Every spring, thousands of interns get the same email: the offer is confirmed, the start date is set, and housing is your problem. If the job is in Midtown, this guide is meant to save you a few weeks of searching. It covers why Midtown itself is the right target, how the commute math works from a Theater District address, what "all-inclusive" should mean when you read it on a listing, and how to apply when you do not have a US guarantor.
Why Midtown, not the outer boroughs
The instinct is to look far out and save on rent. It is worth running the numbers before you do. Midtown is where a large share of finance, media, law and consulting internships actually sit, and an internship is a ten to twelve week sprint. Every hour on a train is an hour you are not at the office, at a dinner with your team, or asleep.
A few of the employers within walking distance of West 46th Street, all verifiable at their published addresses:
- Morgan Stanley, 1585 Broadway
- Paramount, 1515 Broadway
- Bank of America Tower, One Bryant Park
- News Corp and Fox, 1211 Sixth Avenue
- Thomson Reuters, 3 Times Square
- Nasdaq MarketSite, 4 Times Square
- Barclays, 745 Seventh Avenue
- NBCUniversal and Deloitte, 30 Rockefeller Plaza
- Hearst Tower, 57th Street and Eighth Avenue
The Broadway League and the major theater owners (Shubert, Nederlander, ATG) also keep offices in the district, which matters if your summer is in arts administration rather than a trading floor.
If you are at one of these, a room on West 46th Street means the commute is a walk. No transfer, no delay, no waiting on a platform in August.
The commute math from 129 West 46th Street
The 46 sits between Sixth Avenue and Seventh Avenue, one block from Times Square. For employers that are not on foot, the subway options from the front door are unusually dense. These figures come from the transit stations closest to the building.
| Station | Lines | Walk from the building |
|---|---|---|
| 47-50 Sts-Rockefeller Center | B, D, F, M | about 2 minutes |
| 49 St | N, R, W | about 4 minutes |
| Times Sq-42 St | 1, 2, 3, 7, N, Q, R, W, S | about 5 minutes |
| 42 St-Port Authority | A, C, E | about 5 minutes |
| 50 St | 1 | about 5 minutes |
| 42 St-Bryant Park and Fifth Av | B, D, F, M, 7 | about 6 minutes |
Grand Central is about a 12-minute walk, or one stop on the S shuttle from Times Square. Penn Station and Port Authority are within a 10 to 15 minute walk, which is useful if your program has a week in New Jersey or Connecticut, or if you plan to go home for a weekend.
The practical reading: from this address you can reach almost any Manhattan office, and most of Brooklyn and Queens, with one train. Compare that against a room that is "only 45 minutes away" and remember the 45 minutes is each way, twice a day, five days a week. Over a 12-week program that is 90 hours. That is more than two working weeks spent underground.
What "all-inclusive" should actually mean
Listings use the phrase loosely. When you see it, ask for the list. At The 46, an all-inclusive weekly rate covers:
- A furnished private room: bed and linens, desk and chair, wardrobe, flat-screen TV, blackout curtains
- Your own private bathroom with shower
- Individual climate control in the room
- All utilities and high-speed WiFi
- Weekly housekeeping of common areas
- 24-hour staffed front desk, keyed entry, elevator
- Fitness room, resident lounge with coffee bar, work and study room
- Luggage and package storage
What is not in the number: there is no broker fee, and there is no requirement for a US guarantor. The pricing page lists the current rates and the deposit and cancellation terms in one place, so you are not reconstructing the total from four different paragraphs.
The reason this matters for interns specifically is cash flow. A conventional New York lease often wants first month, a security deposit, and sometimes a broker fee equal to a month or more, all before you have received a single paycheck. An all-inclusive rate billed every four weeks is a very different shape of expense.
Private bath or shared bath
This is the decision most people underrate until July. In a shared-bath arrangement, you and several other residents are on the same morning schedule, and everyone's schedule is "arrive at the office by 8:30." The maths of one bathroom and four people at 7:15 am is not kind.
Every one of the 79 rooms at The 46 has its own private bathroom. That includes the Twin Room shared by two, which is the lowest rate in the building: two residents, two twin beds, one bathroom shared between the two of you and no one else. We wrote a separate piece on why a private bathroom changes daily life if you want the long version.
The short version: a private bath means your morning takes as long as your morning takes, you can shower after a late night out without negotiating, and you never carry a caddy down a hall.
Ten weeks or twelve weeks
Most internship programs run ten weeks; some run twelve, and a few add an orientation week at the front. Rates at The 46 are quoted weekly and billed every four weeks, and stays run from four weeks up to twelve months. Tell us your program's start and end dates when you reserve and we quote the stay against the weekly rate for the dates you actually need.
A few things to think through:
- Arrive a few days early. Landing the night before your first day is a bad plan. Give yourself a weekend to learn the walk, find groceries, and sleep off the flight.
- Check whether your program ends on a Friday. If it does, and your flight is Sunday, you want those two nights covered rather than guessed at.
- Ask about extending. Return offers, a second rotation, or a friend's spare weeks in the city are common reasons stays get longer. It is easier to extend a stay you already have than to find a new one in August.
Applying without a US guarantor
For international interns, and for plenty of domestic students, the guarantor requirement is the single biggest obstacle to a normal apartment. Landlords typically want a co-signer earning many multiples of the annual rent, living in the United States. If your family is in Seoul or São Paulo or Lagos, that is a wall.
The 46 does not require a US guarantor. The application is a short form, and what we typically need is an ID and something that shows the program you are in the city for, such as an offer letter. Once your room is confirmed, the first billing cycle secures it. No broker, no third-party credit check through an agency, no fee for the privilege of applying.
The building is open coliving, not an interns-only dormitory. Your neighbors will include performing-arts students, graduate students, early-career professionals and visiting researchers on short assignments. That mix tends to make the lounge more interesting than a floor of people who all work at the same firm.
The intern housing checklist
Print this, or screenshot it.
- Write down your office address and check it against the employer list above and the neighborhood guide. If you can walk, everything else gets simpler.
- Get the all-inclusive list in writing. Utilities, WiFi, furniture, linens, housekeeping, front desk. If a listing will not itemize it, assume it is not included.
- Confirm the bathroom situation. Private, shared with one, or shared with a floor. Ask directly.
- Confirm the guarantor and fee position. No US guarantor, no broker fee, and a clear deposit line are what you are looking for.
- Match the dates to your program, plus a buffer on each end.
- Ask about extending before you sign, not after.
- Look at the building's operating hours. A 24-hour staffed front desk means you can arrive off a delayed flight at 1 am and still get your key.
- Check package handling. You will order things. Someone needs to receive them.
- Read the house rules and the cancellation policy before you pay, not after.
- Book earlier than you think. Summer rooms in Midtown are spoken for well before the programs start.
Where to start
If your program is in Midtown and you want the commute to be a walk, the simplest next step is to look at the room types, pick the one that fits your budget, and reserve your dates. If you would rather see the building first, we run tours most days and you can book one here.