I came to this city 6 years ago with no job prospects and an apartment I couldn't pay for. I had no friends or family in the area to rely on. I had no game plan. In fact, I showed up in Manhattan on the China Town bus from Boston, and even though I had a lease, I didn't even have the key to my apartment. I had a box of house plants under my arm.
You might know where this is going. It's a classic "small town recent college grad meets big city" story. I found a terrible job working for the most wicked women in Manhattan. My salary at that time wouldn't have paid for an iced coffee. My roommate was laid off only three months after we came here. Everyone I knew who did have a job worked for a lunatic.
Our $1850 a month apartment was a virtual hell on earth. We endured winter weekends with no heat or hot water, and there were nights of wondering what that scuttling noise in the closet was.
Now that I have a stable job and a steady grip on my life and I know the subway and I can do a two hour monologue on how to rid your apartment of unwanted pests, I'm going to tell you everything I know about living in Manhattan (and I hope you'll return the favor). This website is dedicated to those of you who are planning to move here, and for those of you who live in NYC already and find yourselves struggling with the basics (money, jobs, apartments, neighbors): I'm here to offer my guidance and support.
You're not alone.
By the way, unless otherwise specified, everything on this website assumes that you're a normal human and you have a limited budget. If you've landed here seeking the most interesting way to blow $400 this weekend, this is not the place for you.