Tapping through my Instagram stories on a recent Friday night, a wave of FOMO washed over me—it seemed that nearly every other freshman was taking cute mirror selfies with their suitemates, decorating their apartments with movie posters and album cover collages, and enjoying cozy outdoor dinners under heat lamps. Scrolling through pages of people during a Zoom class a few days ago, many students sat in front of tan armoires and black bed frames in their dorm rooms. Every few weeks, I find myself on the New School Off Campus Housing group, envisaging myself sleeping on white linens on a mattress in Chelsea, cooking dinners with a potpourri of ingredients from Trader Joe’s, and strolling to my brother’s apartment in Gramercy. Sometimes, I feel so emboldened that I declare I’m moving to New York next week, next month, heck, right now! A glance at the New York Times reminds me of the stark reality that there is still a raging pandemic and a slow vaccine rollout and moving to the city won’t change the fact that classes are online, and that meet-ups filled with belly-laughs and late nights snacks now feel slightly anxiety-inducing. I thought I’d finally make that pro/con list that every person whom I go to for advice tells me to make, saving those of you who find yourselves or might find yourselves in the same dilemma a few minutes of mental energy.
The Advantages:
Rents are (relatively) cheaper!
While rent cuts haven’t been universal, the prices of apartments in proximity to The New School are cheaper than they were pre-pandemic. According to the New York Times, StreetEasy’s calculations show that there was a 12.7 percent decrease in the price of rent in Manhattan from March to November, while in the Great Recession, a 10 percent decrease was the biggest price drop. The New School’s least expensive housing option costs $8,250 (single bedroom in a three person suite) from January through May, which equates to a rent equal to or less than $1,670 per month. This budget could get you a decent apartment in Manhattan. Further, living in an apartment in Manhattan during COVID could be just as viable if not more viable as living in the dorms.
Increased social life!
Living in the city means there will be plenty of opportunities to meet other New Schoolers, whether you grab coffee with someone you met in your favorite class or chit chat with others in the dorm hallway.
Independence—moving away from home is central to the college experience!
Most freshman have never lived away from home because they anticipated that the college experience would afford them the opportunity to immerse themselves in a new environment that would expand their academic, social, cultural and practical knowledge. Some pandemic circumstances are especially conducive to the development of independence. For instance, since The New School dining hall is not open, students who would once rely on a dining services meal plan now have to provide food for themselves.
Opportunities for exploration!
I’m from a small town in Pennsylvania, and I chose to attend The New School because of its location in a culturally rich and splendor-filled metropolis. Just because there is a pandemic doesn’t mean that allure has vanished. Students can still wander the city streets and pop into open bagel shops, bakeries, fashion boutiques and thrift stores. Although the nature of the virus itself and the economic malady that has accompanied it has forced many businesses to close, the city is still replete with Carrie Bradshaw wonder. In Fran Lebowitz’s recent Netflix documentary series, Pretend It’s a City, she’s asked what she thinks about young people still coming to the city. She responds, “New York. That’s what’s here. What’s not here? That’s the way to look at it. Wherever they’re from is not here. So, they come here.”
The Disadvantages:
Threat of contracting COVID-19
The threat of contracting and spreading COVID-19 still lingers and for some, especially those with underlying health conditions, such a threat overpowers any aforementioned advantage.
Difficult to do online classes in close quarters with others
Whether your roommate clangs dishes in the kitchen when you’re in the midst of a riveting discussion about Freud, or your suitemate has no choice but to walk behind you in your Zoom frame to get to the couch, not having access to a quiet, spacious area to do classwork can exacerbate the struggles that come with online learning. Further, not being able to find respite by studying in a local coffee shop makes the prospect of moving to New York seem even more unappealing.
Pressure to organize a backup plan if COVID cases rise
The New School’s Residential Agreement of Community Standards states that in the event of a second outbreak, students will have to find alternative housing and move all of their belongings out within 48 hours—the school will not provide temporary housing or pack/ship any belongings that are left behind. Likewise, students living in apartments aren’t exempt from the need to have a plan should another lockdown occur. Further, students have to trust that all parties involved in the backup plan will be able to follow through. The uncertainty as to whether or not and/or when such a plan will need to be enacted can cause undue stress.
Confinement to the “Bubble”
To ethically move to New York in COVID-19 requires that one stay inside of their “bubble,” meaning whoever they live with, and wear masks and socially distance with those outside of their bubble. This makes it so that traveling to a friend’s house, returning to a parent’s abode, or visiting a sibling’s apartment requires quarantining and a negative COVID-19 test. When riffs with roommates require space and time for mitigation, or when an emergency involving a family member, friend or oneself occurs, it’s not easy to go to and fro. To some, this may feel burdensome, confining and frightening.
So, to stay or to go?
When you’re enduring another tedious dinner conversation with your parents, you’ll probably wish you were eating with suitemates in Kerrey Hall. And when a friend of a friend who someone in your “bubble” hung out with last week tests positive for COVID, you’ll probably miss watching those Instagram stories from afar. Personally, even though I’m not in New York, when someone asks me where I go to school, I say “The New School, in Manhattan,” (though mostly that’s because at some point in the conversation I’ll have to explain where the obscure liberal arts school is located). However, every time I say it, I’m reminded that we will all be there soon enough.