<p>I was offered a unpaid summer internship for Sony Music. However, I do not have enough money saved up to afford living in the city for the entire summer. I REALLY want to do this internship, it is such an amazing opportunity. Does anyone have any suggestions/ideas on how I get money to afford living there other than living with friends/family?</p>
<p>I’m not sure what city you’re talking about, but I’m guessing it’s LA or NY. In either case, there are several nearby universities and you can trying looking on Craig’s list for someone who’s subletting. A good tip I learned last year is that fraternities tend to have amazing rent for the summer months because they want to fill up the house. If you’re in a fraternity at your school, you can try hooking up with the other chapters, otherwise I would just google a large university and contact house managers @ the fraternities.</p>
<p>Besides rent, food is a major cost. If you bring a lunch to your internship, you can easily save $5-10 each day. Also, if you’re frugal about your grocery shopping, you can save a lot of money that way too.</p>
<p>Lastly, your internship is probably full-time, but if you really need to make money during the summer, you might be able to snag a part-time job on the weekends/evenings. </p>
<p>Honestly, if you keep your room and board as low as possible, it should be a relatively inexpensive summer.
Anyhow, congrats on your internship.</p>
<p>The internship is in New York City, thanks for the tips. Anyone else have any ideas?</p>
<p>Youth Hostels? Check them out.</p>
<p>Check out religious organizations in NYC. Some of them are very philanthropic and might be able to hook you up with someone or someplace in NYC who is willing to help you out (especially Jewish and Catholic organizations).</p>
<p>I mean, if you have family/friends living there, I’d just take advantage of that. I’m living with some family friends – not exactly a hopping downtown apartment, but seriously, it saves me $1500/month. Not complaining.</p>
<p>If not, here are a couple tips:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Avoid Craigslist unless you live close to the city. If it’s just a train ride away, you can easily go in one of these next few weekends and make sure the places you’re looking at actually exist. I’ve had more than a few friends scammed by people on Craigslist when they sent in downpayments without ever having seen the place. However, if you CAN make it into NYC, then you can just insist that you meet up with the renters (and bring a friend).</p></li>
<li><p>Talk to your friends who go to school in NYC (don’t exclude Brooklyn, it’s generally more affordable.) Even if they’re not subletting an apartment, I can guarantee you that they have friends who are looking for summer renters. </p></li>
<li><p>If you have friends who are also going to be in NYC this summer, look into cramming a bunch of you into one apartment. You can easily fit 2/3 people in many bedrooms if you have an air mattress or two, which significantly decreases rent. Just make sure you let the landlord know that you want to squeeze a bunch of people in.</p></li>
</ol>