apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

$1950 for a 500 sqft one bedroom in the east village. Teeny tiny balcony, this place is big enough for one, couldn't imagine two. Dreaming about a small two bedroom so that my home office would stop taking over.

What is this poll for? Manhattan? All the burroughs? Metro-NYC area?

Interesting that you choose 800-1500, cause I think 1000 is a major psychological barrier (especially for folks moving in from outside NYC). 1200 is a number I hear from a lot of the young'uns here in the office as an optimal rent.

Also would be curious to see how many are Market, rent-stabilized, or rent-controlled.

This should be an interesting thread . . .

It would be also interesting to know readers' ages and who they live with (roomates/spouses/etc).

should you bother responding if you own and pay a mortgage instead of renting?

I don't think 2000-3000 is a good range. I pay 2200 for a small one bedroom in the East Village of Manhattan. While I don't think that is cheap, my answer to the poll could be offsetting the results at least from a standpoint of that vast a range.

fwiw, I gave up my rent stabilized one bedroom in the same building for a slight bit more room and a year old gut reno. It was in dire need of some major repairs, but I only paid 1500 a month and got a lot better light and a more suitable layout for a two person occupancy.

Now -$1145 in downtown Brooklyn (Boerum Hill), not stabilized, small studio, no roommate

Then ('97 to '03) - $500 to $573 in Washington Hts., stabilized, small studio, no roommate

When I moved to Brooklyn in '03, my rent nearly doubled ( $572.60 to $995). No real increase in space but the psychological difference between a cube shaped studio and a bread box was huge. Also, the difference in atmosphere did a lot for my mental health. Up there it was all isolation, particularly since I was way down Riverside by the GWB. Now, it's a block to Spring Street, a block to Atlantic, Pathmark, Macy's, Target, plus a short walk to the courthouse for jury duty.

It was so worth the money.

I'm at $1,250 (sharing rent of $2500) in a pretty (and pretty small) 1 bdrm in the West Village.

Sharing with my boyfriend. In New York, if I didn't have a boyfriend, I think I would get one just to share the rent.

Have a beautiful one bedroom (1000sq feet) on the park that I pay 780.00 for. I thank God every single day. Have lived here 15 years and hope to die here (age: 44).

danae - No

I realize now that I'm throwing your numbers off slightly as I rent in Toronto for CDN$1300 (though at least the exchange rate at present won't mess things up further). Hard to resist a poll.

Egad, didn't mean to shout my name.

Less than $200. Studio w/balcony (utilities included)in federally subsidized housing. I've been here since 1987 and will probably leave on a stretcher.

i'm at $500 ($1000 split with my roommate) for a two bedroom in fort greene/clinton hill. which i'm on the verge of getting gentrified out of -- the co-op i rent just put a time limit on rental tenants, and my roommate has outlasted it. which means we'll probably be out of here within a year. and there's no way we'll find something else this cheap in the nighborhood.

we're looking for something in the vicinity of $1200, probably deeper into Brooklyn (i'm thinking Kensington or Crown Heights).

personally, i blame Jonathan.

Shouldn't that count as $1000, and not $500? Shouldn't it be total rent for the apartment, not just your share (cuz that could really skew the picture, no?)

i'm paying $1540 for a real 1 BR on the lower lower east side (below delancy). amazing view, tons of light. it's a million times better than my EV studio ($800) that was slightly bigger than a jail cell. i can't believe i lived there for so long.

I pay $1400 for a 2-bedroom in the jersey city ghetto! It's a gorgeous apartment, and if it were in any other neighborhood I'd pay triple that!

Before this I lived in Hoboken and paid $1275 for a 1-bedroom dirty garden apartment.

I'm happy with the move so far...but I want to live in Manhattan and pay the same rate for the same space!

I would be nice if that 800-1500 category could be broken down cause there's a big difference between $800 and $1500 if you're paying it all by yourself ...

$1024 for a large 1 bedroom on the border of wburg/ bushwick....been here 3 years...love it. 10 minutes to Union Square, nice neighbors,a gentrifying hood,etc

Close to $800 for a large 1 BR in East Harlem (got picked in a housing lottery). 3 years later and I am still paying less than when I had a roommate. Until I can buy something, I'm stayin' put!

Splitting just under $1300 with my boyfriend for a three bedroom, 4th floor walk-up in Inwood (one of the "bedrooms" is was clearly originally the dining room. We use it as a study.)

Pros: scads of light, huge. Cons: this neighborhood can get VERY loud, lots of littering and loitering.

I pay 1,750 for a floor-thru 1 bedroom in Park Slope it is a gut reno and includes a dishwasher-yeah. I moved out of a rent stablized 1 bedroom in Brooklyn Heights literally steps away from the promenande a few years ago, at the time I paid $1050. What a difference a few years make-sigh.

we pay $1350 for a 2 bedroom in Bed-Stuy with a garage and a huge backyard. We're more than half way through our second year and will stay here until we can buy a place. Big, sunny but not quite "nice" apartment. Very nice outdoor space. I have a passionate love/hate relationship with the neighborhood. Even in that year and a half, though, the market has changed so that you can't rent something like this here now.

I think part of what is so interesting about this survey is how much people pay in relation to how long they've lived in their apartment.

