My roommate (Zea) and I decided to move to New York City while we were both away on holiday. She was in Greenville, South Carolina, and I was located in Eagle River, Alaska. Zea had briefly brought up the idea (moving to New York) in November, and I had once said not to veto the idea of me coming, but the chances of that happening were low. It was five days prior to Christmas, I was being dropped off at the airport, and the conversation came up again, “She wants to stay in Manhattan, and I cannot afford that! I was thinking Brooklyn, or even West New York!” The words just fell out of my mouth, “If we can find a studio where we pay $900 each, I would do it.” 

The conversation was tabled until two days after being back in my small hometown, where I once planned on leaving, going to school in New York, and never coming home again. This was the exact text I received, “sorry ur prob sleeping rn and with family, we can talk about this later on the phone. but like i want to live in nyc but 2k a month for rent is nuts. genuinely would share a studio with u even if it was like west new york or brooklyn. like yes commute but also we’d literally be in nyc so like…”

To which I responded with, “i would be down to split a studio in brooklyn. seriously.”

I wasn’t thinking practically when I sent the text back, but now that I’ve made the decision, that’s all I’ve been doing. Thinking practically, I mean. Or trying to at least. 

There will be content to follow that includes both my roommate and me, but when we discuss money, I can only speak for myself. I can say confidently that I am not rich, nor do I have a trust fund. We are looking at studio apartments around $1800. Ideally, in West New York (which is located in New Jersey), or Brooklyn, if we hit the jackpot. We work five days a week, with plans to deliver food together at night. We have mastered the art of publicly posting our lives for everyone to see, but struggle to face the fear of accidentally running into someone we know DoorDashing. There’s been a mutual agreement that whatever money is made from the app will be set aside for a deposit. I am selling everything I can. I’ve moved before, twice, which makes this process easier. Knowing what I do and do not use, what is worth keeping, and not worth keeping. All furniture is being bought there on Facebook Marketplace, with the hope of it being more stylish than what we have here. The conversations we share about money sound like two girls who never listened when we were taught about budgeting. It is a system that we have made up and decided to work hard to keep in place. We don’t talk about what happens if this doesn’t work out because it has to. We’ve already told our families about it. 

I’ve been limiting myself drastically. Financially. My fridge is bare (I have grapes). Which is partially because I don’t enjoy grocery shopping, and partially because I’m still figuring out how much I can spend a month to make this work.

If I didn’t enjoy the company of this journey, I wouldn’t be doing it. I’d never pursued this move seriously before meeting my roommate. Sharing the same budget and an apartment with someone I enjoy seemed unrealistic. Zea and I met on TikTok, which I don’t like telling people. It’s like the parallel to Bumble BFF. She had posted a video looking for a new roommate in a house owned by our other roommate, Lily. Before I came, there had been a conversation about a man moving into the room I presently call mine, and Zea did not like that idea. In San Diego, my lease was ending, I had no plan, and I was not going back to Alaska. The video made its way to my feed, and I messaged her immediately and called Lily.  

Moving to New York is more than just for content and pretty shops. This move is a sign that we are going in the right direction. Not in some spiritual way, but we both have plans to create creative careers. One of us plans on being a creative director, meanwhile the other plans on writing for a living. I’ve lived in California, I’ve lived in Florida, I’ve tried to pave my way in both places, and both places have brought opportunity in different ways, but not the way New York will.

There’s been a lingering fear of being seen as an influencer transplant, which was probably formed from being too online like an influencer is. But then I remember where we’re moving, and the different people already living there, and how the internet will forever perceive you how they want to. And not to be sappy, but I know I’ll end up doing what I love by shoving this fear really, very far down.

Neither of us knows what this move holds. We’ve only been tourists up until this point. The upcoming months won’t be clean or pretty, but none of that really matters. Not when you’re moving to New York City.

There’s more to add to this article, but Zea and I have agreed to start a series labeled Two Broke Girls Moving to NYC. I’m sure you can find something similar, but not by the same people! So, if you liked this article, there’ll be more to come (under a new section I’ll be creating on the home page). Look forward to seeing you guys a lot more, and sharing every single thought I have about this, because I have a lot.