Without housing and work, but with ironing board: nontrivial adventures of Russians in New York

In the 2000s, a group of Russian-speaking tourists went to travel around the United States. The route began in New York, where the company was faced with the problem of finding an overnight stay and the associated unforeseen expenses. The details of the adventure were shared by the author of the channel "What to What" on the site Yandex Zen.

History in brief

“In the XNUMXs, I spent several months in the USA with a group of friends. It was a very interesting, difficult and even dangerous journey. We went through a lot, ”the author writes.

In the early days, the company booked a hotel room in Newark. “Strange, but we didn't have a travel plan - we didn't know where, how and why we were going. Moreover, some of us generally wanted to stay in the United States, but no one knew for sure what would happen next and what to expect from America, ”he recalls.

When the days paid for at the hotel were over, the travelers decided to move out and look for new accommodation. The choice fell on Brighton Beach, because there are many Russian speakers. However, this was a mistake, the author admits. “For about a day we wandered around New York. We mostly wandered around Brooklyn (in this part of the city the famous Brighton is located). None of us had any idea where it was better to look for housing: they called on advertisements in newspapers, went to all agencies, asked oncoming passers-by. The Internet in those days already, of course, existed in all, but then we had neither smartphones, nor tablets, nor laptops, "- said the author.

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During the search for an overnight stay, the tourists met different people on the way, someone tried to help. “Some Russians tried to help us - they offered to stay overnight, call relatives for free, and so on. A certain Boris, who met us in the metro, offered to stay with him for a week until we find a roof over our heads - for some reason we refused, ”the author noted.

Housing Search

So the day passed, and when the morning of the next day came, it became obvious that it was time to act immediately. “Almost in all Russian-speaking agencies, we were offered to leave a deposit“ right now ”. The owners of the firms smiled mysteriously and asked to put $ 100-200 on the table in order to speed up the process of finding housing, "the author recalls.

In one of the agencies, the company met a woman in her 60s who actually decided to help. “She explained that it is very difficult to rent an apartment just like that without any serious contracts and large deposits. The owner of the firm also strongly advised to stop looking for housing through local Russian-speaking realtors. The woman, thanks to her, just entered our situation and realized that we do not know where to go, but there is no extra money. She advised looking for private traders or trying to rent a house through American intermediaries, ”the author said.

On the second day of their wanderings, in the late afternoon, the travelers entered "some modest office located in an incomprehensible place where the homeless lived." “The situation was explained. A kind, but not very pleasant-looking American woman suggested that we go to spend the night with her friend named Melbourne, ”the author noted. The woman recommended to go to her friend's lodging for the night "right now." She said that she lives in a luxurious large house, and rents out some of the rooms, and that there is enough space for everyone.

The house they had planned to spend several weeks in turned out to be "a plywood house with insects, a dirty toilet and a tiny kitchen." The roommates were not credible either. “Of course, we thanked the hostess, and she, in bewilderment, agreed to return us the entire amount of money that we gave her almost from the doorway,” said the traveler.

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Since there was nowhere to go, and the street had long been dark, the travelers went to a bar. “It was about two in the morning. We sat in a bar until morning. We were very tired, so there was no talk of cheerful gatherings - we just didn't want to spend the night on the street, ”the author recalls.

But the adventures of tourists from Russia did not end there. “When we decided to stay with Melbourne, some of our people ran to the store and bought warm duvets for everyone (instead of mattresses and beds), as well as an iron and an ironing board. Don't ask why someone needed to iron urgently - I don't know myself. We planned to leave this stuff in the owner's house, after we leave it in a couple of weeks. However, as mentioned above, we left the house in a couple of hours. It was a pity to leave the goods they just bought - they took them with them, ”the author noted.

Therefore, in the middle of the night, the tourists remained on the street in a very unusual form - "with huge bales and an ironing board under their arm." “The locals looked at us like we were crazy. And if you take into account that we were thoroughly exhausted, it seemed that we were walking from Russia on foot ... And do not forget that everyone had their own personal weighty suitcase, ”the author notes.

And again, the search for housing

Then the company wandered to Brooklyn, then to Harlem. There they spent the whole day looking for private accommodation. But when in the end everyone was pretty exhausted, they decided to look for a hotel. “Exhausted, hungry and angry, we decided to simply 'dump' from that part of New York, where Russians, Ukrainians and other people from the former USSR live. The problem was not that we didn't want to communicate with ours - we just decided to somehow distract ourselves and, accordingly, find a hotel to relax. It so happened that we found the hotel in Manhattan, ”the author recalls.

New blankets, an iron and an ironing board were left at one of the metro stations, since there was no longer any strength left to carry it all with you. “Besides, I'm tired of surprised looks from all sides. I hope some homeless person was happy with the find, ”the author noted.

Towards evening, the friends were in the center of New York. “After walking for 45 minutes, it was decided to look for a hotel ... Never look for a hotel in the center of New York! - advised the traveler. - I categorically did not want to go back to Brooklyn - I firmly decided to find where to spend the night in the center.

Some did not agree to stay in an expensive hotel and went to look for housing in other parts of the city. The next day, we agreed to meet near some monument.

Car price number

So the author of this publication, together with his girlfriend, decided to look for an overnight stay in Manhattan. However, they still could not find something suitable. “We were simply not allowed into some hotels (apparently, our backpacks and our worn out appearance did not meet the requirements of hotel employees). Of course, we were refused politely - "no seats, sorry." We ourselves did not want to go to other hotels, as they looked too expensive. We were not ready to give a thousand dollars a night, ”the author explained.

Hostels and inexpensive hotels, intended exclusively for overnight stays, did not come across as if by evil. Therefore, the couple began to address passers-by. But no one could give good advice, and in the end the guy turned to one "very respectable citizen." “I went up to him and asked a short and clear question:“ Sir, tell me right now, where is the hotel nearby? Any hotel ", - said the tourist. - A man in an expensive jacket laughed kindly, realizing that I was very tired, and gave the following: “hotel in New York ?! I think I've seen a couple. " I freaked out and looked at him with such an unkind and contemptuous look that he immediately corrected himself and kindly showed us the way to a hotel called the Washington Hotel. I can be wrong with the exact name - it was a long time ago.

The couple reached the hotel quickly enough. They were welcomed there, offering several accommodation options. “I asked to voice the cheapest one possible. The guy at the front desk said they didn't have a double room for less than $ 350 a night. And what do you think? I agreed without hesitation! Fortunately, they accepted in cash as they did not like my bank card. After successful payment we were escorted to the room, ”the author said.

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The price of the room was not justified by its luxury, but by the proximity of the hotel from Time Square. They didn’t go for a walk that evening, they just had a snack on burgers bought nearby.

In the morning it turned out that the tourists were supposed to have breakfast. There was a buffet in the dining room, but only vegetables, fruits, juices and water were offered. “We ate what we found, and were a little upset about to leave, but the waiter slowly approached us and explained that all the food on the buffet was just an addition to the main dish ...“ What will you order? ”Asked in a sophisticated voice waiter. We looked at each other and decided that we won't do anything! Appetite disappeared - for an hour we sat with some pieces of semi-finished vegetables, and only then we were offered to eat ... Thank you, of course, but already "ate", - the author shares his memories.

After checking out from the hotel, the couple went to a meeting with friends. On the way, they were handed a free newspaper with ads, where one of the first pages came across an advertisement for the sale of used cars. “Registration in 5 minutes. The cost of a prepared car on the move is from $ 300, ”the message said. “Or they could have bought a car,” the author summed up.