Living small in the Big Apple - AM New York

Share your small-apartment coping techniques.

Share your small apartment living tips.

Why would any human(s)out of Madison, Wisconsin, opt to stay in " the Big Apple"?

"A tree grows in Brooklyn"......

Walt Whitman,Branch Rickey's Jackie Robinson and Pee Wee Reese, Sam Levinson.....Abe Burrows.....

'The divine presence' of "Guys and Dolls"

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NYC rents are an outrage !! But, you live in the hottest city in the world.

I wonder how many people's offices are bigger than their apartment?
This story is ridiculous. She cried because she didn't want to move to Brooklyn? I'm from California, but I'd stay clear of someone so boring and stupidly symbol obsessed to cry over the thought of moving to ::gasp:: not Manhattan! Then they will have a kid, and the agonizing decision over where the nanny will sleep, oh dear!

The Bronx is better,you get more space.
I found my apartment (1-bedroom, first floor) 8 years ago and it was only $570/mo back then, now it's $740.
It's only 20 minutes to Manhattan, the train is six blocks away, and the Pathmark is nearby.
For the "privilege" of living in a closet in Manhattan you could live in the outer boroughs and save money.

i'm with you "logical" this woman is ridiculous. people who shun outer burroughs are ridiculous. id much rather live in an apartment thats half the price, but twice the size of a manhattan closet any day... i used to live in a ridiculously small and expensive studio too, and living in such small quarters actually made me depressed. the only upside was that the kitchen was only steps away. lol. living in the "center of it all" does not justify paying more than $1000 for an apartment the size of my current bedroom.$1000 for a mini fridge, no bathtub (if your bathroom is even IN your apt), and a "kitchenette"? no thanks.

Although I grew up in Manhattan I count my blessings every day that I am now in Cary, NC, near the RTP, rated the 5th best place to live in the USA where I was able to purchase a 1300 sq. ft. townhome, with a garden, surrounded by woods for $100,000. I would not live in a hole in the wall even if it was free just because it was in Manhattan. It's fun to always visit the city every few months but I am always happy to say bye bye and return to a much better quality of life.

I can't believe that people pay that much for a closet. It's amazing!!! I left NYC for Atlanta with the same pay and my cost of living adjustment is about half of my paycheck. If you're paying $1,675/month for a 295 sq foot apartment, then I guess at that rate you'd pay approximately $12,000 a month to rent my new 2200 sq foot home. I know people want convenience etc but that's a lot of money to throw away just to be in the midst of the action. No wonder Americans are in such debt, out priorities are not in order. I went from paying $1,900/month for a 2 bedroom apt in Crown Heights Brooklyn to $1200 for my house in Georgia. When I left Brooklyn, I didn't even get a thank you note from my landlord. At least when I'm ready to upgrade, I'll be able to sell this or rent it out and have some money coming in. I'm just amazed at the lunacy that passes for normal in New York.

Loft bed.

i love that she cried because she didn't want to live in park slope. Park Slope!! can anyone get anything affordable there these days? they should be kicking themselves they didn't move out to brooklyn before it got too expensive.

Rent control is largely responsible for creating the situation wherin tenants in Manhattan tend to be either very poor, or very rich. That's why the middle classes are being forced out of New York. Making landlords charge well under the market rent pretty much screws them out of the rightful returns on their investment, so to recoup that money OF COURSE they're going to rent their non-controlled apartments at well over the market rate. Hello, $2000 studios. Hello, at least $2500 for a livable (tiny) one bedroom. As usual, it's as a result of socialist-style meddling in the economy - there is no way we would see this kind of extreme situation in Manhattan in a free capitalist economy.

Oh and by the way - it IS great to live in Manhattan. Being on a high floor with that view - and everything so close and convenient, hearing the roar of the city from your terrace at night, being surrounded by skyscrapers - well I guess it's not for everyone, but I love this place. Yes, we pay way over the reasonable market rent for our place but I'll tell you what else - I'd much rather NOT be paying this much to live here!

Don't blame the high outrageous rents on the rent regulated tenants, that's bull... Put the blame where it really belongs, on greedy, super rich developers and the real estate industry. Charging a rent in excess of $4,000/month for a one bedroom closet is way more than a return on their investment, it's an outrage, and if you pay that kind of money, then you are feeding the kitty and they will keep asking for it. Can't wait to get away from this dump of a city, just sorry I had to wait so long to be able to do it!