I'm very lucky--I pay only $1150 for a rent-stabilized, two bedroom right off Grand Army Plaza and the Museum. Before this, I paid $1500 for something smaller and much less scenic in Long Island City.

I think in NYC and the borroughs, anything under $1000 is a steal, roommate or no.

As a non-American I have no concept of New York rents - are there per month?

yes alex, per month

I pay $868 for a 400 sq ft 1BR in Brooklyn Heights. It's rent stabilized, and when I moved in (1988) I paid $490. The rent would be under $800 now if I had not gotten a new fridge, stove, toilet and kitchen sink. It's small and has only one closet, but the location is great; I have a separate BR and a wall of windows looking out on Montague Street.

I pay 875 for the apt linked (click my name) -- have been here for about 22 years. It was rough for a bit, esp crack epidemic in early 90's, but now they sell condos on the corner for 2 mil.

Prior to here I had a studio around the corner for $325, on a gorgeous landmarked block, but the room was 9 feet at its widest -- kind of like living in a subway car. When I took my current place, I thought it was my last chance at an affordable 1 bdrm in Manhattan. Thank goodness I had that foresight!

I will leave this place in a body bag!

We don't rent, we own. So I answered based on our monthly mortgage and maintenance combined. That's not the best representation, however, since a chunk of that is tax deductible. Then again, it doesn't include the co-op assessments we get hit with every few years for major building-wide improvements either.

This kind of survey really needs to be less broad to be anywhere near useful. You're assuming that everyone who answers lives in the same metropolitan area, which is not the case. If someone from outside NYC (Philly, for example) answers with $1500-$2000 - that's extremely expensive for that area and gets you an awful lot of space. Not the norm at all. Of course here in NYC (we're in brooklyn heights), that's considered average, if not downright cheap unless you're in the outer-boroughs and/or have roommates and/or very cramped quarters.

Ptoo & Laurie,

I think this survey is fine as is. I mean, the most useful information, at least to Maxwell, is the answer to the question "How much rent can my readers afford". Which I imagine would be quite useful for him, and for his advertisers.

I am guessing that it's NOT supposed to be a census of rents in different areas in New York, for instance. You can get that information easily elsewhere on the internet.

With this in mind, I thought that we should be dividing our rent to what we actually pay for the apartment (not the whole apartment's rent if we share). Ie, how much rent can we afford?

yeah, i think some of these ranges should be broken up, $1500 is something I could definitely not manage by myself, but is probably the average for youngish people in manhattan/brooklyn. whereas i think almost everyone would agree $800 is a steal.

Currently pay $889 for a rent stabilized 400 sq. ft studio steps fromSmith St. in Cobble Hill/Carroll Gardens/Boerum Hill (depending on who boundaries you believe.) I have lived here for 9 years (and shared a brownstone apt on Hoyt for 8 years before that). I have no no intention of leaving any time soon. I paid a little over $600 a month when I moved in all those years ago, affordable on a non-profit salary then, affordable on a significantly higher non-proft salary now. Although I love some of the ways has Smith St. has developed over the years, some of the changes unfortunately has become symptomatic of what is wrong with NYC in general these days, overly pretentious in places, overly pretentious people at times, and painfully self-referential as hip often. There are days that sameness of the people becomes grotesque. Sort of like the comment I heard a young latina make coming out of the Bergen St. subway one morning about two years ago- "where did all these white people come from?" I can't say she's wrong on some days.

I sorely need an editor.
"Although I love some of the ways Smith St. has developed over the years, some of the changes unfortunately have become symptomatic of what is wrong with NYC..."

I move in next month and am paying 2k for a small one bedroom duplex on the Upper East Side (in the mid-seventies). And I live alone (with 2 cats). The place is very cute and I can walk to work.. we'll see how I cope with the loss of space moving from my huge 1 bedroom in chicago.

$975 for a four-room railroad in park slope. the location is great, the amount of space is great, the apartment itself, definitely a fixer-upper. the floors are awful (previous tenant had torn up the carpet and then sloshed yellow and brown paint onto its unsanded surface...ugh), there's crazy water damage on bathroom ceiling, crappy fixtures, none of the doors fit in the frames, crooked floors, and a roach and waterbug infestation that requires pretty extensive and constant treatment to abate. oh, what a girl puts up with to live alone in new york! :)

I pay $1000 in Astoria for a large, newly-renovated (not gut, but they did a pretty great job), rent-stabilized one bedroom with beautiful wood floors, lots of light, high ceilings and no roommate.

I absolutely love my apartment.

Is it standard polling technique to include the same number in two ranges- seems like it might skew the results. I pay $1500 and didn't know if i should choose $800-$1500 or $1500-$200. I chose the second cause they were behind.

I live in West Philadelphia and I pay $1000 for a (very large!) five bedroom with high ceilings, wood floors, etc. Viva Philadelphia!

NLB:

I must agree with the young latina on this - where did all the white people come from ?". Where ever the white people go the prices go up.
it happened to a co-op building in NJ and it happens everywhere.

Please do not take me wrong.

I pay $770 for a rent stabalized one-bedroom in East Harlem, a steal. I'm moving at the end of the month, I bought my first place just around the corner! I'll bump up to $1200 for an 886 sq. ft, 1-BDRM.

