Recent Grads Seeking Nest of Their Own

Ask anyone who lives here, apartment hunting in NYC is a different kind of beast. This week we were fortunate enough to sit down with a member of the team at NestSeekers, yes the very same NestSeekers from Bravo’s Million Dollar Listing (even though we certainly won’t be searching Craig’s List for one of those anytime soon).

Thank You NestSeekers!

Now, we had been checking out apartments of other Elon alums for the past two weeks – we’ve been to Chinatown and Brooklyn, Astoria, Kips Bay and SouthStreet Seaport are on deck too and while we saw some pretty nice pads we heard one too many horror stories.

High Above the Sky! Rooftop shot at the apartment of former bridges students.

It was time to call in a professional. We truly got the inside scoop at NestSeekers (stuff the other guys won’t tell you and would kill them for telling us). Armed with where to look, what to look for, what to bring and what to ask, we’re ready to tackle the beast!

Balance

This program is all about bridging the gap between college and the “real” world. Holistically speaking that encompasses a whole lot. The group has been hard at work not only applying to jobs, and visiting companies and hearing from professional panels but also getting a sense of what it’s like living in different neighborhoods and learning how to take care of themselves.

Living & Working in NYC Alumni Panel

On Thursday we got the chance to meet up with Elon alum Corey and his wife Francesca who teach yoga and meditation. Way above the noisy new york city streets we learned how to find balance, literally and figuratively. At first we were a bit hesitant when the words acro yoga, partners and flying were being thrown around but we were soon working up a sweat and laughing a lot. We had a blast learning how to work with and trust each other to achieve some pretty challenging partner moves. Afterwards we all recognized the value of taking a break from the chaos and leaving the stress behind to care for our minds and our bodies.

Striking a Pose!

 

Thrifty Living

Created by: Ashley Pinney, bridges to NYC Coordinator

On Saturday I took some bridges and undergrad students to my favorite second-hand clothing store in the city called Buffalo Exchange. Buffalo Exchange has stores all over the country and there is one conveniently located five blocks from us in Chelsea. When you’re living in the most expensive city in America and you’re on a budget knowing how to shop on the cheap is important.

Artisanal Cheeses, Arsty Alumni, Astoria

Created by: Ashley Pinney, bridges to NYC Coordinator

I don’t know how many times I say this but Elon alumni are simply the best. To say last night was great would be an understatement. One of my favorite Elon alumni, Dan Belmont, led the students around Astoria, Queens and showed them 2 apartments in the area. He talked about cost, location, commuting, safety and the pros and cons of living in Queens. He first took us to his friend Casey’s apartment and then took us to his apartment to compare.

Students talking with Casey (another Elon alum) about her apartment

Picture with the group in her huge hallway

Dan had a great spread of cheeses, fruits, and Gus sodas to share with bridges

Dan invited over other Elon alumni-what a fun night!

Exploring Chelsea

Created by: Ashley Pinney, bridges to NYC Coordinator

This morning students explored their neighborhood of Chelsea. We visited the famous High Line, discovered a couple great brunch places and the best bakery in town, Billy’s Bakery. Students also bought their subway passes and we reviewed the subway system.

Us on the High Line

Sarah and Brette using transportation apps

Becoming pros of the Subway system

Job Search and Networking

Created by: Ashley Pinney, bridges to NYC Coordinator

The focus of today was the job search and networking. We started off the morning getting breakfast at Brooklyn Bagel on 8th and 24th St. Then a 2004 Elon alumna, Katie Sherman, spoke to the students about the importance of networking and offered to introduce students to the people in her network.

In the afternoon we visited the Wasserman Center for Career Development at NYU. Rachel Frint, an Assistant Director at the Center, spoke to students specifically about the NYC job market and how to maintain and leverage their network.

Rachel speaking with students

Students working on their pitches

bridges at NYU

We finished off the day meeting members from the Elon NYC Alumni Chapter. These alumni have been in the city 2-4 years and offered a lot of great advice about the job search, apartment hunting, and fun activities students can be part of.

Dylan Ketchum, Lauren Flood, Alex King, and Stephen Stone all came out to the event!

Move-in Day

Created by: Ashley Pinney, bridges to NYC Coordinator

On a hot day in Manhattan the bridges students moved into the New School. Tomorrow we are joining the Elon in NYC undergrads for a day-long bus tour of the city. Last year we ran into Ben Stiller and Kristen Wiig taping a movie…who knows what we’ll see tomorrow!

Nicole Monge and Brette Baumhover with all their things!

I unavoidably spend lots of my time in New York idling around various spots, like a pizzeria or coffee shop. Sometimes it’s the subway or the highline. But while my body idles my mind observes and judges whatever passes through my field of vision.

I’ve come to the conclusion that life is the greatest work of art of all, it just helps to appreciate it when there’s a pane of glass separating you from the subject matter. It’s taken between five and six weeks to reach this humanistic conclusion and this (tentative) series of blog entries is about what I thought before.

Shirts On, Shirts Off: The correlation between public exposure and perceived sanity

I’m walking down the street and see a man walking in my direction. I notice his unshaven beard, crazy bed head, and exposed arm and chest tattoos. It’s the early afternoon and he’s staggering around the sidewalk like he’s drunk.

Normally, this particular situation wouldn’t faze me. Tattoos are cool and being grungy is fairly standard. I don’t really care if someone’s drunk, so long as they don’t stumble or vomit in my general direction. What made the situation overly odd, the man socially devious, and me personally uncomfortable was the guy’s lack of shirt.

At any given time, a shirt is all that prevents a scenario from being strange and awkward. A stranger asks you for directions on the subway. The burrito roller at Chipotle asks what kind of protein you’d like in your faux-mexican dish. The interviewer for the job you applied for asks if you have any sales experience. Imagine the other person not wearing a shirt in these situations.

Now, imagine you’re not wearing a shirt either. See, it’s weird.

Friday, June 8th: Seminar Day #5- Flavor & Fun

Created by: Ashley Pinney, bridges in NYC Coordinator

It’s crazy how fast a week goes. Friday was the last day of the bridges seminar. We started off the morning in Chelsea at a self-defense class. For two hours, Gabrille, the owner of Female Awareness, gave us great information  about how to avoid being a target and how to defend ourselves if anything should happen. It was a really eye-opening experience and everyone learned a lot.

Next we headed to the West Village for a cooking class at Camaje. Camaje is a quaint Franco-American bistro on MacDougal St. The owner, Abby, taught the bridges group how to make vinaigrette, pan sauce, fish mediterranean, roasted veggies, spinach with garlic and olive oil, and moltern chocolate cake. It was delicious!

After lunch we walked to the Lower East Side to tour the Fouth Arts Block. Director of Operations, Phoebe Stern, talked to us about the public art installations and their importance to the neighborhood.

Cool park

We ended the day at the Top of the Rock in midtown for a great view of the city and to see the sunset!

Rebecca, Aubrey, Me, Steve, and Sarah

Empire State Building

Sunset on the Hudson