How do unpaid summer interns working in Manhattan survive? (real estate, apartments)
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I had a paid internship in 2010, I feel like living in Manhattan is overrated unless you can afford a house/mansion in Manhattan, have places to park your cars, have underlings run errands for you, and have the means to leave the city by your own private high speed boat or helicopter if necessary in a city-wide emergency.
No way I'd pay thousands of dollars to live in a box with paper thin walls and be crowded in cattle subway cars,crowded gyms, restaurants with hours of waiting time and long lines, among other things...to work for free.
I might have another paid summer project in Manhattan, but this time I will be sure to live far, far away in a commutable suburb...if I get an offer and choose to go there for the summer at all.
So onto my question bred out of curiosity:
If that is the feeling I got as a paid intern, being an unpaid intern has got to be at least ten billion times worse. How do unpaid interns survive in the city? Why would anyone work for free in such an expensive city?
I've heard horror stories of people losing 25 pounds of weight during their unpaid internship and being in poor health near the end of it.
Last edited by Mighty_Pelican; 01-24-2014 at 02:32 PM..
No way I'd pay thousands of dollars to live in a box with paper thin walls and be crowded in cattle subway cars,crowded gyms, restaurants with hours of waiting time and long lines, among other things...to work for free.
I might have another paid summer project in Manhattan, but this time I will be sure to live far, far away in a commutable suburb...if I get an offer and choose to go there for the summer at all.
Then you will pay thousands of dollars more in gasoline, commuter rail tickets, property taxes folded into the rent of your house, and prouctvity/time lost due to road traffic, train delays and what not. In the end you are just trading off one exspense for another.
I had a paid internship in 2010, I feel like living in Manhattan is overrated unless you can afford a house/mansion in Manhattan, have places to park your cars, have underlings run errands for you, and have the means to leave the city by your own private high speed boat or helicopter if necessary in a city-wide emergency.
No way I'd pay thousands of dollars to live in a box with paper thin walls and be crowded in cattle subway cars,crowded gyms, restaurants with hours of waiting time and long lines, among other things...to work for free.
I might have another paid summer project in Manhattan, but this time I will be sure to live far, far away in a commutable suburb...if I get an offer and choose to go there for the summer at all.
So onto my question bred out of curiosity:
If that is the feeling I got as a paid intern, being an unpaid intern has got to be at least ten billion times worse. How do unpaid interns survive in the city? Why would anyone work for free in such an expensive city?
I've heard horror stories of people losing 25 pounds of weight during their unpaid internship and being in poor health near the end of it.
You will find in general only those from either a family of means or have such themselves can take unpaid internships. That is why you mainly see certain demographics well represented in such areas. If your parents, you personally or whomever does not have money to live on while working for free, then the thing obviously cannot happen.
Both of Prince Andrew's daughters have done or doing internships, though think pss Eugenie now works in that other repository of wealthy and well connected youth, art auction houses.
Indeed certain careers like art, real estate (newly started), and so forth are populated by females from wealthy families and or are married to men of the same. Someone has to provide money to live upon and those jobs despite their prestige often do not.
There are plenty of "beautiful young things" both male and female, gay and straight from out very best families that work in galleries, auction houses and so forth as unpaid interns, or lowly paid workers. Daddy and Mummy foot much of their bills and or there is a trust fund/some other equally decent supply of funds.
When you are part of that world doors open into worlds that are closed to outsiders. Apartments in Manhattan from Tribeca to UES for little to no money. Or, parents or family simply purchase one for you and take care of the payments. Your expenses can go on a credit card that the accountants or Daddy take care of, and so it goes.
All this is one reason why on both sides of the pond certain areas are very hard to crack into if you aren't from a certain background. From fashion houses, art galleries, auction houses, etc... there is no shortage of eager college graduates that can afford to work for "nothing" because they come from wealth. The connections from both their past and those made during these early days will launch them on future careers. So when you hear persons wail and moan about "inequality" this is one of the ways the deck is stacked in favour of one group.
If you do not run with these big dogs then your chances of moving in that circle and taking advantage of chances is low.
I had a paid internship in 2010, I feel like living in Manhattan is overrated unless you can afford a house/mansion in Manhattan, have places to park your cars, have underlings run errands for you, and have the means to leave the city by your own private high speed boat or helicopter if necessary in a city-wide emergency.
No way I'd pay thousands of dollars to live in a box with paper thin walls and be crowded in cattle subway cars,crowded gyms, restaurants with hours of waiting time and long lines, among other things...to work for free.
I might have another paid summer project in Manhattan, but this time I will be sure to live far, far away in a commutable suburb...if I get an offer and choose to go there for the summer at all.
So onto my question bred out of curiosity:
If that is the feeling I got as a paid intern, being an unpaid intern has got to be at least ten billion times worse. How do unpaid interns survive in the city? Why would anyone work for free in such an expensive city?
I've heard horror stories of people losing 25 pounds of weight during their unpaid internship and being in poor health near the end of it.
I'm going to ignore the NY-bashing because it's not useful. Some people hate NY for plenty of good reasons, and simply shouldn't live here. And that's fine.
Here are the answers to your questions:
1. They often survive by having parents foot the bill.
2. They would work for free in such an expensive city because they have high ambition. I'm sure there could be other answers as well, but NYC tends to draw ambitious people who want to have a good start on a great career, and they may see an opportunity in NYC as a way to begin.
I had a paid internship in 2010, I feel like living in Manhattan is overrated unless you can afford a house/mansion in Manhattan, have places to park your cars, have underlings run errands for you, and have the means to leave the city by your own private high speed boat or helicopter if necessary in a city-wide emergency.
No way I'd pay thousands of dollars to live in a box with paper thin walls and be crowded in cattle subway cars,crowded gyms, restaurants with hours of waiting time and long lines, among other things...to work for free.
I might have another paid summer project in Manhattan, but this time I will be sure to live far, far away in a commutable suburb...if I get an offer and choose to go there for the summer at all.
So onto my question bred out of curiosity:
If that is the feeling I got as a paid intern, being an unpaid intern has got to be at least ten billion times worse. How do unpaid interns survive in the city? Why would anyone work for free in such an expensive
city?
I've heard horror stories of people losing 25 pounds of weight during their unpaid internship and being in poor health near the end of it.
Reread your post--- there are city mice and there are country mice--- you don't belong here or in any big city. Your question is really a waste of time. There may be others who feel exactly the opposite about the city and they have to deal with this. I suggest you seek out the Boise forum I think it is more your speed.
If that is the feeling I got as a paid intern, being an unpaid intern has got to be at least ten billion times worse. How do unpaid interns survive in the city? Why would anyone work for free in such an expensive city?
It’s the dirty little (not so) secret of what it takes to make it in elite, creative industries like the arts, publishing, media, advertising, fashion, etc. I admit that I lived on a trust fund from my grandparents while I interned. It wasn’t enough to buy me a condo in Tribeca, but it was enough to pay my living expenses. I still have to dip into it on occasion when I have the opportunity to do an amazing project that would help my career but is not well compensated. I’m not a trustafarian, but I always have a few thousand dollars to pay my rent for a few months if necessary. It very difficult to impossible to make it in those industries without it.
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