Sorry guys, but I live in Ohio and I did a "Sharon" too. I could only imagine what my 800sf/600.00 would go for anywhere in NY (that includes heat). Hobbesian. Very Hobbesian.

The rent differences around the metro NYC area truly amaze me. Actually, just the ideas of rent stabilization & 100 year old buildings amaze me.

I live in metro Orlando and pay $555 for a 560 sq ft studio, which for this town is pretty darn small & cheap. My complex is considered very old. It was built 35 years ago. There's almost nothing here that can compare to the age of most housing in older metro areas like NYC, Boston or Chicago, unless one rents part of an older house (circa 1940s) downtown and pays through the nose.

We pay $609.10 for a rent stabilized apt in the central Bronx (started at $550 in 2001). The Bronx was the very last borough I ever wanted to move to (I've lived in all but Queens), but my husband and I took a train ride to see a realtor and walked around. Don't under estimate The Bronx. There are a lot of nice neighborhoods.

We live in a 1928 decent-sized one bedroom. It's an old apartment, but it will have to do for now. I would NEVER pay more than $800 (for a one bedroom) for a rented apt. It makes no sense to me to pay so much for something you don't own. I don't understand how people can feel satisfied paying over $2000 for a rented studio. If you have so much money...buy a place!

FYI: we are in our late 20's (no kids...woohoo!) and our income isn't much because I work part-time because I'm in school.

By the way...This is my $609.10 apt...click my name.

Don't worry, I haven't skewed the poll by taking the survey! I just wanted to comment that not only have I learned from avid reading of this blogsite that I actually have a large apartment (used to think 650 square feet, 1 bedroom, for one person was small), but now I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that my $670 (Canadian) rent is cheap! (I have a nice apartment, too, much nicer since I serendipitously came across AT, the book, and then the blog!)

Under $800 for a rent-stabilized two-room studio in the West Village. I've lived here for 28 years, single and married. The floor sags and tilts and the walls are in serious need of repair. And like Maxwell and SK, I'm willing to sink the price of a late model pre-owned car this year renovating a place we don't even own!

Elliott Warren,

Could we be living in the same bldg?? ;)

How did you find the apt you will be moving into? That's a good monthly mortgage for a 1BR.

$2300 per month for a small studio off Union Square. The apartment is okay, nothing special, but the building is very nice. No boyfriend to split rent with, unfortunately, but I do have two cats (I wish they could help out with the rent).

I think total rent for the apt is a more useful thing to enter on the survey than just your share of the rent.

I live in Montreal and my rent is $1120 for a 5 1/2 in the Plateau, but I split that with my boyfriend. It wouldn't be at all accurate to say I get this apartment for $560, even though that is what I personally pay.

http://www.sima-meida.com/about.html
http://www.b086.com/blog2/1240/
http://www.czcm.cn

I share my gorgeous, $1400 2 bedroom in Astoria. I do share it with a roommate (a Ph.D/teacher who isn't around much) but the layout and square footage are ideal for two people who don't share a bed. We've got an 8' x 11' galley kitchen with more storage than we can use, all the original details from the 1930 construction (though the plaster walls are a problem), and inlaid floors.

It may not be hip, but there is some beautiful real estate to be had around here.

If $1,000 is a pyschological barrier for many people, mine has always been set at $500. Of course except for my first year here in TX, my rent hadn't been that low in about 10 years. Right now I'm paying $529 for a small 1 bedroom with a patio and decent building management. The complex has a pool and workout room. So many of the other complexes around here have more amenities like tennis and volleyball courts. When I last lived in nyc, I paid $650 for half of a decrepit apartment in Crown Heights.

$1500 rent stabilized for fairly spacious 2 bdrm w/ backyard in Prospect Hgts Brooklyn. Very close to museum and park. I've been here 3 yrs (single) and won't be leaving unless I can find something to buy.

Does my mortgage payment count? Many on this site probably pay a mortgage, as oppose to renting. If I were renting, I wouldn't give a rat's ass about my apartment. Anyway, bon voyage. I look foward to reading more stuff on this site in September.

Cilla--
To buy an apartment that would yield a rent-equivalent payment of $2000 or so, you have to have serious down payment money, and *that* part is not always an option, even if you can swing a $2000+ monthly check.

655$ for 350 square feet.

$2,600 for nice 850 sq ft mini loft in midtown East.

Wow..I'm really on the high end..I pay 2150 for a beautiful 2000sq ft 2 bdrm duplex/laundry room/garden in prime clinton hill..quiet block, ez access to mass transportation, stores, etc..been in the nabe for about 15 yrs..started out pay about 400 for a decent sized studio

I'm gonna move to the US I think, you guys earn a lot if you can pay more than $1,000 a month for rent????
Here in Belgium (Europe), I pay around $614 a month for an appartment with 2 bedrooms.

I lease a 1700 sq.ft.commercial/residential space in Fairfield Cty.,CT.
Rent is $2100.
I live and work here during the week.

Pierre-
au contraire, as you can see, many of us pay rent. Not everyone can afford to buy (have you seen the prices?) but that doesn't mean you don't want to live in a nice place!

