<p>I was just offered an internship in NYC over the summer. I'm looking at possibly staying in Columbia U housing - Harmony Hall or East Campus (70 Morningside Dr) locations are the two buildings they're offering right now.</p>
<p>Does anybody have any first-hand knowledge of what those two locations are like? They look like typical dorm housing which is fine with me, but anything I should know about those locations/rooms? </p>
<p>They are located in upper westside Manhattan which looks like a good location to be. My main concern is I'll be living there for a couple of months and would like the opinion of somebody that might have seen the locations or know somebody that has.</p>
<p>Harmony is a converted law school dorm that is now for undergrads. Unless it’s been renovated in the past year or so, it’s pretty gross. Not sure about AC here.</p>
<p>EC has been mostly renovated in the past 4 years. It’s pretty nice though slightly farther from a subway stop (5-10 minute walk). EC has AC.</p>
<p>If you’re not from the NE and don’t understand what 90 degree weather at 100% humidity is like, trust me that you will NEED air conditioning. By the name I’m guessing that you’re from Florida and might have a conception of this type of weather but be warned that it DOES NOT cool down at night in NYC like it does in any other place next to the water. Urban heat islands and whatnot.</p>
<p>Also, saw that you posted this in another board…AC should really be a first priority before anything else like closeness to subway. I can’t stress this enough. There are few things that will ruin your experience of the city like having to lay in bed in your 90 degree room night after night after night. Being able to relax in a cool apartment after work is crucial. I’ve done the summer there both with and without AC so I can speak from experience.</p>
<p>Rooms in Harmony are also tiny. I haven’t been inside, but I’ve looked at the floor plans, and I remember seeing mostly rooms with square footage in the high 80s. EC rooms are bigger. </p>
<p>Not sure about Harmony, but EC is suite-style.</p>
<p>I’m living in harmony next year and the building itself is very nice, nice kitchen with a flatscreen, nice bathrooms, etc. EC is the better dorm by far, but Harmony is very nice as well. The biggest disadvantage of Harmony is the unpredictable room size. Some rooms are huge, like 143sqft., and some are tiny, like 79sqft., I wouldn’t go in there without knowing what room you’re in.</p>
<p>Another inportant point is that EC has almost entirely suites, so you’ll be sharing a space with five strangers. I mean, Harmony is similar with 11 people per floor, so it’s halfway between suite and corridor in some regards.</p>
<p>I’m not sure if Harmony has air conditioning, but my freshman uear, it was around 90 for the first few days. I got a great fan and I was fine without air conditioning. Also, seriously, northeast heat? Please. Texas heat for the win. Or lose. Or whatever.</p>
<p>We are talking about summer housing, not last week of August. NYC weather is a different beast in June/July/early August. </p>
<p>I’m just going to assume you’re from Dallas/Fort Worth. Most of the interior/west of Texas doesn’t have to deal with humidity. Unless you live near the coast, it’s hard to understand what 100% humidity in 90 degree weather really is. Especially in an NYC subway at 8am with 100 other people and 10 (usually smelly) homeless guys.</p>
<p>Lol. If you insist. I won’t try to dissuade you, since I haven’t experienced the exact situation you’re talking about, but I’ve been in 90 degree weather in NYC and 100+ weather in Dallas (btw, good guess), and I think that with a solid fan, OP would be OK. But that’s just me (and it really isn’t relevant). Maybe I’ll change my mind once I spend a full summer in NYC.</p>
<p>Also, Harmony officially does not have AC according to the housing website, and I’d say better safe than sorry (for AC and room size) so I’d go with EC. But OP has probably long since decided, so this isn’t relevant.</p>
<p>Harmony was renovated two years ago, I believe, when it was turned into undergrad housing. The rooms are (somewhat small, but very livable) corridor-style singles and doubles, with nice kitchens/lounges on the ends. It’s a very nice dorm right next to the 110th St subway station, which I imagine is super-convenient for your internship.</p>
<p>EC is a huge complex of suites (so essentially apartment-style living) known mainly for its parties, though I don’t know if it has that reputation in the summer. It overlooks Morningside Park and offers incredible views of the city, but it’s probably 10 minutes away from the nearest subway station at 116th and Broadway.</p>