Craigslist of something similar but odds are you will be spending too much. You’ll need to consider living in a different burrow of NY or moving far north in Manhattan. At this crossroad, start to look at your commute time and cost of transportation. I know a quite of few interns that live in several cities in New Jersey or Brooklyn Heights and commute to work. This is completely acceptable especially if the living conditions in your northern Manhattan options are unfavorable. Living outside of Manhattan can be a good thing if you are down to the last minute.
The key to remember is that 1) time is of the essence and 2) you need to find a decent place. There are plenty of apartments that are more spacious, less expensive, and will still be relatively close to your work in other parts of the city/surrounding areas. Don’t be afraid to ask around or talk to your recruiter for questions about the area or apartment you’re looking at. Working in Manhattan is stressful enough, you deserve at least a chance to live in a relaxed environment.