Also, that canard about "rent is throwing your money away" isn't necessarily the case. The Times did a cost comparison (including maintenance, mortgage interest, taxes and tax breaks) and in NY at least, renting can be the better option.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/25/realestate/25cov.html?ex=1155355200&en=aab2690a9b7f1120&ei=5070

(me: $825/mo, 525 sq ft in park slope)

I live with my girlfriend in West Hartford, CT and together we pay $950 for a 2 bedroom ~900-1000 sqft apartment on the third floor of a three family house. Actually the landlord just dropped the rent to $900 because we agreed to start mowing the lawn, keep the plants alive and shovel the walkway in the winter.

I no longer live in New York, but 20 years ago, I paid $1000/mo to sublet a 250 sq ft studio in the West Village and a few years later, $1300/mo for a 1BDR in Nolita (at least, that's what they call that area now).

Either rents have gone down or I didn't shop around enough!!

I live in a beautiful sun-filled apartment with lots of windows and gorgeous wood floors. $750 a month for a (small) 2-bedroom. It's in Denver, though.

Man, I'd forgotten how crazy rents were in NYC.

$1025 for a studio in Westchester County (NY);

single, share with my cat -


decent size for a studio -

As others have mentioned, the breakdown for the poll is quite meaningless in the NYC market.

There is a heavy psychological $1000 barrier. In addition, a $1400 apartment is quite drastically different than a $1000 apt.

I propose the following breakdown:

A) Under $800
B) 800-1000
C) 1000-1400
D) 1400-1800
E) 1800-2200
F) 2200-3000
G) > $3000

This accounts for different categories of apartment.

Secondly, it would be highly beneficial to identify the borough and size of the apt.

$4,900.00 mortgage, $1,900.00 maintenance for a two br, two bath in the west village. (wow - seeing it "in print" like that makes me think that i've indeed gone batshit insane.)

We pay $1500 for seven beautiful rooms on Cortelyou Road.
I can't imagine paying over 2k for a studio.
I'd be curious to know the proportion of folks' salary that goes to rent. I'd imagine that more than half some people's pay goes to the landlord.

$1100 rent stab 250 sq ft studio in chelsea

This has been interesting - I'm on the market for a new rental, so all of this info. has been great. I currently pay half of $2375 in the East Village for a 500 sq. ft. 1 BR converted to 2 BR. The building is only 4 yrs. old, so its in excellent shape.

from reading all the comments it must seem confusing to those who don't live in new york. there are rent differences between manhattan and the other four boroughs of new york.there are rent differences between regulated and market rate apartments.
two identical apartments in the same building can rent for high and low prices.size is not everything, rent can reflect the condition of the bulding or the apartment, services; a doorman or gym, floor the apartment is on, view, neighborhood the building is in, deck or terrace, and more.
so this survey should just be about a number. we had a survey about how many rent or own.
have we had surveys about how many live in each borough and the tristate area and beyond? prewar or post? doorman?

$844 for a rent stabalized 450 sq ft studio in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of Washington, DC. And that includes utilities.

The reasonable rents written about here are mostly people who've been here a while. I moved here in 1992 and was able to find apartments I could afford on my then $22k salary. I would never be able to afford to live in Manhattan now right out of college.

What about maintenance and common charges? They are a BIG part of the NYC budget.

Susan

Wow this is a regular real estate confessional today. Another factor to consider though is what percentage of one's income is spent on rent.

Until approximately 20 years ago I lived in an unregulated rental in Washington Heights on 181st St. with a roomate and we split the $310 monthly rent. It was technically a one bedroom pre-war but with a large dining room and front parlor it was converted into a two bedroom easily. I then moved to my current 350 sq ft studio apartment in Brooklyn just off Smith St. which was/is rent-stablized for about the same rent at that time. It now costs just over $700 a month and next lease will be just over $800.

Yeah, I don't think this question is "identify the differences between rents in the borough and based upon kind of apartment." Those kinds of statistics are available elsewhere, in more statistically significant formats than a blog poll. This is: what do the readers of this page pay?

This reader, in DC (as I don't have my OWN AT yet) in the ever-expanding Capitol Hill designated neighborhood,pays $1,000 for a 1 br+ all util except water/sewer, with hardwood floors, my own laundry, central air, dishwasher and disposal. Hee haw. That's actually very cheap, but don't tell my landlord. Most places I was looking at were in the $1200-$1400 range. I agree that the $800-$1500 range is way too large, kind of like in the sofa poll a while ago.

Kersten,
Don't assume just because everyone is paying a lot of rent that they earn more...usually, it's just paying a larger portion of your budget in housing costs. It's been a rising cost for many Americans in recent years, though, esp. in large metro areas. When I first moved to the DC area in 1998, I paid $875 for a 1 br with absolutely no amenities, and at the time, earned about $1400 after taxes per month. So, including utilities, I was paying much more than 50% towards housing costs. (I promptly moved after 1 year to share a space for $390/mo).

In smaller cities and towns, rents are far more reasonable...For example, in my home town, you could easily find a nice 2 bedroom apartment for $700 or less. Usually, though, many of these places don't have as vibrant a job market or population growth happening, so young people aren't readily attracted there. And, housing in general is more affordable, so many people will buy houses. Supply and demand, i guess!

