How to find a roommate in NYC

The City that never sleeps. The Big Apple. The City of Lights. Many names, yet it all comes down to one cultural cocktail that can be found nowhere else. New York City is a truly unique place that people keep flocking to. If you are one of the many looking for their rightful place in this jungle, you are probably familiar with the challenges such an undertaking brings. One of them is finding a place to live in. Having that New Yorkers pay almost 60 percent of their income on rent, making your ends meet seems like quite an ordeal. Thus, it’s only logical that you seek out a roommate. However, how does one find a roommate in NYC? Well, the text in front of you will address this question in detail.

Assessing your situation

Before you start searching, it’s would be best that you get familiar with what you are looking for. Wouldn’t you agree? Since the situations that you are in can vary, let’s see what are your options, minding the two most common circumstances:

1. Looking for both the place and the roommate

In such a scenario, it would be wise to find a roommate first, and then, with conjoined efforts, seek the apartment that suits you both. For adequate roommate or roommates for that matter, it might take up to a month of searching. After a successful outcome, devote about as much time into finding a loft, before you hire your affordable movers Brooklyn. Now, the advantages of such a situation come down to what follows:

• The flexibility when it comes to choosing your move-in date;
• You will have more control over your living situation;
• More roommates mean more money, further allowing you to negotiate your rent better and choose exactly what you want.

Still, you will need to face:

• The fact that you will have to pay a lot of cash upfront (i.e., first month’s rent, security deposit, and broker’s fee);
• The possibility of ending up with a roommate you are not too keen on.

2. Looking for a room in an already-leased apartment

This one is the more common of the two options. It refers to a much often tendency of New Yorkers to come and go. It is safe to say that apartments have a rotating cast of roommates that change with great frequency. Still, as a person looking to find a roommate in NYC, know that this is also a great way to reduce the financial burden of moving to and living in New York City. For starters, you will only have to pay your share of the first month’s rent and skip spending your money on the broker’s fee. The pros of this option also include:

• You not being tied to a lease;
• The fact that the place is usually already furnished and set up;
• You will most likely be able to find a place within one month.

The cons, however, are:

• You have no control over the existing layout of the place;
• You are the new person in an already established living situation.

In order to find a roommate in NYC, you will need to consult the Internet

Further meaning that, even though you most likely prefer the word of mouth, you will still need to look them up on Facebook. Craigslist is also a great app that can help you find a roommate in NYC. Yes, we know, Craigslist does resemble the Wild West, but it undisputably comes with a bunch of advantages. The sole pool of people is much greater than your list of Facebook and real-life friends. In addition, this instance becomes quite useful if you are working with a limited time frame. Let’s face it, you will surely receive many more responses on Craigslist than you will from your own network. So, since the number of responses will pose no issue, let’s see how you can filter and actually reduce them. It is paramount that you are specific with your posting and clear inputting information such as:

• Your gender and approximate age
• The employment status of yours, as well as your current living situation
• Your personal preferences regarding roommates, such as gender, age, smoking, lifestyle, pets, etc.
• Moving biggies, such as your move-in date, your home budget, and the desired apartment location

Down the rabbit hole

As is for finding quality local movers Brooklyn, it goes without saying that certain private detective skills are expected of you. In order to avoid utter disaster as successfully as possible, you will need to do some stalking. Still, you needn’t be ashamed. The person in question will undoubtedly do the same for you. Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, and Twitter will all come in handy. What’s more, many people choose to include a link to their Facebook or LinkedIn profile in their Craigslist postings, all as a means of introducing themselves. Use this to your advantage and determine to the best of your abilities if the two of you are compatible roommates.

How to know if a posting has potential?

1. Their photos, as well as the descriptions, will be able to tell you a lot. If the photo is out of focus, or the description sounds like it was written by an individual not too thrilled about living in such a place, it’s best that you continue with the search. In addition, when it comes to the postings sounding too good to be true, they probably are.
2. We will go on a limb here and suppose that you are a novice at this. With that said, ‘420-friendly’ means smoking weed is accepted and likely to be a frequent and welcomed activity at the loft.
3. After a positive initial contact, what naturally follows is meeting in person. If they are apprehensive about this step, based on your conversation, consider it a red flag and keep looking.
4. If at any time you feel that something seems off, or shady, or that you are being scammed, do not waste any more time and leave.

Once you are familiar with all of these points, your quest to find a roommate in NYC will certainly be much easier, and downright safer. Remember to present yourself with class. You need to market yourself, especially if you are moving into a room of an already leased apartment. What you want is to make the best impression. Still, this isn’t a job interview, and the ultimate goal is to find people that suit you best. So, be honest and openminded.