People in the outside world just don’t understand what we go through living in this city. If any of your friends are decidedly unsympathetic, send them this list of struggles that are all too real.
1. Trying to find an apartment is like a torturous game of whack-a-mole
![[Jeffrey Kontur/Flickr]](https://secretnyc.co/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/whack-a-mole.jpg)
3. Living with a bad roommate might be a good sitcom but in reality it’s not funny at all
4. Your punctuality is always at the mercy of the public transit system
![[Diego Torres Silvestre/Flickr]](https://secretnyc.co/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/york-street-subway-station.jpg)
7. Sometimes “working late” means you don’t get home until 10pm
8. Staying out “late” means you don’t get home until 7am
9. Spending over half your income on rent
10. Getting charged even more to have a pet
![[Chris Goldberg/Flickr]](https://secretnyc.co/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/dog-in-window.jpg)
12. And you have no umbrella
![[Daily Mail]](https://secretnyc.co/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/caught-in-the-rain.jpg)
14. Finding shoes that are stylish, comfortable, durable, and somewhat waterproof
![[Aileen Olmedo/Flickr]](https://secretnyc.co/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/comfortable-shoes.jpg)
16. Surviving the summer without central AC
17. That smell
![[drpavloff/Flickr]](https://secretnyc.co/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/garbage.jpg)
Cover photo credit: Dianne Rosete/Flickr