I live in a 3br in Williamsburg and we pay $2600 total. We have a washer/dryer in the apartment, a backyard and a spare room (which people pass through to get to other rooms so it can't be a bedroom) that we use to do craft projects. Our kitchen is huge (15'x15') and our living room is at least that big as well. We each pay different amounts for our rooms as they vary greatly in size. I personally pay $816 every month. We love our place, love the neighborhood and think it's a great deal.

I live in Montreal and pay 600 $CDN for a one-bedroom apartment where I live with my spouse. We could afford bigger and better but we're saving for a house.

I don't see how people can afford to live in New York City. I have seen job ads in my professional field and the salaries aren't any higher than here.

Patrick (too):
Location, location, location! You're right about that...if you're buying in Manhattan. My bro-in-law just bought a 4 fam house on The Bronx/Westchester border (really nice area) for ~$450,000. I think his mortgage is around $2,000. I'm really not interested in staying in the city when I buy. I'd look right outside (Westchester, White Plains...even Jersey). I know that I've been outpriced a long time ago.

Patrick (too): Oh and yes, he did put a large down payment.

this whole thread is really interesting- esp since just moving from sf, where rents are not all that different, but you get so much for your money there (space, yards, decks, nice kitchens, etc)... anyways, i'm totally loving my new >250SF apt on the border of morningside heights and harlem...it's through columbia's graduate housing, so it's subsidized at $1,000/month.

Cilla--

About five years ago, I was given the chance to buy the condo I was renting, direct from owner. The mortgage would have been only what the annual rent increase would have been, so that was a non-issue. But there was no way at all I could have swung the down payment, even with extreme parental help.

I LOVED that apartment. Sadly, the next year our company went public, and I probably could have done it then!

ps: It's SUCH a NY thing that people are so open about their rents, and that it is considered even an "ice breaking question" at dinner and cocktail parties!!!

I pay $1200 for a 1 BD in Astoria on a very nice block. Utilities are included and it has central air - a rare thing around here. My last apartment started at $850 and would have been $1100 if I had stayed there, but the building was poorly maintained. Unfortunately, my income has not increased at the same pace as my rent.

$2150 for a high-ceilinged 450 sq ft studio "loft" on W Broadway in Soho. Nice-looking, non-working fireplace. Tiny kitchen with no dishwasher.

I pay $700 for a 600 sq ft rent stabilized studio in turtle bay.

I agree with P(too) about the openness. I live in the south (who'd have guessed) and we just don't talk about such things. If you like somebody's apartment, you have to say "Would it be okay to inquire how much apartments 'like yours' are renting for in this building?" Your host will probably be glad to tell you, but don't be surprised if they aren't quick to offer you a second glass of iced tea.
I like the idea of being open about how much you pay for rent. Knowing what other people pay helps people make informed decisions about where to live, how much they should be paying, renting vs. owning, etc. Paying more or less rent doesn't make you a better or worse person. More importantly, it seems how much you pay isn't always a direct relationship to how much you make. I know people with plenty of money who live in small places because they abide by that 'no more than 1/3 of your income towards housing rule'. I also know people in some fat pads who don't make that much money but choose to spend the majority of it on housing.
I also enjoy hearing about New York rents because who knows, maybe I'll live there one day. Atlanta has its perks, but y'all have better public transportation, much better shopping and infinitely better Chinese food.
Me for now - 1000 sf 1-bedroom in Midtown Atlanta, $890/month rent includes pool, reserved gated parking and gym.

P(too) I agree and it's often commented on that it is indeed a NY thing to be so open about rent. It shocks most newcomers to the city.

I might add to my earlier post that my current rent even though comparatively low is eating up a larger and larger portion of my income as my salary has not been going up at the same pace. It's the old "golden handcuffs". Its cheaper because I've lived there so long now even though I'm frustrated with the size, but I couldn't afford something comparable in that now "trendy" neighborhood at market rate which is nearly double what I currently pay. When I moved there Smith St. in Cobble/Boreum Hill had a biker bar and a lot of boarded up store fronts.

NLB and rinse, regarding the young Latina's white people comment at Bergen and Smith St. A lot of us have been there longer than she's been alive. More are visiting now because there are thriving business on the street again. I have always liked the ethnic mix of NYC in general and would be sorry to see anyone forced out because of rising rents, but I don't have a solution.

If you're planning on moving to Manhattan you really won't need a car, or the maintenance and insurance inherent with car ownership. I have my $72 (or something like that?) MetroCard and that's pretty much it. I almost never take cabs.

So that's one thing to consider when you think about the higher housing cost here.

I own, so I have both a mortgage and maintenance charges to pay, because during the VERY brief moment that my folks were able to loan me down-payment money, I was able to imagine living in 284 sq.ft. AND I managed to basically get that first apartment for what the previous owners still owed on their mortgage. Seems they were sick of subletting it out, since they had moved out of town so many years before.

I lucked out when I sold the place for 3 times what I paid, which helped me get my current place -- AGAIN a studio, but twice the size. VERY few things have gone as well as that in my life.

p(t00) - you are so right! i cannot walk into a new apartment without asking how much the rent is. i kind of consider it market research for my next move!!

as for me....

