After all those American History classes, I was kinda looking forward to waiting with all of the Italian and Irish immigrants on Ellis Island. However, all we had to do was take a train to get into the city. Being the Cool Cheapskates, we flew into Philadelphia and took a train to Penn Station b/c the flights into NYC were way expensive for Labor Day weekend.

Even before we got here, God was saving us. A few days before our departure, we didn’t know where we were going to stay those first few days. I refused to spend $150/night for a hotel. Running out of options, we reluctantly emailed a friend on the off-chance that she would be out-of-town for the long weekend. She quickly responded that yes, she would be gone and yes, she would be happy to house us. Her one-bedroom on the Upper East Side was the first of many homes for us.

Those first few days were spent trawling Craigslist for apartments to sublet. Competition is fierce for reasonably-priced one-bedrooms, and many of our emails received no response. Some people that we (CM) actually talked to were not thrilled about housing a one-year-old despite his lovable name of Cool Baby. With about a day to go, CM found a place literally three doors down from our friend’s place, and we moved there for a week. The owner of the place was out-of-town, so we never met her, but she was friendly and the place had internet, so it worked for us. Plus, CM was already nesting in the UES.

Most of that next week was again spent searching for safe, affordable housing for a month. After days of futility, one of CM’s first contacts, and someone that she had written off, called her back. The sublettor asked if we wanted to see the place. It was late in the day, but we were getting desperate, so set up a 9:00 pm appointment. We dressed up as much as our wrinkled, probably dirty, clothes would allow. I styled my hair for the first time in 2 weeks and put the boy in the baby carrier (we figured it would look cuter if I wore him).

The tenant, a recent NYU law grad, was friendly, and her 3rd-floor apartment was hot. I started sweating soon after we walked in and sat right by the A/C window unit. We talked about the apartment, the terms of the unofficial sublet, our move from Florida, the boy, and her background. CM and I badly wanted to impress, because we didn’t know what we would do if things didn’t work out. Thankfully, she liked us a lot and offered us the place though there were other interested parties. We just seemed “really nice” – good work, CM!

With an apartment of our own for a month, we were able to relax a little. We cleaned up and made the place our own. However, we weren’t close to being done with Craigslist. It was time to get a job.

Next time: “Interviewer to interviewee: that was the wrong answer.”

Related posts:

1. How God brought us to NYC, Part 5: No money to mo’ money
2. How God brought us to NYC, Part 4: I get a job (sort of)
3. How God brought us to NYC: part 1
4. How much do you like your church?
5. We’re here and soon to be homeless