I don’t like competition, and as soon as something becomes really popular, I repel. It brings up so much for me, and not good stuff. Perhaps this is a deeper fear of rejection or a surface level of childishness/stubbornness, but it’s just one of my things I guess. Here’s an example: I discovered Kings of Leon while they were still considered underground. Someone in college shared their music with me, and I rocked out to “Spiral Staircase” and “Molly’s Chambers” all summer long after my freshman year.
Soon after, they reached radio-level fame with “Use Somebody”. I heard it in the car with my father on a top 40 station and scoffed, saying it was a “such a shame they’ve sold out” (probably because I heard a classmate say something along those lines and adopted that mindset).
My father surprised me by responding, “What’s wrong with a band with talent reaching fame? They make more money, they tour more, and more people can discover them and enjoy their music. They will reach more people and change more lives”. I hadn’t thought of it that way before.
Now, translate that outlook to my current apartment hunt. It seems like everyone is looking for an apartment in NYC and its surrounding boroughs this summer, including me. I know that summer is high time for signing leases, but if you’ve been following the news, you’ll know that the rental market is crazy, with limited inventory and some people’s rents being hiked up by $1,000 a month. Covid deals are long gone, and NYC’s median rent is higher then it was pre-pandemic.
I feel an insurmountable level of stress. It’s been consuming me for over a month now, ever since I decided not to renew my lease and move to a different neighborhood.
Each time I bring it up in conversation, words like “Good luck out there”, “I feel for you”, “It’s crazy right now” offer little solace. I’m tired of the constant refreshing of StreetEasy, multiple tabs open and searches saved, calls to brokers to schedule a viewing, keeping my schedule open in favor of last minute open houses. The discouragement I feel when applying for an apartment, imagining myself there and how I’d lay out my furniture, and then not getting it.
Not knowing where I am going to live in 3 weeks time is really weighing on me. I’m not sleeping well and I’m socializing very little. Summer is usually one of my favorite seasons, but so far I’ve been preoccupied with an apartment hunt that has thus far proved unfruitful.
At open houses I discuss our mutual despairs with other potential tenants viewing the same apartment I am. It makes me feel uncomfortable waiting in line, viewing everyone else as competition, so starting a convo with the person in front of me breaks the ice. This whole process has been very lonely and it makes me feel a hint of connection.
My situation could be way worse, but to anyone else apartment hunting right now, I feel you and you’re not alone.
If my father’s lesson around celebrating popular music rather than shunning it, what’s the lesson here? Celebrating this hunt? I’m not sure, but I will keep looking.
I wish you good luck🍀🎰💯You are a free spirit/ never give up. Look where no else is/try to be creative and neutral to the challenge. ( And it is huge) I believe in your creative and adaptable energy to pull you through!