Upper East Side - one bedroom - very decent sized, in a third floor walkup. Rent stabilized at $1046 and I've been living there for 8 years. It pained me when my rent went over $1K! (And I have a girlfriend to split it with!)

My apartment before this was a studio right around the corner that was $600 in 1990 and by the time I moved out eight years later had maybe hit $800.

Every month I thank the gods of rent stabilization that I've been able to live in a nice apartment in a nice neighborhood for so long!

I pay $1500 for an f-ing huge 2 bed 2 bath in Kensington Brooklyn. Only prob is I didn't notice the street in front is a truck route! Don't plan to stay forever, so I try to ignore it.

Read it and weep, folks. $3,300 for a one bedroom (600 sq ft) in Brooklyn Heights. Got it at a corporate discount so I only actually paid $2,700. Yeah. FREAKING EXPENSIVE.

I've always been amused by the openness of the rent discussion in NYC too. I think it's because while in other cities, asking "how much is your rent" is basically the same as the taboo, "how much do you make," getting a great apartment in NY is often really about animal cunning. If you say you pay $250 a month in Texas, people will probably assume you live in a horrible slum; but in NY, you could be living in a rent-stabilized palace.

As for me, I don't count because I own, but I do plunk down approximately 70% of my takehome on housing. (I don't take extra exemptions so I won't get reamed on taxes for freelance income I also make, which is the only way I can swing it.) The things we do for love. . .of NYC.

what a relief! thank you natalucci for breaking the endless cycle of below market rents that have been posted so far.

I'm in a small studio in the West Village paying $1410/mo. There are 20 identical studio apartments in my building and I know from speaking to my neighbors that some pay as low as $500/mo, and one apartment that just opened up is being advertised at $1800/mo! In a rent-controlled building, it all depends on how long you've been there...
I'm no moneybags, but when the majority of your take-home pay goes to rent, you learn to cutback in other areas. I forego cable and other "luxuries" to live on one of the best blocks in NY.

I feel like there's an over-representation of rent-stabilized folks responding here, and it's NOT easy for someone new to the city to get a deal like that. My first place, in 2004, was 3250 to split up three ways, but with a smallish common kitchen/living room space. Rent went up a total of 500 dollars over two years. Many recent grads spend more than half their income on rent, and many turn to their parents for help.

$2200 for a 3BR/2BA house in northern california.

650 FOR A ONE BEDROOM APARTMENT WITH A HUGE KITCHEN IN WESTCHESTER.

THATS CHEAP CONSIDERING THAT THE TOWN)I LIVE IS NOW AN ARTZY FARTZY NEIGHBOORHOOD ("ART DISTRICT" )WITH PEOPLE FROM THE CITY MOVING ALL OVER.

THE LOWEST RENT THAT I HAVE FOUND IN ORDER TO MOVE UP IS 950 FOR A BASEMENT STUDIO...SO AM STAYING WHERE AM AT...

anon -- First, this is a blog where folks are happy to give their names. Second, how can a poll have over-representation? Perhaps the end result (not scientific, of course) is that a large majority of AT readers cannot afford market-rate units.

I agree with Johnie's breakdown. But I think I would do make it tighter:
A) Under $800
B) 801-1000
C) 1001-1400
D) 1401-1800
E) 1801-2200
F) 2201-2600
G) 2601-3000
H) > $3001

Jessica - you said "I think this survey is fine as is. I mean, the most useful information, at least to Maxwell, is the answer to the question "How much rent can my readers afford". Which I imagine would be quite useful for him, and for his advertisers."

I have to disagree with you on that. This is exactly the kind of info (broad and overly generalized, i mean) that isn't very useful to advertisers at all. The survey doesn't ask, nor does it reveal, what we can afford - it asks what we pay. Those two are definitely not synonymous, for me at least. My husband and I bought our apartment 8 years ago. Our mortgage and maintenance combined is barely $1500/month. We CAN afford more than that and if we were buying the very same apartment today we WOULD be paying much more than that. In fact, I pay more for my office space in Chelsea than our mortgage and maint combined (and my office is smaller than our 500sf apartment).

What one can afford is based on their income and their expense priorities, not what they happen to pay for rent. I can afford to pay far more than I do pay, but I don't need to because we happen to really love our apartment and our 30-year mortgage will actually be paid off in 12 years instead because we were lucky enough to buy something below our means instead of outside our means and our incomes have increased quite a bit in the past 8 years allowing us to make frequent extra payments against the principal instead of barely making a dent in the interest. If it's advertiser demographics Maxwell is after, this isn't a great way of getting it.

i pay $4800 a month for a chopped up loft on broadway, around 2,300 sf. share it with 4 other people though so the rent isn't bad

My wife and I (cat too) pay $2650 for an "so-called, rent-controlled" 625 sq ft, 17th fl, alcove studio in one of the newer McHigh-rises on 6th Ave in North Chelsea. It is a reasonably nice building with floor-to-ceiling windows on two sides. We moved in two years-ago ... and similar apartments are already renting for $3300.

I lived here in the 80s, but could not even think about afforded a repurchase of what we sold.

