# Fuck New York Apartment Hunting... **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 25, 2007, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-new-york-apartment-hunting/420382 "2007-09-25T02:08:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2007, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-new-york-apartment-hunting/420382/41 "2007-09-26T19:17:23Z")
[QUOTE=missbunny] I don’t completely understand what “digital and analog food” is but I assume it’s a cutesy way of saying there are video stores and takeout/grocery places nearby. [/QUOTE] I’m pretty sure it was just a joke (a shitty one, though). ---
**Author:** ![Maeglin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@Maeglin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maeglin)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2007, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-new-york-apartment-hunting/420382/42 "2007-09-26T20:34:32Z")
A guy who works for me went through the craigslist ringer earlier this year. For his current apartment, he had to endure three interviews. **Three**. As many as it took to get him a job here. But if you think the rental process is a pain in the ass in NYC, trust me, it’s nothing next to buying into a co-op. That process has taken several years off my life. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2007, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-new-york-apartment-hunting/420382/43 "2007-09-26T20:54:48Z")
If you think finding a place is hard, try interviewing for roommates! Ages ago in Chicago, I needed two roommates (the other two moved away from the city) and the interview process was insane, as were most of the potential roommates. Some of the comments I remember: A guy with shaved head, “I like to have orgies every once in awhile, is that a problem?” A guy with hair down to his shoulders, “Would you have a problem with me dealing weed from the apartment?” Women with long flowing robe and ribbons in her hair, “I don’t mind living with a gay guy, but do you mind if we just cuddle every once in awhile?” And one guy said, “I’d like to move in as soon as possible but I can’t pay you anything for a month or so - that’s when I get the insurance check from the fire in my last apartment.” Eventually I found two really great roommates and we kept in touch for years after we all moved and went in different direction. But it wasn’t easy to find them. ---
**Author:** ![shy\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@shy\_guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shy_guy)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2007, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-new-york-apartment-hunting/420382/44 "2007-09-26T21:25:22Z")
> [@](#): > > For his current apartment, he had to endure three interviews. Three. As many as it took to get him a job here. Three interviews at the same place? That actually doesn’t strike me as that extreme for this city. To get my first sublet in Williamsburg, my friend and I were “competing” with a duo of women who arrived to look at the apartment the same time as we did. We had to pony up the security deposit in cash and first month’s rent and utilities ($1750) on a single check right then and there in order to get it. Did I mention that the apartment had roaches and mice? And a lot of people back home (Michigan) were _astonished_ to find that I despised the city upon moving here. Paying ungodly sums of money to live in a hovel will do that to you, I suppose. Thankfully it didn’t take long for me to wise up and get out of Williamsburg; I can’t _stand_ that neighborhood. I’m glad to see I’m not alone in the Carroll Garden love; it really is a great neighborhood! That said, my rent was recently raised by $200, so I’m not sure what’s going to happen with prices in the near future. Still infinitely more affordable than Manhattan, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Millit\_the\_Frail](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/51bf81/32.png) [@Millit\_the\_Frail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Millit_the_Frail)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2007, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-new-york-apartment-hunting/420382/45 "2007-09-26T23:21:10Z")
[QUOTE=shy guy] Three interviews at the same place? That actually doesn’t strike me as that extreme for this city. To get my first sublet in Williamsburg, my friend and I were “competing” with a duo of women who arrived to look at the apartment the same time as we did. We had to pony up the security deposit in cash and first month’s rent and utilities ($1750) on a single check right then and there in order to get it. Did I mention that the apartment had roaches and mice? [/QUOTE] Could be worse. Could have had bedbugs. _shudder_ Boy, do I have stories. :eek: They’ve hit NYC pretty hard in the last two years. [QUOTE=shy guy] And a lot of people back home (Michigan) were _astonished_ to find that I despised the city upon moving here. Paying ungodly sums of money to live in a hovel will do that to you, I suppose. Thankfully it didn’t take long for me to wise up and get out of Williamsburg; I can’t _stand_ that neighborhood. [/QUOTE] Yeah, what’s funny for me is that people _in NYC_ are usually astonished to find that I despise it here. I’m moving back to Chicago in December, it’s been a neat two years, but not for the faint at heart. ---
**Author:** ![shy\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@shy\_guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shy_guy)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2007, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-new-york-apartment-hunting/420382/46 "2007-09-27T00:16:27Z")
[QUOTE=Millit the Frail] Could be worse. Could have had bedbugs. _shudder_ Boy, do I have stories. :eek: They’ve hit NYC pretty hard in the last two years. [/QUOTE] Oh dear God in Heaven. I would _die_. I think I’ve heard of this, though; didn’t some student at NYU or someplace recently complain about how widespread they are in the dorms? The cockroaches (who were at least as big as the mice) were welcome enough for me. > [@](#): > > Yeah, what’s funny for me is that people _in NYC_ are usually astonished to find that I despise it here. I’m moving back to Chicago in December, it’s been a neat two years, but not for the faint at heart. I know! I’m just now getting to the point where I don’t think that people who love this city aren’t space aliens. ---
