The NY Apartment Hunting Saga

I'm convinced that nothing can be more comical/frustrating than searching for a room to rent in New York. Ask any apt/room seeker what website they use and they'll undoubtedly tell you Craigslist. For those of you who haven't been introduced to the wonderful world of Craigslist, you're missing out! People post rooms and apts. to rent, jobs, furniture, and anything else imaginable; this includes requests for a bed buddy in the "rooms/shared" section. I've even seen ads where the person (usually a middle/upper aged male) is asking for a female to move into the apt. and for her to walk around in her underwear, cook dinner, and who knows what else. I think Craigslist needs to hire someone to do some monitoring! Some people try to lure you in as a roommate with their humor. I read an ad today that put "*No nerds" at the bottom of the ad for the room available in his apt. The disturbing posts make me laugh and wonder who in their right mind would answer such ad. Do people in NYC really do anything to get a cheap room to live in? I refuse! Anywho, I continue to look because new rooms pop up every minute and it's free.

I answered a posting last week for a room to rent in Park Slope, Brooklyn. The price was cheap for the area (slightly under $700) and the room came furnished! I called the woman and when I told her I was responding to her ad, she sighed and informed me that I was the 54th person to call! I told her why I was looking for a room and she asked me tons of questions. She seemed like a real character. After our short talk, she told me she liked me, "I'll move you up on the list, how about Friday at 12:30?"

I arrived on the street in front of the apt. on Friday at 12:25. While I was trying to figure out what floor it was on, a young man came down and asked me if I was coming to look at the room. I said yes and followed him up the stairs. I had no idea who he was and when I turned the corner, I was greeted by a second young guy sitting on the steps. For a split second my heart jumped a beat and I thought I had been scammed. Luckily, my imagination stopped in its tracks when the guy on the steps said, "You must be 12:30? I'm 12:00, he's 12:15."

I was surprised to find out that the woman had made separate appointments and I now had to stand in a line that was already 30 minutes behind schedule! Apparently the 11:45 appointment was still inside talking to the woman. I attempted to make small talk but only the 12:15 responded. It felt like the 12:00 viewed us as the competition - after all, we were all vying for the same room!

Twenty minutes after my arrival, the door opened and a guy walked out. The woman saw us and told the 12:15 and I to go wait at Starbucks and then the uptight 12:00 guy walked in. I decided that if I was going to look at this room, there was no way I was going to hang out at Starbucks. The 12:15 agreed and we both sat on the steps and tried our best to eavesdrop. About 15 minutes pass and we hear, "Do you want me to pay you now, or later?" Was the room taken before I even had a chance to look at it? I decided to hang around in case I had heard wrong.

Eventually, the door opened and the 12:00 ran down the stairs, without making eye contact. The 12:15 asked if the room was still available and the woman told him that the other guy had taken a room that she hadn't even posted on Craigslist yet. Relieved, I ignored her second request for me to head to Starbucks and sat down on the steps.

About a minute later, I hear, "Aw, thank you! I love skittles!" My mouth dropped. I had seen a package of skittles sticking out of the guy's pants and I remember thinking, why isn't he eating them? There's nothing else to do while standing in line. He didn't eat them because he was going to use them to win over the woman! If I wasn't convinced already that this was like waiting in line for a casting call, I certainly was after the skittles incident! Does this guy give skittles every time he looks at a room or does he save his skittles move for special apartments? Ah, so bizarre!

I wasn't surprised when ten minutes later I hear, "I can pay you know if you'd like." By that time I had been there 1.5 hrs, I still hadn't seen the room and it sounded like the second available room had just been taken. I figured I had waited so long, that I might as well make sure that the room really was off the market. I waited for the woman to open the door, but no door opened. I ended up calling the woman while standing outside the door. She informed me that the room was taken.

After all that, I didn't even get to see the room! It wasn't a total loss though, I did get an introduction to the NY apt./room hunt. There's no "let me think about it, I'll get back to you" in New York. If I find a place I like, I have to pay at that moment, otherwise the person in line behind me is going to take it. And the skittles...well, to each his own. I'd like to think I can get an apt. in the city without involving a bag of candy!