$1600 for a 425sq ft studio in Chinatown. It's about 125sq ft smaller and $300 more than my last studio on W. 109th. Yeah it's small and expensive; but I love that I get to walk to work and am within a 5-10 min walk from three subway stations that can get me on the J/M/Z/N/R/W/Q/B/D/4/5/6 trains.

not a rental, but here are deets: $2k/month mortgage, $1k/month maintenance, 1k sf, 2 br, 1.5 bath, lots of light, roof deck, gym, pt doorman, dynamic 'hood, wonderful neighbors, across the street from a major park. The finances were and are a stretch but after renting for 25 yrs in NYC (and esp. after kissing away $2k/month for a 650 sf 1 br for the last 2 yrs), I am verrrrry happy.

Wow, how's everyone finding the cheap rent-stablized apts. in Manhattan?

I'm paying 2125. for an ideal block in the West Village. Unstabilized--10 years ago the rent was 1300, and now my lease in increasing to either 2300 or 2400 (depending on the length). My income hasn't kept up, especially since I would rather save my money, and I'm at my tipping point. When I moved here from the west coast I didn't understand the virtues of stablization; now I totally believe that high rents are pushing all the middle class people out of the city. I live in a nice building with only 3 other apartments, on a quiet street, top floor, with skylights and a roof deck. A friend measured my apt. and said it's 450 sq. ft. the landlord's office is right downstairs. We have to call him constantly during the winter because the heat or the hot water goes out--freezing, freezing nights--and while they're responsive, in ten years they've never been able to figure out what the heck is wrong with the boiler. You'd think that little problem would be reflected in my increse, but no.

I'm paying $1800 for a rent-stabilized 3 bdrm in w. Harlem (just north of Columbia U.). It's a 6th floor walk-up, but with great light,hard wood floors, and a spacious (enough) kitchen, huge master bedroom, and living area. I split rent with one roommate, and we use the 3rd bedroom for an office/storage space.
I was renting a room in another apartment in the building when this one became vacant, and I jumped on it. I found out from the building supt. that there are some people who've been in this building 25+ years, and pay less than 1/3 of my rent. Still - it's well worth what I pay for what I want. I trade living in a prime location (ie. West Village) for spaciousness, which is fine with me.

Yeah, I agree with kr, where are all of these rent stabalized apartments in Manhattan!

I've been in the city for 4 years and I just moved with my boyfriend last December into a 1 bedroom in chelsea and pay $1850 a month. It's about 480 sq ft but I'm sure a broker would say it was 550 sq ft! We looked for a month and that was the absolute best deal we could find below 36th street on either the east or west side (especially since we get great light, the bathroom and kitchen were newly renovated, and we got a DISHWASHER!!) I would definitely not be able to afford this place on my own though.

Also, for any newbies moving to the city, when the rent goes up above $2000 per month, it can no longer be called "rent stabilized" so don't let brokers tell you otherwise.

My fiance and I share a two bedroom on Jane Street in the West Village for $2600. The perks include exposed brick walls in all rooms, dishwasher, tons of light in the living room, and two actual separate rooms. It's smallish, and a 5th floor walkup, but we love it.

I rent a 1400 sq ft. rent-stabilized 2-bedroom loft in Ft. Greene for $1900. A great deal considering the space, but I sank at least $5K into building the bedrooms and other upgrades and I don't even own the place! It's pretty though. :)

We pay $1500 for a 1-br in Park Slope. which do I choose - $800-$1500, or $1500-$2000? Should be $1501-2000, etc . . .

my boyfriend and i pay $1850 for a lovely 2nd floor walkup about 35 steps from thompkins square park in the east village. it has more closets than i ever dreamed possible, a spacious bedroom, high ceilings, new kitchen....but no natural sunlight. i'm a vampire, so i love it :)

I pay ~$1,350 for a 750sq/ft "2 bedroom" in Park Slope, on Fifth ave. It is rent stabilized. I moved in in Fall of '99 when the building was in much worse shape, and the neighborhood was decent but not trendy yet. It was $1,100/mo which I split with a apartment-mate back then, After 3 years I took over the whole lease. In "Broker square feet" it's more like 1,000 sq/ft.

Renovated units in the same building go for $2,200/mo or more, and some are configured with 3 bedrooms and have 4 people living in them.

My non-renovated unit needs some serious love, but I just renewed my lease as I love the location and the amount of space, and the low price lets me keep saving for a down payment.

I pay $1,065 for a rent-stabilized 2-bedroom in Astoria, near the R/V. I love the 'hood despite recent electrical woes. Staying put.

My parents pay $600/mo. for a rent stablized apt. in mid-town Manhattan on the West Side. The place is a cute 4 room railroad apt. They've been there for over 25 yrs. (I grew up there). I remember thinking how "expensive" our rent was growing up but now know better.

As for me, I bought a 1200+ sq. ft. condo in a suburb of Boston two years ago. My mortgage is about $1,580/mo. plus $150/mo. for maintenance. I share my space with a dog but will have a human roommate moving in soon to help me out.

Growing up, I had wished my parents had bought a house outside the city like most people we knew did. Not any more! I love visiting them and being right in the heart of the city.

