What Do You Think?
Yesterday I read about this woman who lives in Manhattan in a 90 square foot apartment and she is all joyous about it because she only pays $700 a month for a place in a neighborhood that usually runs around $3500. It kind of reminds me of the couple that bought a condo that was like 200 square feet and they claim they are thrilled even though they don't have a shower or kitchen. Is it all about location? 90 square feet is so small. Many walk in closets are like 60 to 70 square feet. Don't you think you would get tired of not being able to even turn around? I guess it would force you to really downsize your life, but you would think you get a better deal than $700 a month.
61 comments:
Insanity ....and I live in New York, I recently went apartment hunting with a friend....these landlords keep dividing the spaces to make more and more money...it's shameful.
I gotta say, that's not as bad as I thought it would be. Hell, it's better than a basement suite or two I've seen.
Lots of people live on boats and have even less space. For even more money!
No, that's stupid to me. I always pick the more bang for your buck over location, i.e. trendy 'hoods vs. standard.
So, she's renting someone's closet? Sounds like she's wasting $700 a month.
I wouldn't pay for a space like that. Too uncomfortable.
I would live there in a heartbeat. I love New York City and I hate housework. Perfect.
Good point, _-_=_. My two bosses (married) live on a boat with about the same amount of size for the TWO of them and use a communal shower in the marina lodge. Not for me, but they love it!
Actually, that's kind of a cozy little apartment. I'd go stir crazy myself from time to time...but I applaud her.
I think it's awesome. Way too many people live in spaces that are way too big for them. And, when you live in NYC, there's always somewhere to go!
i think the less stuff we own the happier we are..i'd love to get rid of about 75% of my "stuff."
Whoa, dorm rooms are bigger. Hell, some dumpsters are bigger. More roomy at least. Plus sleeping like that would make me feel like I was in a coffin or something. That bathroom...no way.
Did you guys see inside her little fridge? Sistah isn't skimping on her food. Nary a generic brand in sight.
Honestly I would rather commute an hour or so each way and actually live in a place that didn't make me feel like a refugee. I guess if being able to say you live in NYC means that much to you, then it's worth the hassle.
If she's happy, that's all that matters. I wouldn't though.
I love it! My friend and I were discussing this yesterday. I am fascinated with small living spaces. In a place like NYC where there is so much to do outdoors, this would be perfect.
Oh, and I hadn't seen this until now. It's one way to get rid of all the unnecessary clutter in your life, no?
Just another reason to just visit NYC and not live there. If she is happy, that is all that matters I guess. I would not even consider this.
It's a testament to the amazingness of NYC that a person would live in 90 square feet just to be there. Living near Central Park is priceless. I miss that city....
I'd live there in a heartbeat. Heck, I'd pay that just for a weekend place. Amazing location.
OK, I'll be mama practical here...
Where do you keep your wet, sloppy boots in the winter? What do you do when you're too ill to climb that ladder or need to be on the same floor as your bath because of said illness? These are things I worry about anyway. Living simple is one thing, living uncomfortable is something else. If it makes her happy, good. She can have it. I know I wouldn't.
My family was watching this last night. I thought that if she was a professional organizer, she could have done a better job designing her pad. She could have done so much more and made it look really cute. To me it just looks like a bunch of storage racks. And say what you want about New York, but you can get a decent little single family home in my area for about the same cost.
That's just plain stupid. I work in Manhattan, but live in Hoboken NJ area. I have a 800 sq ft apart and it's awesome. I pay very little rent and it has a view of NYC and the Hudson River. I get to work in midtown in 30 min. tops. TOPS!!!! I get to work faster than my boss who lives in the Upper East side and pays a lot more $$$ for less. I also have a car and a parking spot. I wouldn't live in Manhattan in a tiny apt if you paid me, just so I can impress people with my NYC drivers license. I don't care what other people think. It's sad this woman does. I also spend so much time in NYC, that I love getting away from it at night.
Why am I humming the theme song to Green Acres?
My first flat after my divorce was tiny,but it was all I could afford. I could walk to work-- had to. It took me six months working two jobs to save enough to get A Real Flat and Furniture! I slept on the floor and i was so happy to buy a real bed. (ex gave me nothing but I was glad to be rid of him).
I can understand living in a tiny room but NOT for long term. Snow White didn't live with those 7 vertically challenged men for long, did she?
It gives me claustrophobia just looking at it.
