Great first week at McK, but some ATL issues outside of work

What’s going on, y’all. I know it’s been a while since I wrote an entry, but it’s been a busy time for me as I get adjusted to everything. It’s been a tough road, but I have most things in order and am ready to get my career off on the right foot.

My McKinsey career started last Thursday with the ATL office’s 2-day new hire orientation. The biggest part of the 2-day session was getting to know the folks that I was starting with. I came in with a class of about 15 people and all of them were on another level intellectually…I’m talking super-smart people who were also really cool. These folks were also cool to hang out with and that was confirmed when we gathered on Saturday night to hang out at a bar in the Virginia Highlands area of ATL. On Monday, I began a week-long training seminar with my fellow ATL orientation classmates and some other new folks from the Dallas, Houston, New York, and New Jersey offices. this training class will be my first true network within the Firm, so I’m hoping to be able to stay in touch with them as much as possible.

In addition to the info about my first week or so at McK, I wanted to give some advice to help folks coming out of MBA programs and other grad programs some advice about getting set up after school. This may seem likea basic thing, but I’ve got to beg and plead for you guys to make sure you do proper due diligence on your housing arragements before moving to a new city. I thought I had done that, but it turns out that I was dead wrong. My plan all along was to rent a furnished place in ATL for six months before going off and buying a home of my own. My rationale for doing this was that I’d much rather have time to really get to know the different areas of the city before purchasing a place. I had trouble finding a furnished apartment/condo that would give me a lease of less than a year for a decent price on most website and thought I’d struck gold when I put a posting on Craig’s List and got a bunch of replies. One condo-for-rent in particular caught my eye and, after exchanging several emails with the owner and getting a good impression, I decided to sign a lease for her place.

I was able to set this all up by July so I thought I was in good shape. I moved most of my stuff in at the start of August and everything seemed all good. The condo was on the penthouse level, had a gated parking garage, secured entry to the building, and several other amenities that I was sure would make me comfortable. Plus, I quickly learned that the condo was in a great location that was convenient to the McK office, the ATL airport, and a ton of restaurants, stores, and other areas of interest in the city. Just when I was relaxed with this situation, I returned home after training on Monday to find that my access card would not get me into the condo building’s garage or front door. when I told my landlord about it, she claimed that it was likely a mixup and that she’d take care of it the next day. When Tuesday afternoon came, she called me and told me that her access card had been shut off because of some financial dispute that she’d had with the condo association from 4 years ago and that I’d have to park on the street for a few days and knock on the front door of the building to get security to let me in. I was disappointed by this, but I tend to be laid back and was ready to let it ride until I got home and realized that cars start getting towed off the street at 7am…the street parking solution was not going to work, especially for the amount i’m paying in rent. I eventually found a place to park on the stret for Tuesday night where I wouldn’t get towed, but I had to walk a couple of blocks to get back to my building. When I arrived home after that walked, I called my landlord to inform her that this wasn’t going to work because it was just too inconvenient and was going to affect my quality of life. She called back a few minutes later and said that she was going to rent a spot in a public parking garage a block and a half away so I wouldn’t have to worry about parking on the street. At first, this seemed like a good stop-gap solution, but, when I considered how much of a pain it would be to make that walk if I were carrying my laptop, luggage, or groceries, I knew that this wouldn’t work either.

This whole situation has had me stressed out all week, but the worst part is that the projected time to get it fixed has moved further and further out with every passing minute. The parking issue is a big deal, but not being able to gain access to the building on my own is even worse. As my mother said, what would happen if someone decide to chase me down the street as I’m coming out of the external parking garage? I might be able to out run him, but, if I can get into the building, I might still get knocked over the head. Now, my landlord seems to be trying to get me to move out early so she can put the condo on the market and rid herself of the condo association as a nuisance. She’s told me that she’s not going to hold me to the six month term on the lease, has offered to help me find some other furnished place to rent, and has gone from being optimistic about this being resolved soon to thinking that it’ll be a long time before things are straightened out. It sucks to be put through all of this through no fault of my own, but there’s nothing I can do about it now. That’s why I’m advising all of you to put in the proper due diligence before moving to a new city. When you get to the point when you think you’ve done enough, try to come up with other things you can check out…you won’t regret it. Fortunately for me, I was able to stash away some money and will try to buy a home within the next month. I know that the same isn’t the case for others out there, so a little forethought on sort of thing could save a lot of aggravation and stress.

That’s about all for now. I’ll try to write more frequently in the next few weeks. Take care.