Okay…in lieu of the second portion of my Emmy story (I’m writing another article for Patrol on the actual party and I’ll post a link asap) I have something of more immediate importance to discuss with all of you: my living situation.
After writing my last rant about my housing dilemma, three different people got back with me asking me to be their roommates. So now I have a real dilemma. Each place has pros and cons, which I will list below. Please vote for the place you think I would most be at home…
Okay, room number one:
Location: Murray Hill, Manhattan.
Price: $4900 to move in (That’s a deposit, and two months rent) plus a $500 move in deposit (which I would get back after not breaking the elevator as I'm moving in). $1,000 a month, utilities included, except for cable.
Pros: Location is FANTASTIC. It’s 10 minutes to work, 5-10 minutes to Union Square (where I go grocery shopping), and 15 minutes to Anthropologie. It has a doorman, elevator (very awesome in NY!), and I like the girls I would be living with.
Cons: It’s a 2 bedroom converted into a 3 bedroom. Which pretty much means they are putting up walls in the middle of the living room and that’s my room. The closet would be outside of these walls and, while there is heat, there is no air conditioning (and no window to put in a unit).
Room number two:
Location: Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Price: $3,600 to move in (That’s a deposit, and first and last months rent). It’s $1200 plus utilities a month.
Pros: The apartment is so cool. It’s very urban, it has an iron spiral staircase that goes all the way up to the roof. It’s the penthouse, so we get the roof and it has an amazing view of lower Manhattan. I get my own floor of the apartment, and that consists of a very small room in the back and a little larger connected space attached to the staircase and towards the front of the apartment. I also like the girl I would be living with. There is central air and heat.
Con: Location. It’s going to be a 40 minute commute to work and while I would say I could read on the subway—that’s not always the case. It’s usually very crowded and you’re lucky to get a seat or room for a book in front of you. It also doesn’t have a door. So not as much privacy, but I don’t care about that as much. The real con is it is a six floor walk up, which means no elevator and sore legs for a few weeks. The ceilings in my space are also very low.
Room number three:
Location: Long Island City, Queens
Price: $2535 to move in (A deposit and two months rent) It’s $845 a month plus an amenities fee and utilities (about 100) a month.
Pros: It’s an amazing location for the money—15 to 20 minutes to midtown (where I work). It’s also an amazing building. 24-hour concierge, a pool, a fitness center, a roof with an amazing view of Manhattan, a laundry service, free wi-fi, etc. The apartment is great too. Awesome living space. Big kitchen. I’d be living with three other girls from 22-24 who also work in Manhattan. It’s a beautiful area as well. Also—elevator!
Cons: I’d be sharing a room with another girl (the master suite) so we’d get a huge bathroom—but I feel like it might be like college again. Which wouldn’t be so bad I guess. I’m the kind of person who can share a space and be pretty cool with it. But it’s still a little bit of a con because I wouldn’t have as much space. The girl I’d be living with is super sweet and works in marketing too. She also went to school in MI.
So—those are the choices. Let me know what you think!
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8 comments:
I think that I, personally, would go with #3. Maybe 1, but definitely not 2.
# 3 sounds the best to me if you can put up with sharing a room. Since you're so busy convenience is everything, and not needing to have a gym membership would save you even more money.
#1 would be my second choice and #2 still sounds kind of annoying.
I'm still thinking, but like the other two voters, I can see no real advantage of taking #2 unless the coolness of the apartment just trumps all.
I mean, you'd be expending both more time and more money, rather than picking one for the other (either paying more rent to save on commute time or commuting farther to save on rent).
None of those options sound horrible though...I'm so glad your searching finally paid off!
I'll go with the majority and say #3 as well. It sounds like there will be so much to do both at the apartment and in the area that you wouldn't even need to spend much time in your room and worry about what your roommate is doing.
Good luck!
I agree with everyone else. #3 seems to make the most sense economically, unless you really don't want to room with someone. Then #1 would be cool.
You do seem to have a lot of great choices.
I'm so glad that people got back to you! # 3 would be my first choice and # 1 my second which is what everyone else said too :) Hope all goes well!
So I think you should go with #2...
Actually I'm lying.
I'd say 1 and then 3.
I'm personally wary of unknown roommates, but you've done that before. And honestly, no air in the US? Piece of cake. You should try Africa with no AC.... :-p
Next year, we should share an apartment somewhere :-)
It depends on what is more important: air conditioning or no roommate. But the one with a 40-minute commute to work EVERY WEEKDAY?!? Forget it!
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