I'm torn. I live in a sunny, spacious 2b/2ba house with an acre of land with breathtaking mountain views. I pay less than her rent in mortgage but... what I would give to live in Manhattan. It's such a toss-up; space and the country life or no-space and urban excitement. I guess I'd like to have $$$ and have both (ok, the NYC apt. would have to be larger).
@Simone,
Lisa's balcony in the opening shots was bigger than that place.
I agree with Ice Angel - for a professional organizer, it could have been done up a lot nicer. This does make me feel a lot better about having moved into my brother's basement apartment. I was feeling cramped in about 300 square feet and now it seems positively roomy! :) (Of course, all I have to do is walk up a flight of stairs if I want to stretch out.)
As one of the commenters on YouTube said, it's going to be a different story for her in the winter - I wonder if she's lived through a winter there? When you don't have sunlight and can't spend much time outdoors, it's easy to go stir crazy.
I couldn't do it. I don't need tons of space, but I need some. I think my limit would be about 600 sq. ft. Any smaller and I'd feel hemmed in. Plus, a kitchen is imperative! But it works for her and she saves money to do what she really likes.
But, I don't know how that can be legal. It's beyond small.
I just keep looking at the top bunk and thinking..there is no way I'd want to bring a man back to that place. Could you imagine getting all hot & steamy and having to crawl up the ladder in the moment and then worry about those 2X2's breaking up there?
I could do it. I don't understand the need to move to the suburbs to a 2,000 square room house with a family room and two car garage and commute in the morning and evening.
To be in that location in Manhattan... that would be awesome.
I don't need much space, I rarely cook and it would make me de-clutter. And in the winter, people actually do continue to go outside. You just have to dress for it. Her wet boots can go on a small mat right in front of her door. They do not require a separate room.
The only two big negatives for me would be I couldn't have a cat as I don't think there's enough room (or rather, nowhere to hide the litterbox) and I have a lot of shoes.
I LOVE New York and am going in May for vacation. For four days I'll be paying at LEAST $250 per night for a hotel. So if she loves it it's worth it.
Speaking of New Yorkers (or commuters) does anyone have any ideas about cheaper hotels? I'm torn between booking something expensive now or waiting till the date is closer and using priceline or hotwire. Thoughts?
What a nutter. Someone needs to get their priorities straight.
I think that's crazy. Where I live you can get a 1-bedroom apartment for $850/month. She is spending $700 for a closet. Literally, a closet. This is nuts.
Ok, maybe it's not about priorities. From my experience, I've lived in NYC and I found the living spaces too frustrating and compact for me. She obviously likes it.
I still think it's weird though and super nutty that someone would think $700 is a bargain amongst $3500 units. Almost like thinking a $1600 used Chanel is a bargain amongst the $4000 new one. Like, come on.
girltrav, I think it depends on where you want to be. If you are dead set on being downtown you may want to go ahead and book now. If you are more flexible re:location (will you have a rental, do you plan on using the subway etc) then keep an eye out. Just make sure if you do book now (or soon) that you know how much notice you have to give if it comes down to cancelling.
@ girltrav, try trip advisor (http://www.tripadvisor.com/). Search for "New York City Hotels", click on "all hotels in New York City" (should be the first result).
On the next page, you'll see a price per night feature with a slider that you can move to show you only the hotels in your price range. You can mess with location as well. Tripadvisor usually has tons of reviews to help you sort the good from the bad.
I used to work for a company that evaluates search engine results related to travel, and Trip Advisor is the site we used to check up on what the search engine was returning. I always use it now when I'm looking for a hotel.
And PS - I'm renting a 3 bedroom house with a yard at the same price per month as this woman's tiny apartment. I definitely could not live in NYC!
Oh, and after you find a hotel you like, use Travelocity to check prices. They usually have a calendar that shows prices on different days, so if your travel days are flexible you can really get a good deal.
I guess it's all relative. My bf and I pay $1,100 for a 650 sq. foot place in downtown Vancouver, and that's on the low side if not completely average. But that's Vancouver and to be expected. I often think I might want to move to Montreal, just cause I hear the rental prices are SO much better and hey, it's Montreal.
God knows I could reduce clutter at my apt. I live alone in about 1000 sq feet, 2bd/2bath. I rarely use my second bathroom, but it's nice to have it. I almost never use my dining room, but I use my second bedroom as an office daily.
