Couch surfing as a viable living alternative.
Written: Oct 18 '99
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Product Rating:
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Pros: cheap
Cons: living out of a suitcase can be degrading
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| jcn's Full Review: New York City |
I am not a New Yorker, at least not by the definition of "real" New Yorkers. You see, I grew up in Westchester, which most "real" New Yorkers call "upstate." And they normally spit when they say that. Like "oh, you're from *spit* upstate." So when I left college I decided that I was going to go to San Francisco. Of course that didn't work out and I ended up in New York. So, I thought that this would be fine. I would move home to "upstate (spit)" and then I would find a place to live in New York and then I would be happy.
Things didn't work out that way though. I have now been looking for a place to live for over a month, and have found no place to call my home though. (And of course when I say "looking" and "New York" what I mean is that I have been looking for a place to live in Manhattan.) What I have discovered, however, is the power of the couch. In fact, I have discovered that you can actually get Paid to live in New York. All that is required are some friends or relatives who are going to be out of town for extended periods of time. Then you can officially become a "house sitter." House sitting is a wonderful thing because people will pay you live in an apartment or house which you would not normally be able to afford, and they do this because you are taking care of their stuff.
Now if you have a little bit less dignity, as I have, then you can also just beg off of your friends and family and you can stay on floors and couches for close to free. If you are really fortunate, you might even be able to get free food out of the deal. This is because people are generally very accommodating of you because you are essentially homeless, and therefore they will feel sorry for you and give you things. Like breakfast. If you don't want to overstay your couch-welcome, however, you will pitch in for food, and even cook every once in a while.
I have found the couch-surfing option wonderful as a living alternative because I am at work for almost all of my waking hours anyway. This is not just because I am one of those crazy computer people. I have found that most New Yorkers work all the time and pay lots of money just to be able to say that they live somewhere. The irony of the situation is that people work a lot to be able to afford to live in New York so that they are close to work and close to all the other things that the city has to offer. However, they're always at work, in order to pay for the apartment which they rent to be close to work, and never have time to do any of the other things that they would be doing if they weren't at work all the time.
Anyway, having a permanent address might be appealing, but it's certainly more expensive an option. Therefore, mooching off of other people's expensive apartments should definitely be a consideration for anyone thinking of moving to New York City.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
jcn
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Location: new york, ny
Reviews written: 3
Trusted by: 18 members
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