It’s a special sort of insanity to find an apartment in New York City.

There are too many people and not enough places to live (especially good places to live).

This creates a sort of insanity bubble filled with high prices, tiny spaces, exclusivity, and lots of anxiety. I’ve also come across some of the weirdest apartments in NYC. Who knew having a window was a luxury?! Or the super awkward “railroad” style apartments where you have to go through one room to get to another room.

But, sometimes you’ll find a gem.
Recently I had an experience that went from HELL to MAGIC.

For 2 months, I contacted over 50 apartments, open rooms, roommates, and brokers. I looked at over 20 options and said YES to 5. They ALL fell through for one reason or another.

I pimped myself out by offering to eat rattlesnake. I reeeally wanted that room! 🙂

One person was crying she was so excited that we were going to be roommates. I’d sent in my deposit for the room and then received a call the next day about her mentally disabled brother who needed to move into the room instead. How can you argue with that?

And the least of the worst-case scenarios, I almost signed a sublease for a room where someone had made a bedroom out of the living room by building a wall out of USPS First Class cardboard boxes. It made me want to cry when I thought about living there.

It made absolutely no sense. I took all of the necessary steps to finding somewhere to live. I’d been busting my butt and felt like the world was against me.

Finally, I threw my hands up and gave in to the clear sign that I was NOT supposed to find an apartment this way. As a last resort, I contacted my current apartment and asked if I could stay a little while longer and he said that’d be ok.

30 minutes later, I got a call from him saying his co-worker was just complaining about not being able to find a subletter.
Finally!

It all worked out smoothly, effortlessly, and in a way that was better than I originally had imagined. After I moved in, I realized how much of a Harry Potter fan she is. This meant that the entire room is covered in posters, drawings, and images of all things related to magic. I am literally surrounded by magic now!

And, ever since moving here, I’ve had several insanely magical things happen to me.

A few of which being: one of my blog posts going viral, writing my top 10 dream list of people to feature and then 2 weeks later featuring one of them on my website, (Chris Guillebeau!), and a standing ovation from over 250 people when I shared my declaration.

Whenever anyone asks where I live now, I tell them in a Magic Castle!

Transitions can be scary. Everything in upheaval with so many unknowns.
When things don’t go as planned, the default is to keep pushing onwards.
But, what if the best thing you can do is actually just surrender?

I experience this time and time again.
When I change course to find the flow instead of further into a fight, magical unknown scenarios fall into my lap.

Sometimes what may look like giving up is actually giving in to your true magical path.

What’s something you feel like you are fighting? Is there an alternate route that would feel easier? More in the flow? Possibly more magical?

xo
Christina

Photo by Jonas Nilsson