The one thing I couldn't do is sleep that close to the ceiling. I'm claustrophic as it is, and her bed situation is insane to me. (How the hell do you have sex up there?)
But she seems happy, so more power to her.
I lived in an apt in Venice Beach that was about double that size anmd it had a real little kitchen & built-in bunk-bed that wasn't that close to the ceiling..that's just insane. I paid $525 for that place in 1993. I wonder how much it is today.
hey, she's in manhattan. she's willing to give up more space to be there. i don't see why that's nutty.
there are some of us who are city rats---no suburbia and commuting for us. we want to be IN the city. she's obviously one of those people.
I'm a city rat, like Nancer said...but I'm not about neighborhoods. I have a fairly decent place in Chicago and only pay about $1100 a month. And by place, I mean HOUSE. Then again, I've been flipping the thing since 2001.
It's super ugly. I could live with small, but not ugly.
Suhyphen and Ms Luey...I got a 4 star hotel in Rockefeller Center for $210 per night!
Thank you so much I was so stressed about getting a hotel with a bathroom down the hall!
You don't need a kitchen in NY.
Her place looks okay for the price.
I don't even want put in a coffin after I'm dead. Living in that tight a space I would need haldol and a straight jacket. NO THANKS!
I couldn't do it. I have so much clutter in my house, though, that if I had to move to a small place, getting rid of it would be a blessing. But then again, my dream home is a large farmhouse on spacious acreage.
Small spaces are the newest thang. The rebound from the bigger is better generation.
http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/
I am slightly OCD and throw everything away, but there is no way I could ever live in a place that tiny. It's claustrophobic! I guess if you are one of those "NYC is the only place worth living in" people, you would be willing to put up with it, but I can easily think of 25 cities I'd rather live in. NYC is fine for a vacation, but there's no way I'd ever live there.
I live in a 1,950 sq. ft. house on a nearly 12k sq. ft. lot 10 minutes from the Texas Medical Center, where I work, in Houston. 3 beds/2 baths, dining room, study, living room, kitchen, and sunroom. Mature trees, big closets, hardwoods, built-ins, and convenient to everywhere worth going to. I bought it in 2007 for $123k.
And I agree with Ice Angel - for a "professional organizer," the place looks junky and cluttered. I can't stand seeing everything out in plain sight like that.
This kind of thing always amazes me... firstly, I don't understand why people HAVE to live in Manhattan when there are perfectly wonderful apartments in Brooklyn. My sister and her friend lived in Park Slope in a huge 2-bedroom, 1 bath apt and she paid $850/mo. Yes, roommates can be a pain, but I'd rather have a bigger apt!
Although I'm totally cool with the whole downsizing idea. Nothing wrong with not owning a ton of useless crap!
my loft in park slope was going up to $1100, thats when i bailed and moved back to chester county pa lol
I guess it's only missionary for her.
as much as i love nyc, i just couldn't do a place that small. i downgraded (because of the cost) recently from a 1k square foot apartment to a place that's about 800sf, and even with getting rid of alot of clutter, it still feels tight. i like having room. if it were me, i would opt for a place in brooklyn or jersey instead of a box in manhattan.
I prefer smaller spaces. Given the location and the price, that seems like a good deal.
Ice angel, I came here to say that very thing. She claims to be a professional organizer but her apartment is just a big, metal rack. I would absolutely live in that tiny space if I were single but I'd organize it to be like an old library. Install floor-to-ceiling bookshelves with a nice, sliding ladder. The whole look of that place suggests to me that she decorated with a $500 Walmart gift card. Even her bedspread was dull. If you're going to live in a tiny space at least make it fabulous. My husband and I live in a 300 sq. ft. RV so I know about small spaces.
I showed this to my kids, they thought it was a joke. When I told them their college dorm rooms would probably look like that my youngest told me she'd skip college. We like our space. But if it was just me, I'd be ok there except for the bed. I kept thinking "couldn't she work it so she at least sit up??". It wasn't cozy. Which is odd, considering it was so itty bitty.
Yay, Girltrav! That is an excellent price. Hope you have fun on your trip!
She's an idiot & the reason rents are so high there. If people wouldn't be willing to pay so much & boycott those areas, rent would go down.
I'm kind of torn on this. That location is fantastic but I don't know if I could downsize that much. She seems perfectly happy though. She's right about what her dad said but seems like he'd tell her to invest in real estate now instead.
Who knows, if her book does well she might be able to upgrade to at least 300 SF. :)
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