What a Crazy Week

I have officially been here for ten days and it has been crazy!  Apartment searching, an earthquake and then Hurricane Irene....what a welcoming.

Apartment searching in New York is something I would never wish upon my worst enemy...it is awful!!  I feel like I am on the amazing race.  Meeting with brokers and being pressured to apply that very instant, otherwise being told that the apartment will be gone by the next day.  Getting on the subway to go uptown and then downtown and every direction in between.  It is literally a full-time job.  I am exhausted!

In addition to chasing down apartments, New York has this crazy thing called a broker's fee.  The broker gets paid anywhere from 10 to 15% of the YEARLY rent and all they do is open a door for you.  I find the apartment I want to see on Craigslist, set up a meeting and then pay them thousands of dollars.  Makes sense right?  On top of the broker's fee, it is standard to pay first months rent up front in addition to a security deposit (equal to one month's rent).  And don't forget the non-refundable $100 application fee.

Decent apartments downtown New York are starting at $1800 for a studio and $2900 for a 2 bedroom.  One bedrooms fall somewhere in between, but are just not in the budget for me.  In order to be approved for any apartment, you have to prove that you make 80 times the monthly rent.  So for a studio at $1800, I would have to prove that I make $144,000 a year...sounds about right.  Such a joke!  Since I am a student, I need a "guarantor."  Pretty much what we call a co-signer in California.  The guarantor basically takes on the financial responsibility of the tenant if they can not make the payments.  Some building won't even accept guarantors.  Bottom line is don't move to New York unless you are filthy rich, which I am clearly NOT!

My best friend Lauren had some work to do in New York, so I was stoked when she said she was coming.  She willingly went all over Manhattan with me on this crazy search while we occasionally dropped into some stores along the way.  There is nothing worse for a fashionista such as myself than going into stores and not being able to buy anything.  Pretty much my worst nightmare!

We did however get to experience a NY earthquake...well kind of.  We were on the subway and when we came out everyone was crowded in the streets.  I thought there was some festival going on.  Silly me, there was an earthquake!  People were frantic, all the while Lauren and I were laughing.  Earthquakes happen while we are sleeping in California and we don't even think twice about it.  Evacuation of buildings just seemed so unnecessary.  We had a great time together none the less, and I was sad when she left.

Then Hurricane Irene decided to hit!  I was kind of excited for some action, but I guess I was expected to be scared?  I am staying in SoHo, which was categorized as Zone C, further inland than Zones A &B.  We did no have to evacuate.  Everything in New York completely shut down, including the subways.  Stores boarded their front windows an everyone was told to stay inside.  After two days of that I felt like I was going to go crazy.  SO boring!  Nothing happened none the less...kind of like when they told us we were going to be attacked by killer bees, die from swine flu or come into contact with SARS.  I never bought into any of these by the way.  Total hype!

Tomorrow I start my first day of school.  What am I going to wear?  People are very disheveled looking here.  It's like they rolled out of bed and put on the first thing they found in the dark.  No make-up and their hair is definitely not done.  This will take some getting used to.  I like a very put together look...we know this!  Stylish outfit, hair blown-out and a full face of make-up is pretty standard.  I am going to try very hard to stay true to my San Francisco self.  Stay tuned!

xxx City Vixen   

We Made It

Gidget and I finally made it to our long awaited destination of The Big Apple! I spent one last weekend at the Russian River...loving every minute, but of course crying the whole drive out back to the city. Next summer can not come soon enough...and if all goes as planned, I will be back for the 4th!

We took the red eye out last night. Gidget was supposed to be underneath the seat in front of me in a airline regulated carrier, unfortunately, she had other plans for herself. She was not going in that thing! I was practically shoving her in, but she just wouldn't budge! Thankfully, I had brought an extra blanket, so I just covered her up and let her sleep underneath my feet. I dozed off at one point and she managed to get away and into the aisle...I started to sweat! It was awful...

The man sitting next to me on the flight, 1: smelled 2: was overweight and clearly in my space and 3: was snoring. He, did, however manage to tell me that Gidget was ruining his night's sleep. I wanted to tell him that I did not board the plane to ensure that he had a good night sleep. I didn't...but I wanted to. He also added that if my dog didn't go into her carrier, I was going to be in "big trouble." At that point I did turn to him and say, "what are they going to do? Kick me off the flight?" We were thousands of feet up in the air at that point! So lame.

Regardless, we made it in one piece. School does not start until August 29th, so I will be spending the next week and a half finding a place to live and a job. I will also be convincing Gidget that it is ok to relieve herself on the asphalt. We aren't in Kansas anymore!!

xxx, yours truly
City Vixen