Taking a leap from the Sunshine State to the Big Apple

Packing up my life and moving to the big city was far from easy. Reality had finally sunk in that I would be leaving my friends and family behind to start a new life in New York. My worst fears had finally come to reality. I was trying to fit 10 years of my life in Florida into small boxes. I would constantly ask myself if I was making the right choice. Was I sure about the choices I was making? Well, it was too late for that. I had already accepted the offer to attend Columbia University and moving was now inevitable.

Moving to New York was a strenuous and tiresome experience. It involved finding the right apartment and a neighborhood where I would feel safe and comfortable. Better yet, I was petrified about who my roommates would be. I questioned if we would get along, Would they be messy ?, considering that I am a neat freak. These were all questions that left me feeling anxious and sorrowful.

These are a few of the steps things that I needed to complete for my apartment application:

Proving that I had sufficient income to pay rent
Establishing that I am a full-time student
Providing tax documents
Paying a deposit and the first month’s rent
Establishing that I had good enough credit to rent the apartment

This was by far the hardest part about moving. It took about two weeks to be approved for the apartment. I did not reside in New York City at that time so I viewed my apartment virtually instead of going to an open house . This worked well for me. This may not be the case for everyone. I met my roommates when I arrived in the city in June 2019 and to my surprise, they were all guys but I was not intimidated, I made the best out of the situation.