The Ultimate Guide to Living in the Webster Apartments

Once upon a time, which for us would be 1923, an apartment building opened in downtown Manhattan. Built on hopes and unicorns and starlight, the Webster brothers wanted to create a safe place for women to stay in the city while trying to accomplish their dreams. Today, it is a thriving "intern hotel", as one might call it. Girls flock from all over the globe to make it in Manhattan and The Webster Apartments has helped them do it. The only major drawback for most modern girls? No men allowed past the main floor. Sorry boys.

Cheap , for New York standards, safe, clean and cozy. Stay for a month minimum and then pay weekly if you need to. No long term contract!

For just about $1000 a month you get:

Your Own Room - twin bed, dresser, desk, window, sink & medicine cabinet, huge closet space, bed linens and towels

Christmas at the WebsterCommon Areas- 2 community bathrooms on every floor, multiple private shower rooms, a tub room, laundry rooms on several floors, practice rooms with pianos and floor length dance mirrors, library, study cubby rooms, 2 large TV rooms (one with a DVD player), vending machines, change machines, computer room with internet and printers, 2 ground floor gardens areas, rooftop gardens and lounge area

Dining Room - 2 hot meals daily (breakfast & dinner, semi-buffet style), cold plates, salad/soup bar, beverage bar, group table seating and outer seating in the warm months

Extras - WiFi ($), maid service once a week, trash pickup daily, free DVD and board game rental at the front desk, free book rental from the library, doorman, maintenance, and front desk help 24/7

Location - Southside Hells Kitchen at 34th&9th = 2 blocks from Macys, Madison Square Garden, KMart, Penn Station and the ACE blue subway line, 1 block from the Manhattan center (popular music venue) and the AMC 20 theater, walking distance to every style of cuisine on Restaurant Row (9th Ave), walking distance to the Javitts center

What I've Learned from a Year at the Web:Me and VanessaMe and Vanessa

• The girls who work at the front desk are your friends. Do not treat them like crap. They can be so much help. Learn their names!

• You can request a floor to live on in your application. The 2nd Floor Is Prime Real Estate. No waiting for the elevator, down the hall from vending and tv, great wifi signal

• Introduce yourself to your neighbors directly on either side of you and let them know your hours. Not your whole life story, just when you wake up and go to bed. It will make it less awkward when you tap on the wall for them to be quiet after hours

• In the winter, the furnace is in full force. Which means two things. It will be stifling hot; crack a window. Also THE SYMPHONY. Damn you Symphony, damn you! The Symphony is the array of clanking noises the pipes make when the heat turns on. I suggest thick wax ear plugs, not the squishy cheap kind.

• There are quiet hours! Yes, New York is a party city, but if you come back from the clubs at 5am you cannot continue the party in your room. Try the roof, tv room, study cubbies or gardens. You have to remember that some people work on the weekends and need just as much sleep then as the weekdays

• You can save seats in the TV room. Sorry, but it's true. The downstairs room usually needs reserving though (at the front desk)

• There Are TWO TV Rooms. Please try to reserve one tv show to one room! Usually once the seasons get going the most popular tv shows are upstairs and the less popular ones are downstairs. Please migrate to either location, do not hog one time slot in both rooms.

• The housekeeping office is on the 2nd floor. If you forgot to bring something, for instance hangers or a shower caddy, housekeeping office has all the leftover stuff girls leave behind. Ask nicely and they might share ;)

• White walls are stupid. If you're going to be around for awhile, the white walls are going to make this place seem like a Girl Interrupted looney bin. Rip out magazine pages, print out pictures, pin up a map of the city. Focus on the area around your mirror and whichever wall your bed faces. It will help, I promise.

• The Dining Room is Your Social Opportunity. This is your chance to meet girls from all over the world. Introduce yourself to a table your first night. If you don't you will get used to sitting alone and give up on making dining room friends. That would be a huge mistake.

• You're not allowed to have a mini fridge, however there are solutions to that. In the spring buy a nice carry cooler. It'll be enough to keep your takeout dinner good for lunch at work the next day. Free ice machine in the computer lab. In the winter, try this little trick. Double bag your refrigerated items, tie your tennis shoes to the bag handles with the shoe strings, then hang the bag outside the window and close it on the shoestrings using the shoes as an anchor. Just don't forget its out there!

• Hunt for the "good" shower. Each shower head has a different water pressure and spray. Shop around on your floor for the good one.

How To Save Money in the Webster:

• 2nd Floor Bulliten Board!! Check it at least once a week. When girls leave, they sell their stuff for dirt cheap. That includes everything they needed while staying there. Detergent and laundry care, irons, hair care, miscellaneous items, clothing. Sell Your Own Stuff Too!

• Interns are usually unpaid. However they do get compensated with free goods, or swag. It might not always be applicable to them though. My friends and I invented Barter Night. The beauty magazine girls would bring home stuff from the "free" table at work, fashion girls would bring home clothing samples, PR/marketing girls bring home an array of things represented by their companies, entertainment girls bring tickets and VIP spots. Trade! My room looked like Sephora at one point because I traded clothes that weren't my size for blonde shampoo lines from a brunette.

• Ziplock bags can be very useful. Bag some dry goods from the dining room. Don't horde things, just stuff like cereal, crackers and cookies.

If You're Packing to Live in the Webster, You Should Also Bring:

• cheap rubber shower shoes
• 2nd pillow and pillow case
• mattress cover padding, try the "zoned" kind (thank me later)
  
• ear plugs
• zip lock bags
• color catcher laundry sheets
• post-it notes ( these came in handy a lot, not sure why)

*KMart is up street, you can do most of your shopping there

For further information: The Webster Apartments

Have tips or tricks of your own? Leave a comment!!