Last Saturday we spent a post-Halloween party at Elif's place, eating Raclette and watching horror movies. Well, to be precise, Manuel and Elif watched the horror movies. This wuss (i.e. me) spent the better part of the evening hiding behind a pillow and/or cell phone, so as not to see the TV screen. (Still too impressionable!)
I took that opportunity to browse the Internet for available apartments in lower Manhattan. The lease on our flat expires at the end of this month, and if we renew it, the landlord will increase our rent substantially. After weighing the pros (love our bright flat, like our neighbourhood) and cons (hassle and cost of moving, the 15% brokers fee, etc.) we decided to keep an open mind and explore NYC's crazy apartment scene.
Bottom line:
If we find a comparable 1-bedroom apartment in lower Midtown East at a lower rent, we'd consider moving.
I sent out a bunch of emails to brokers and landlords and on Monday I already had a couple of showings lined up.
Monday and Tuesday I pounded the pavement, seeing no less than 25 options. Despite the footwork, I loved looking at the apartments. Still, I was exhausted by Tuesday evening and ready to give up. I had yet to see anything suitable and figured I was just wasting my time.
Many 1-bedroom apartments are tiny, converted studios (i.e. one big room with a flimsy wall between kitchen and window) or if they really have two rooms, it's very dark (thanks to the neighbouring buildings) or they have an awkward layout.
There was one apartment left to see on Wednesday afternoon and I almost decided not to go. For fun I took my co-worker Anja along.
This apartment was amazing.
Despite being on a busy street, the apartment itself is very quiet, as it looks out onto the back courtyard. It's on the top floor of a walk-up (i.e. no elevator) and all neighbouring buildings are a similar structure (max 6 flights), so there is no high riser blocking the light.
For New York 1-bedroom standards the flat is huge, with exposed brick walls, open kitchen and there's even access to the roof.
Cons are
- no laundry in the building (but there is laundry right next door)
- it's at the top floor of the building and we would need to walk up 6 flights of stairs every day
But what swayed us was the price: It'd be $600 cheaper than our current place. For that price I do not mind walking stairs, nor going next door for laundry!
We put in an application right away. This next step could take some time, depending on the number of applicants. Keep your fingers crossed that they pick us!