The Miracle at West 45th Street
For the last 12 months, I’ve been living in Houston, TX. I moved there from San Francisco because I desperately needed childcare for my son, and everything in Houston was open. I always knew that Houston would be a temporary move to get us through the pandemic but wasn’t sure where I would move to after the pandemic was over. I assumed back to California where most of my family are, or maybe Dallas where my sister had just moved. I just knew I had to move somewhere that I had close friends or family. I didn’t have either in Houston and it was starting to affect my mental health.
A month before my lease in Houston ended, my son’s father told me that he was thinking of moving back to New York. His office is there, his family is there, but most importantly, he wanted to be closer to his aging mother. This was exciting because I have always loved New York City and did indeed want to live there. However, I have a hard rule against moving anywhere because of another person, even if this other person was someone I have a child with. I didn’t want to make major life decisions because it was best for my son or his dad. It had to be best for me otherwise I knew I would regret it one day. Things became even more confusing when I shared the idea with my family, and their reaction was super negative. My mom had a laundry list of reasons why this was a terrible decision. Feeling defeated, I turned to God in prayer and said “Lord, I’m lonely here in Houston. I don’t have anyone. If it’s your will for me to move to New York, give me a sign. I need at least one close friend there.”
The next day my cousin Melody, who was living in Seattle, sends me a text message and asks if I’m still considering moving to NY because she was moving back to NYC at the end of September. I was shocked at the timing because my lease was up in October. Melody is the cousin I have been closest to for all of my life. I was excited at the prospect of living near a family member.
A few days later, in a conversation with my best friend Cassy, she excitedly tells me that she has decided to get an apartment in New York City and would split her time between the Bay Area and NYC during the year. I was shocked! Cassy has never lived anywhere but the Bay and although I knew she loved New York, I didn’t realize she loved it enough to live there as well. Now I had 2 close friends/family in the city! Within a few days, I get ANOTHER text message from my cousin Nithia who tells me that she is thinking of moving to NY as well. Nithia is another cousin I am extremely close to. I took this as a sign that God wanted me to move to NYC so I began looking into apartments.
The Apartment Search
My apartment search didn’t start off very well. The rent prices for a bland 2 bedroom in New York were twice as much as my rent in Houston, and if I wanted something comparable in quality and amenities, it would be 3 times as much. After looking at apartments for weeks, I decided that if God wanted me in NY, He would give me a place. I got down on my knees and prayed “Lord, I feel you calling me to New York City. If you want me in NYC, please help me be able to afford to live there.” I slept peacefully that night knowing that if God wanted me in NYC, He would work it out on His own. He didn’t need me to stress out over it.
The next day, I receive a phone call from Stedmon, my cofounder from Wyzerr. He tells me about a company he’s been consulting for and mentions that the CEO is looking for some help with Business Dev. The way it was pitched to me, it sounded like the CEO was just looking for a quick call for some advice so I happily agreed. We end up having the call the next week and it goes really well. At the end of the call, the CEO asks me if I would be open to working with them. I told him I had a full time job that I was really happy in but I could do several hours a week of consulting work. The company was doing something really interesting in market research, and I definitely wanted to be involved in some way. He agreed, and told me he would send me a short term consulting agreement. I didn’t expect it to be for more than $1,000 or so but he sent me an agreement for $4,000 a month. This amount was exactly how much a nice 2 bedroom in NYC was going for. I was overcome with gratitude and so much peace because I knew, for whatever reason, God was calling me to NYC and He was guiding my steps there.
The Unthinkable Happens
I began seriously looking into apartments in NYC and went on several tours. I saw some promising units in my budget, which was now $5,000+ per month thanks to my consulting job, but by the time I went to apply, the apartments were gone. Truth be told, I didn’t want to pay that much for an apartment and wasn’t disappointed in the slightest when they weren’t available. As I walked back from an apartment tour one day, I passed by a building that had a food hall on the floor level. As a foodie, this immediately caught my eye because I figured it would be super convenient for lunch. I decided to go into the building and ask for a tour. The first question they asked me was what was my budget. I told them my price range and the gentleman told me immediately that their 2 bedrooms start at least $2,000 more than what I was willing to pay. He rudely commented that he didn’t think it was worth me going on a tour because I wouldn’t be able to afford a unit there. However, his colleague volunteered to give me a tour because she happened to be free so off we went. I immediately fell in love with the building and amenities. It was one of the few buildings in NYC that had a parking garage directly below it, and access via the building elevator. However, the price of the apartment was beyond anything I wanted to pay so I left the tour a bit defeated. As I walked back to my hotel, I looked online for other buildings in the area and was surprised to see a 2 bedroom listed for the same building I just toured at half the price. I sent an email immediately that I was interested, but expected it to be some kind of scam. I receive a reply almost right away from the building ownership group that this unit was indeed for $3,200 but it was under strict income restrictions. I could not make more than $155,000, which would have put me out of the running immediately but because I was applying for 2 people (my son and I), I had more room. I qualified for two people in the income range with just under $4k as the difference. Had I made $4,000 more in 2021, I would have been automatically disqualified.
The application process for this blessing of an apartment was brutal. Due to the tax incentives tied to the building, there were a lot of paperwork, more than anything I’m used to submitting. The lease agreement itself was 67 pages long. I held my breath for an answer and was starting to feel like I must have not qualified so I reached out to the office on the morning of Wednesday, October 27 to see if my application had been approved. The reply was swift: I was approved! The next day, my son and I flew to NYC to begin the move-in process. As we were waiting at the airport in Houston, I received a phone call from my job’s HR manager. She tells me that the company recognizes all of my hard work for the year and was promoting me to Vice President of Business Development. With this new promotion, I was getting a significant raise AND bonus. I was speechless. The total raise and bonus was exactly 12 months of rent in my new apartment. What was most interesting about this raise was that if I had received it a day earlier, I would have been disqualified from my discounted apartment. I reached out to the building operators about my new higher salary and he confirmed that since I was already approved, it didn’t matter if I made more money now.
I am now happily settled into my new apartment. I have only been here for a month but I love it here. I’ve also had way more family and friends visit me in the one month I’ve been here than the entire time I’ve been in Houston, which is great because I’m constantly surrounded by close friends and family. My mental health has improved significantly. I have no idea why God has called me to New York City to live, but I believe He will do something profound in my life while I am here. I can’t wait to see what He has in store for me and look forward to being able to share that miracle in a later blog. God is so good! Below are some pictures of my new place. It is significantly bigger than any of the other apartments I looked at that cost way, way more. I even have a real dining room!
