Posts Tagged ‘choices’

How to Find an Apartment in NYC: A Guide for Students – Search

Monday, August 15th, 2016
Image Credit: http://www.fastweb.com/student-life/articles/apartment-hunting-questions

Image Credit: http://www.fastweb.com/student-life/articles/apartment-hunting-questions

I know it seems like we’ve been building up to this for a while, but the final thing you should do before you go out and search is to make a list of things you do and don’t want in an apartment. While this may sound silly, it’s easy to get overwhelmed after looking at multiple apartments, and forget what is important and what isn’t. Once you have your list, come prepared. Bring a camera, pens, notebooks, and if you can, someone besides the person you’re living with. A parent or some other mentor is always helpful because two heads are better than one. They may be able to point out something you haven’t considered. Don’t forget to ask about building amenities, such as laundry. Check the water pressure of sinks and the shower. Consider how many flights of stairs you’re willing to walk up. Take your time when you’re in the apartment, and feel things out.

While Craigslist.org has gotten a bad rap, it’s a great resource for finding apartments straight from the previous renter. But if you’re wary, there are other great resources. Your college/university usually has resources for students. There’re websites like nofeerentals.com you can use. You can also go with a broker, but, unfortunately, there are fees involved—sometimes as high as 15-20% of a year’s rent. It’s better to cut out the middle-man and find an apartment through other resources.

You should start looking 6 weeks to a month in advance. Anything prior will be tricky, as most rental apartments are trying to be turned over quickly. Schedule looking at many apartments during the course of a day, and then narrow down your choices after a few of these excursions. It’s common for the person you want to rent from to pressure you, letting you know the apartment will go off the market soon. And though the turnover rate is fast, it’s better to make sure you really like the place than feeling panicked and rushing into a decision.

By Alex Agahigian


Alex Agahigian was one of the Campus Clipper’s talented publishing interns, who wrote an e-book on how to find an apartment in NYC. Follow our blog to read more chapters from Alex’s e-book and use her advice to make your own apartment-hunting more fun and easy. For over 20 years, the Campus Clipper has been offering awesome student discounts in NYC,  from the East Side to Greenwich Village. Along with inspiration, the company offers students a special coupon booklet and the Official Student Guide, which encourage them to discover new places in the city and save money on food, clothing and services.  

At the Campus Clipper, not only do we help our interns learn new skills, make money, and create wonderful ebooks, we give them a platform to teach others. Follow each new blog post to read a chapter of our various books and to learn how the Campus Clipper can help you follow your dreams!

Stay tuned for more tips from Alex on apartment hunting, check our website for more student savings and watch our YouTube video showing off some of New York City’s finest students during last year’s Welcome Week.

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Late Night Creations

Friday, July 2nd, 2010

written by Sabina Ashbaugh

We always substitute an egg with two tablespoons of vanilla soymilk—a slight variation that leaves the dough runny and easier to mix with the cracked wooden spoon. The timer is set for 12 minutes, not 14 as the cookbook suggests, with a reminder at the six-minute mark to switch the top and bottom trays in the oven. Despite these careful discrepancies, accumulated over countless nights, our creations are never completely predictable. We speculate whether it might be the heat of the dimly lit kitchen, and that volatile summer breeze that seeps in through the windows and seems to soften the contours of the room.
Despite our many trials, my sister and I never fully plan our baking efforts, or even carefully measure out the ingredients of our amended recipes. The soymilk substitution, now a permanent step in the cookie making process, came from a late realization that the egg carton was deceptively empty. As if to support this impulsiveness, the planned desserts baked for family dinners—the pumpkin or apple pies, the blueberry cobblers, the cinnamon buns, the madeleines—are never as good as the spontaneous endeavors to satisfy late night cravings. The immediate satisfaction of these creations quickly assuaged the worries and anxieties amassed during school or work. Tasks divided and ingredients laid out, my sister and I get to work setting right the wrongs of the day.
It has been a year now since I moved away from home. Some months have flown by while others have painstakingly inched to a close, with pangs of homesickness and late night baking cravings that seemed to arise out of nowhere. Family, a concept that had seemed so natural and tangible just a year ago, has slowly been abstracted to stand for that sense of place so radically reconfigured after leaving for school. In times of stress, I often caught myself about to call the house with a confused plea of “What should I do?”
With distance I have come to realize how often I unintentionally underappreciated this form of support. I cringe at the thought that the ease and spontaneity of those nights spent baking are a lost bridge between my sister and I—treasured memories to look back on fondly but ones impossible to recapture. And yet the removal of this crutch has also forced me to examine how I will right the wrongs of the day in my own way—not by baking, but through the careers and choices that lie ahead.
Moving away is an exciting step towards independence and deciding how and what one wants to change in the world. In the midst of so many choices, the advice offered by family is a means of grounding oneself in times of transformation. Finding a niche in college involves exploring how one will contribute to society and improve the lives of others, but it also requires the recognition of the debt owed to those at home.
Growing up compels us to accept these recipes, relationships, and plans for future change. Family rituals become memories as traditions are re-made. It is important to maintain ties with those that helped us get where we are, and continue to want to see us succeed. Helping others starts by looking out for and appreciating those at home, and paying tribute to those left behind.

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