NYC room rental stories

As many of you know, I just moved into a new place at the beginning of November and now have to move again as the lease holder is giving up the apartment. When I first started looking in September, there was a lot more inventory for long term rentals. Now, much of what I am finding are sublets for the holidays. Just when you think you find something you can afford, you open the ad only to discover that the "affordable" price isn't for a month, but for a week.

I went to see a room last night in a decent neighborhood, just about a ten minute walk from the subway. I found the place without too much trouble, but when I got there, there was a giant FOR SALE sign on the building, there was no sign of life (no lights were on in any of the apartments and the only light I could see was behind a boarded up front door). The building looked abandoned, and I was pissed off. I called the person I had been emailing and it went directly to voicemail, but as it was full, I couldn't leave a message, so I sent an email-no response, so I start walking back to the subway. I get to the end of the block and am asking a guy walking his dog how to get to the station that I needed and my phone rings. I answer it and it's the person I was supposed to meet, saying they received a missed call from my number (never mind that when I sent the initial email, I included my name and number). I told them that I had an appointment to see the room, and they wanted to make sure I knew that it was the living room and for January 1 (yes, otherwise, I wouldn't have wasted my time). They asked where I was, so I told them (not even a full block away) and they told me to call back when I'm outside of the building and asked if I had the address (duh). I get back to the building and call and again, it goes directly to voicemail. I ask another random guy on the street (only men seemed to be out last night) how to get to the station and he told me, so I head that way. I get all the way there only to discover that he was right when he advised that the station was closed for repairs (Google maps seriously needs to update this information). I turn around to go all the way back to the other train and my phone rings and it's the person I was supposed to meet, saying I'm downstairs and no one is here. I advised that when I called and it went to voicemail with no immediate call back, I left and was pissed off and freezing. I advised that when I got there, the building looked abandoned and they had no comment about that. I went back to the subway and headed home after that.

It's already hard enough to find something in my price range ($700) that doesn't require a $75 application fee, 40x the rent and a credit score of 680+. Places like this make it infinitely more difficult. This, unfortunately, isn't the first time I have had issues. I went to look at a place in Bushwick, which is supposed to be a "hip" neighborhood, but when I got off the train, all of the lights on the platform were off (ok, things happen, I get it, but it was really dark and a little nerve wracking). I get out of the station and start heading toward where I am supposed to be and discover that there are only a few businesses open (all of about 5 businesses were on the street to begin with and only 2 or 3 were still open at 8pm on a Thursday), there was little to no vehicle traffic and maybe 5 people on the street. I got about 6 blocks from the subway, and as I had a weird feeling in my gut, turned around and headed back and went home.

Is it too much to ask for people to respond to emails and when they do respond, to answer the three or four questions I ask? Is it really that difficult to say the rent is x, here is the location and the requirements for move in are y? Hopefully, by this weekend, I can see a few other places and put what little money I have down as a deposit and can move in right after Christmas as I have non-refundable tickets for DC for New Year's.

Christmas Traditions around the world part 3

My friend Sara Parris chose Scotland, so here goes.

One of the most interesting facts I found was that Scottish traditions haven't been around for very long. For nearly 400 years, Christmas as we know it was banned in Scotland.  Parliament issued a ban in 1647 during the reign of Oliver Cromwell that was upheld for nearly 15 years. When Cromwell fell from Grace, the ban was lifted in most of the UK, but not in Scotland. The Scottish Presbyterian Church continued to discourage Christmas festivities, including formal mass and people suffered penalties if caught celebrating. This lasted for nearly 400 years. Well into the 20th century, Scots worked on Christmas day. Few adults exchanged gifts, although small children received small treats and tokens. Some families had small evergreens in the home or decorated doorways with holly.  December 25 didn't become a public holiday in Scotland until 1958 and Boxing day wasn't recognized until 1974. http://christmas.lovetoknow.com/Scottish_Christmas_Traditions

One tradition that was banned for so many years was the baking of the Yule bread. During the ban, bakers were required to give authorities the name of anyone who requested this holiday staple. 

A loaf of unleavened bread is baked for each individual in the family and the person who finds a trinket in their loaf will have good luck all year.

A popular tradition on Christmas eve is to burn a branch of the rowan tree which signifies that any bad feeling between friends and family has been put aside for Yuletide. It is believed that if the fire goes out on Christmas Eve, the family would suffer bad luck in the coming year. I find this to be interesting and it seems like it would be a tradition worth starting for a family that might want to try something new for the holidays. http://www.theholidayspot.com/christmas/worldxmas/scotland.htm

In Scotland, the big holiday is not Christmas, but on New Year's day which is called Hogmanay. 

Next up are Ireland, France, Morocco and finally, the United States.