**Author:** ![Merkwurdigliebe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/74df32/32.png) [@Merkwurdigliebe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merkwurdigliebe)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2007, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-new-york-apartment-hunting/420382/47 "2007-09-27T03:02:22Z")
Well, I might be having a bit more luck now. I’m working very hard. A friend’s friend needs a roomie in Bay Ridge. They are musicians or something. That should do fine, I guess, although I’d rather not live way down there. I’m sure it’s nice and all, and in a house with loads of musicians, I’m sure I’d meet some cool people. There were a few other promising things, but I don’t know what to choose. I want to get the best option, but I am never sure if I can… hmm… ---
**Author:** ![Merkwurdigliebe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/74df32/32.png) [@Merkwurdigliebe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merkwurdigliebe)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2007, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-new-york-apartment-hunting/420382/48 "2007-09-27T06:48:59Z")
So… I’ve just found two definite leads. And you wouldn’t believe how! Firstly, on Craigslist, I put up an ad. I thought, surely everybody does this, but I noticed a similarity of all the ads. All of them were for Williamsburg/Greenpoint and all of them were for lower than I was willing to pay. So I wrote my ad, and I said something along the lines of, “I’m hoping that you are probably looking right now entertaining the idea of how to fill that spare room without much effort, well just call me!” Luckily I just got a call from a fella who was about to move to LA and is actually in LA right now. He’s trying to get rid of his room and I thought, this sounds good! The roommates sound cool etc. The only other problem is, though, that my roommate offered me a place in Bay Ridge. It’d be cheaper, that’s for sure, but I’m not too sure if I’d want to live that far out. It would take an hour to get to school (according to Hotstop) and that’s a bit far. The first one was 800 for my room. I don’t know what the second would be. The first one is south park slope. Pretty nice, from what I can tell. Any thoughts? ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2007, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-new-york-apartment-hunting/420382/49 "2007-09-27T09:03:27Z")
[QUOTE=shy guy] Out of curiosity, are you a guy or a girl, Merk? You don’t have to answer, of course; I just wonder, because I will say that as a guy, trying to find a sublet was much worse than it would have been if I were a woman. There’s practically no such thing as a “male roommate only” ad, but _tons_ of “female roommate only” ads (posted by both men and women), and after looking at craigslist for a sublet for weeks on end, I found myself wishing nothing more than that every apartment full of female vegetarians would get hit by a comet. [/QUOTE] That’s a little weird too – a man specifying that he wants a female roommate. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2007, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-new-york-apartment-hunting/420382/50 "2007-09-27T09:29:03Z")
Not as much as you’d think. I know several guys who were real wary the first time they got a female roomie, but apparently even someone like me (who is, by my mother’s definitions, a complete slob) is more clean than 90% of single guys. OK, so you can’t walk around the apartment in your undies (not because she minds, because you do) - but the dishes are done more than once a month? Deal! An ex-coworker of mine owns a flat in Madrid, way too large for him, so he sublets two bedrooms. He says the girls who are going to be trouble are actually easier to detect than the guys who will. ---
**Author:** ![TheMerchandise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b487fb/32.png) [@TheMerchandise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheMerchandise)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2007, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-new-york-apartment-hunting/420382/51 "2007-09-27T14:15:22Z")
Ugh, I’ve lived in the city too long. An hour is the maximum of my acceptable daily commute length, but it’s still acceptable. Greenpoint, by the way, is a wonderful, wonderful neighborhood. It’s really family-oriented and quiet, but still close enough to the social scene in Brooklyn. By the way, thirding another NYC Dopefest. I considered myself too much of a newbie to attend the last one, but I wanted to! ---
**Author:** ![Camelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f17d59/32.png) [@Camelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Camelot)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2007, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-new-york-apartment-hunting/420382/52 "2007-09-27T17:26:53Z")
I live in Bay Ridge and love it. It’s very quiet (aside from certain parts of Third Ave), picture-esque like you’d figure Brooklyn to be, and has a TON of great restaurants. ---
**Author:** ![shy\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@shy\_guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shy_guy)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2007, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-new-york-apartment-hunting/420382/53 "2007-09-27T19:57:02Z")
Bay Ridge _is_ quite nice. An hour commute doesn’t sound bad to me. I work in midtown and it takes me around 45 mintues to get in; I find the train ride a good way to mentally prepare for work. ---
**Author:** ![Millit\_the\_Frail](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/51bf81/32.png) [@Millit\_the\_Frail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Millit_the_Frail)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2007, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-new-york-apartment-hunting/420382/54 "2007-09-27T23:42:09Z")
South Park Slope = awesome Greenpoint = awesome Just chiming in. I’ve never been to Bay Ridge, so I can’t say. But I heartily recommend the above. Oh, and you’re never too new for a Dopefest. Be there or be square!! ---
**Author:** ![missbunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/76d3ee/32.png) [@missbunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missbunny)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2007, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-new-york-apartment-hunting/420382/55 "2007-09-28T03:24:14Z")
[QUOTE=brazil84] That’s a little weird too – a man specifying that he wants a female roommate. [/QUOTE] I see this a lot when the final ratio is going to be one man and two women–one who is already living there, and the new one. Lots of women would live with another woman and a man, but not as a single woman with TWO men. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-new-york-apartment-hunting/420382.md?page=2)