International House — Attraction in New York

Hideous rooms. Small beds (not like the images) and the beds were in plastic wrap to add to the overall dilapidated vibe. Communal areas dirty, and they did not ensure it was clean prior to my arrival in the flat (we're talking mould, cockroaches, the lot). Everyone moves into the flats at different times, so its not like college dorms, therefore it will likely be a complete mess when you get there with all cupboards full and you won't have storage space in communal areas. This additionally leads to the problem of stuff remaining after people have left and you don't know who it belongs to so nothing gets thrown away.

One of my housemates was a complete lunatic, had so many belonging everywhere, was unbelievably filthy and frankly not housetrained (left the gas on frequently and also had candles all over the place) and yet the response of International house was to initially ignore my email, and then after I pushed, said I needed to have a 45 minute interview with the social worker about the housemate in question, at which point they would "draw up a contract" for her to stick to...however as the housemate was already in violation of the initial contract you all sign this seemed like a joke, wasted my time, and was clearly unlikely to resolve anything.

Food here in the canteen is... poor. But if you're desperate, sure. Drinks are overpriced, staff are generally rude and unhelpful, ie you ask a question and they stare at you blankly (this is the most common response) or they will simply point at something without saying anything. All the veg options were tasteless and/or salty. They also haven't really priced meals fairly, so even if you have just say the "meat" from their meal option you get charged for the whole meal.

The activities here are poor. They also have no central calendar to document what's going on, you have to visit their crappy notice boards to see and even then it might not be there. You are forced to rely on unofficial Facebook groups.

Overall, stay somewhere else, it's not worth it. You will meet other people in New York. This place is a dirty cult. I still do not have my deposit back from them also, and they are again, you guessed it,...

1 review 5.0 star rating 5/11/2016 I lived at International House for the maximum of three years, and loved it so much that I choose to move into Columbia housing next door after I moved out.

The website will tell you all about things like leadership training, "moral courage" etc, but the real reason that you want to live at International House is the community. Rather than spending grad school living in a random apartment where you barely know a soul, International House has a vibrant community where you'll make some of the best friends of your life. Tons of events are constantly organized by staff and residents (who apply to and are financially compensated for such roles) so that you can just show up and have a good time, then get right back to work once your done. Dinner trips, movie trips, escape room trips, ski trips, paintball trips, cultural festivals, musical performances (both inside and out of I-House), celebrity guests, the traditional Sunday Supper (formal dinner with hundreds of residents), board game nights, tons of parties etc etc.

The individual rooms are small, but you actually have more privacy than in a typical apartment setup. If you're busy and/or need time alone and privacy for whatever reason, it's extremely easy to get it. I-House has an extremely vibrant community, but you take part in it on your own terms.

Lots of amenities: dining room, music practise rooms, tons of study areas, lounges to relax in, a basketball court (where tons of sport events are held each week), gym, doorman, properly...

A good place serving a good function. Nice residents.

Problem: somewhat arrogant Megan Amouzou, who surely did a lot of good for this world but that doesn't mean she's beyond reproach or doesn't need to be responsible or that she can do anything without review or any accountability. She can be extremely condescending and arrogant without any due reason which is quite strange. A minor suggestion is that the place could be better off if she could please behave in the same way every resident are expected to behave themselves.

Who really oversees and decides if she's doing her job properly? nobody, except the board of trustees, but of course nobody is gonna contact the board of trustees for every detail, they don't have time.

Also the non-stop construction noise does not take any resident input into account, the decision process is set up in such a way that there is not as much review as to if the construction workers are doing jobs properly safely and guess there is just no feedback mechanism to review if any problem or potential problem arises.

Regardless however, most people here are very good, and this venerable institution is...