the hunt begins

i've started apartment hunting and boy, its alot of hard work. its even harder when you're out of state, no income and a student and on a budget. sigh. living in manhattan is NOT cheap. broker fees are 15% of annual rent and so far i've seen apartments that are the size of my bathroom which are going for $1800 or more, i've climbed 5 flights of stairs in walkup buildings only, i've had a door slammed in my face because some rude moron didn't want to let the broker and i into the building to look at the apartment. any amenities of any kind cost more (ie. lower rent does not equal to washer & dryers in the building or elevators) and NY landlords are anal about credit/gurantors. oh well...the hunt for my new home continues with craigslist on my internet browser favourites list and my brokers are on my speed dial.