Can I afford to live in NYC on a $15k "salary"?

[TotalKaos]

You might consider searching for a crash pad. These are apts or homes, with multiple beds, even bunk beds, commonly used by airline employees who are in and out of town. Try Craig's List as a place to start. These are not places where people actually live, but who want the ability to have a home away from home of sorts, and usually people about your age. In your case it would be a place to crash, just like an airline employee. I only have one friend that I know of, a Continental employee, based in Houston but his home is not there. They are usually near the airports. Brooklyn Museum is not that close to JFK or LGA, but you have a free Metro Card and you are young, so who cares. A few million people commute farther than this distance.

This is a short definition from Wikipedia and may be worth looking into: "A crashpad is a location used by airline employees for temporary lodging and is not generally used a permanent domicile or permanent place of residence. A crashpad is strictly a place one can use to rest, eat meals, clean-up ones self and their clothes before returning to work. Many are based at an airport other than the location in which they live. A crashpad is used for resting and sleeping when commuting before or after a trip, or working a shift or shift(s). Single-family homes, apartments, and hotels are common dwellings that airline employees use as a crashpad."

This might be worth looking into. Check with Mr. Google.

[TotalKaos]

By the way, you are lucky to be compensated at all for a good internship anyway.

My daughter interned in Music City and got no compensation at all. "Hey Dad, I hate to ask you but . . ." "Of course honey, I planned for this. And next year you will be asking me about studying abroad." She did.

Of course I visited her in both places. London is more fun than Nashville. And about 4 or 5 times the cost of living too. LOL

[BrightRabbit]

Here's a suggestion that bubbled up as I read all the above posters and combined a few ideas.

You scored an internship at Brooklyn Museum, so I assume you have college education and can speak English well. If you also are ready to work with children, then read on.

Seek living quarters with a Brooklyn or Manhattan family by offering nanny services part-time to school-aged children, as long as you can work out a compatible schedule with your paid museum internship.

Try running your own Craigslist ad under Domestic Services, or try replying to ads others have posted. Look for 15-20 hours/week childcare, living quarters, no salary, and some scheduling flexibility.

Think over your skills and offer what you might do for them. Examples: homework help, music practice supervision, simple meal preparation tasks, some light housework. If you're a native or fluent English speaker, state that, as it is prized. If you also have any foreign languages, list them but state truthfully whether they are "fluent speaking" or "reading/academic only."

Keep the focus on their child as you try to get a family to reply and interview you. If you're far away, skype the interview. Then, as you negotiate terms, keep the emphasis on bedroom privacy, unless you don't mind living in same bedroom as a child. Don't sleep in with an infant, or you'll be too tired to work the internship. Be clear that you must honor the hours required by your internship, as well as theirs, planned in advance. No last-minute emergency childcare, such as a child home from school for illness. They'll have to make other arrangements for that.

I recommend you focus on school-age children, perhaps in a two-career household, because their schedules are more predictable than infants, toddlers and pre-schoolers. However, if you find some wonderful stay-at-home parent that just wants some relief from fulltime care, and has living quarters for you, that could also work.

Personal safety note: Ask that your first interview be in a public place, even a Starbucks. Never go directly to a private address, based only on Craigslist correspondence. If the first interview in public goes well, have the second interview in their home to see the living quarters and meet the child.

[UrbanAdventurer]

Blech. I think I'd rather live like a 3rd world immigrant than find myself raising somebody else's kid.

[BeerGeek40]

Personally I'd pitch a tent on the museum's roof. You can't live on 15K in NYC in 2015.

Although Brightrabbit's point is a actually a very good one. Check it out.

[Mark Hand]

Sugar Daddy.

[high iron]

I thought this thread was a goof on all the humblebragging "Moving to NYC with a salary of 500k, Can I afford Manhattan" threads.

Get a share with a bunch of other kids OP, you'll get by.