I officially moved to New York City on Saturday, July 12. I had a sinking feeling in my stomach because I was leaving my family, because I was going to somewhere that wasn't Dartmouth, and because I was nervous about the things that lay ahead - but no matter how nervous I was, I did not expect things to be nearly as difficult and emotional as they were.
Everyone has a horrible "when I first moved to New York story". Here's mine.
I was picked up by my roommate Amanda at LaGuardia and dropped off in Flushing, Queens, where I was staying with an older woman, a friend of my dad's friend from high school (very far removed from my family - this explains what happens later). She wasn't charging me too much money, so I decided to agree. From the beginning, I realized this wasn't a happy living situation. I realized I would be staying on a leather couch with one blanket, and that the walk to the train stop was almost half an hour. On the phone, she said she had wi-fi and air conditioning that she would turn on if the weather got too hot. She avoided all questions regarding the wi-fi, claiming she didn't know the password, forcing me to apartment hunt on my phone and during my lunch break at work. She didn't turn on the air conditioning once, not even during the worst heat wave New York had seen in 10 years. I desperately tried to turn it on once - it wasn't plugged in. I had to sleep on a bare leather couch in 97 degree weather. My commute to work required three trains: the (unairconditioned) 7, the G, and the C. The 7 caught on fire once and stopped running, another time I was delayed for over an hour because a door was broken.
Apartment hunting was no better. Amanda and I knew nothing about Brooklyn and so we started our apartment search blindly, walking into some of the most horrible neighborhoods I have ever been to. The first apartment we saw was on a corner where a prostitute was demanding money from her pimp, and the radiators in the place were broken. We saw broken doors, broken windows, gross toilets, horrible walks from the subway. I was getting home every day at 1:00 AM to attempt to fall asleep on the leather couch. Amanda and I finally broke down on Friday, and we both departed from New York City and spent our weekend getting ourselves back together and not being on the subway. I spent the weekend in Morristown with Damaris, so grateful to be there I nearly cried.
We came back and finally found an apartment, and although it's been a bit of a hassle to get everything set up, I was glad I no longer had to spend my time on Craigslist. Meanwhile, things in Queens got worse, as my landlady started treating me worse and worse until things culminated last Sunday after spending the weekend away with Jing. After a gross bathroom issue, I texted Amanda, who found out her friend Sarah had an extra room where I could stay until her future roommate moved in - a/c, a bed, and wi-fi. I left Sunday night, much to the dismay of my landlady, and things have been looking up ever since.
Amanda and I are moving into our apartment tomorrow, and we're going to Ikea on Saturday to pick out awesome new furniture. In other big news, meet the newest member of the Agredo family, Wall-E:
All in all, the tears and pain were worth it for our new apartment and for all the friends I've made while I've been here. The one thing I haven't mentioned, my job, has been so incredible that I almost feel too lucky to have it. Everything else has been worth it so that I can work with the incredible group of people I'm working with. Uncommon Schools is truly a great organization. This whole thing has taught me that I'm thankful for my friends, the unrelenting support of my parents, and my job. I'm not thankful for the housing market in New York City.
Tl;dr: Subletting sucks, apartment hunting sucks, my job is awesome, my friends are awesome, my parents are awesome, and I'm adopting a maltese.
Here's to many new adventures in New York!
xoxoxo
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