Renting a Car in West Islip is Awkward

Long Version of Below Story:
Avis, Budget, and other such car companies won't let you rent a car for four months unless you put a down payment for the first month, which will easily top a thousand dollars.

My particular insurance covers me to rent a car even though I'm under 25, and if you don't have that, then there's an additional daily fee slapped onto the original fee. TURNS OUT that my credit card, which I solely acquired for renting a card, has a limit that is too low for the one-month fee.

And I can't bump up that limit until the card is six months old. Nobody told me this at the outset, so I'm writing it here. Not a complaint, but more of...a call for awareness, I guess? Like, I understand that protocols like that exist for a reason, but this is the kind of thing that nobody tells you about until it's too late to do anything about it.


Short Version of Above Story:
Rent a car in West Islip? It's a mucky, stupid, horrible mess. Don't do it.


If you MUST rent a car, don't do so at the airport. If you go to a rental car place around town, you can apparently get a better deal. What's fishy is that some of the folks at the rental car place in the airport actually recommended going to a rental place in town.

Whatever. I'm looking into shipping a car that I already own out here. I had to fly due to time constraints. Erff. Hopefully my dilemma will help out future interns, though.

Also! If you have problems getting to work, everyone's very okay with helping you get there. As soon as Marie knew about my predicament, she asked Noelle to give me a ride and it was very kind of both of them.

Plan to Pack (Aug 16th)

I brought, personally, two rolling luggage cases of clothes, a soft bag with more clothes, and a messenger bag that had my sketchbook, laptop, and digital camera in it.

I sent the majority of my possessions through UPS because I took an airplane.  I'm looking forward to receiving even more clothes, my printer, and my video camera in the mail.  Apparently, if you send something to the ULAE studio instead of 5 Skidmore Place, it arrives there more quickly.   The people who work there don't mind if your stuff shows up at work, either.

Airplane Tickets (Backpost; August 16th)

I purchased a one-way ticket from Oklahoma City to West Islip, Long Island.  I chose Southwest as my airline because they have never lost my baggage and you can choose where to sit on their planes.  

I sent my electronic receipt for the plane ticket to the ULAE, and they refunded me with a deposit to my Bursar account.  Nice, safe, quick and easy!

I bought the plane ticket a few months ahead of time.  If you do the same, the tickets will be cheaper, which will make the kind people at the ULAE happy with you.

A Word From...: Cars

I have heard that some interns haven't brought their cars with them when they come to New York... I can't imagine how difficult it must be to be up here without a car. We wouldn't be able to do anything! It would make us very, very inefficient. I wouldn't be able to go to the store for groceries or pick up take out. We wouldn't even be able to get to work (it's much too far to walk and biking would be difficult and no fun, but possible). We couldn't get to the train station to take us into the city. We couldn't go to dinner in the evenings, or any where on the weekends (the ocean, IKEA, pleasure driving, etc.). In other words we'd be stuck. I highly advise all interns to bring their car!