My NYC Apartment

I hadn’t slept on the plane. Wi-Fi on Virgin America makes all the difference! I was buzzing with excitement. After hauling 3 pieces of luggage from JFK to the Columbia UAH leasing office, I made it to my new home.

First sight.

The bay-style windows took my breath away. The room is so bright. And check out that old fireplace.

First thing I did was plug into the ethernet port. Check out the scale of these windows against my Macbook Pro.

Panoramic shot via Photosynth app. Those bay-style windows open all the way. There is no AC (you have to provide your own) but the room is breezy.

It looks so welcoming here. The way those shades filter the light gives me such smokey, fresh, early-morning nostalgia. Like, I just want to sit by the window and sip on a latte.

It’s almost too bright, actually. I’d like black-out shades, but this is too cool. I’m so amused by the space. The pre-war buildings along the block (see exterior shots below) are super cool. We’ve got that swanky elevator too. I dig it so much.

And now I unpack. I am so pleased with this space. It is so large. The room is about 17×15. Check out the unit plan.

I’m bedroom 1. Jason, my roommate, has a slightly smaller room. The layout is decent and the unit itself is pretty well-maintained. I have to say, I was so afraid of getting a run-down Harlem apartment share. I’m so stoked that this is so much better than I imagined. This is massive, and very cool. Columbia’s buildings are just beautiful (circa 1890s-1911). I’m lucky I was even approved for University housing (only 30%). I didn’t have to worry about anything. They pretty much took care of it all.

Also, Jason, my roommate, is the coolest. He’s an incoming 2nd year JD candidate at Columbia Law. Really great guy.

The rest of the apartment is pretty standard. Here’s a video tour for those who are interested. My family requested this…

NYC Apt tour from Joem Elias Sanez on Vimeo.

I’m about .3 miles to Avery Hall (the GSAPP building), which is a 6 minute walk.

Here are some photos of the exterior.

My building, at the center.

View looking west. My building is to the left. That’s the Cathedral of Saint John Divine, one of the largest cathedrals in the world.

Same story.

Entrance to Campolyn (name of my building).

Same story.

View towards the other side: east going to Broadway. All the buildings from 110th to 114th are Columbia graduate housing.

*note: These are not dorms. We are separated from undergraduate housing. Undergraduate housing is located within the actual gates of the University. Graduate housing is in the area surrounding, but still owned by Columbia.