It's depressing to see all the people with great deals above. I pay $2,275 for a 600sf 1 bed. On the plus side, it's got great views, in a doorman building and in Manhattan. Also I don't think I can buy an equivalent apartment and get the monthly costs lower than $3000 so from that perspective I guess it's not a bad deal.

Got my fingers in two pies--I rent a lovely totally restored 1 bed-1 bath UWS apt ($1295, 850 sq ft, c.1908, faculty housing), with a great view of the Hudson and a part-time doorman. Moved to this place a few months ago from a rent-stabilized 1 bed-1 bath railroad apt in the W. 90s ($1450, 350 sq. ft, c.1900), with absolutely no light or views, but new hardwood floors, a big kitchen, and no bugs! I also own a cute totally restored 1 bed-1 bath condo ($980 mortage/prop tax + $250 assessments, 650sq ft, c.1929), with new kitchen, on a very quiet street in Lincoln Park in Chicago, 4 blks from the lake. Both current places have hardwood floors, 9-10'+ ceilings, tons of light. I'm pretty content...

I don't live in New York. I'm in Portland Oregon. I find it kind of skewed to only look at rents within one region, being as there are subscribers from all over. Age range is an important factor to consider, too.

We pay $2000 for a 1200 square foot beautiful light-filled apartment in Philadelphia, Rittenhouse Square neighborhood. That's pricey for Philadelphia, but compared to NYC, we're delighted.

Just curious what age range has to do with rent?

I'm at $1200/month for a small 1 bedroom in Park Slope. Approx. 500sq ft. It includes all utilities and a few perks, namely, dsl, cable, w/d, d/w and outdoor space. I love my apartment.

Rent stabilized is definitely the way to go. my husband and I pay almost $1400 for 400sf 1bd in the UWS. Other units in the building that have turned over a lot are going for almost $1700 (although "lifers" here still pay under $500).
Personally, I think $2000/month is a very telling cut-off point; it's when rent stabilized one-bedrooms can start going for "market price."
We hope not to be here when that happens...

On a related note, you can still get great deals in Manhattan if you live in East Harlem, Washington Heights, and Inwood--but the neighborhoods can definitely be "loud," as one poster put it. Did that for one year and would never go back, despite the prices.

I pay $1750 for a converted alcove studio (the dinky bedroom has been walled off) in Murray Hill.

pros: corner unit: lots of windows and light. elevator, nice clean laundry room. 4 closets(!) unobstructed view of the Chrysler Building.

cons: claustraphobic kitchen, notoriously boring (albeit safe) neighborhood, Queens-Midtown Tunnel traffic can be noisy at times. parking is nearly impossible.

LC

$2800, one-bedroom in the south street seaport in manhattan. about a year ago we made the leap from $2300 to $2800 and i still feel uncomfortable at times when others ask what we pay, i always feel the need to rationalize it, i guess it's my own coming to terms with that mental number.

it's a pre-war (pre-civil war actually!) 750sf one-bedroom, exposed beams throughout, washer and dryer, amazing brand-new kitchen with the works, 1.5 baths that was just fully gut renovated last year.

it's funny, $2800 seemed like an absolute fortune when we first moved in and now when i look at other places that are beind offered in the neighborhood and realize that we have a pretty great deal for the area. funny how that works.

I love the idea for this survey. I do think readers would be very interested in a more elaborate survey if that is possible. I marked the 800-1200 catergory since my rent is in that segment, however, I do live in a rent-stabilized apartment. So I'd be interested to see the rent-stabilized/controlled apartments taken into account, as well as the age and more specific locations (buroughs or neighborhoods?) on these surveys. Fun one though, thanks!

To the Latina on Smith St. who wonders (out loud) "where have all these white people come from?": most of "them" where priced out of Manhattan by children of baby-boomers whose parents are rich enough to subsidize the lifestyles of their offspring resulting in an out-of-control market. NY City has evolved in to one big Monaco on the Hudson, a 2-class system of the rich and the people who serve them. If you were "lucky" enough to score a rent stabilized (or better, rent controled) apartment 20 years ago and your income doesn't reach the 200k mark, you are spared the reality of the vulgar and disproportunate rental market. Of course, there is a whole class of people who now believe that if you are still renting after 20 years you have no business living here. People in other cities around the world marvel over how anyone in their right mind would pay $2000 a month for a studio apartment AND put up with NY's pathetic mass-transit system and our current pop culture of shiny, plastic restaurants and faux bistros. Gee, sounds a little like what Smith St. has evolved to. Now it's cool to live in Brooklyn and what used to be known as Bushwick is now referred to as East Williamsburg where rents are now comparable to every other hipster infested nabe in Bklyn. Pretty soon the locals in East New York will be squealing like Latina on Smith St because there's always some fool who will pay any price to live out their Sex In The City fantasy, ANYWHERE in NY. By the way, I pay $1550 for a garden apartment in Ft. Greene. I will be moving when my lease is up in a few months. The bulldosers and back-hoes are starting to show up in the empty lot next door to begin construction on 2 new "townhouses" that will take 2 years to build. I think that's a "sign" that my time in NY is way up. More room for the "white people".......

Wow -

I stumbled across this website 3 days ago and have been glued to it ever since. (You all have saved me from buying a WestElm bed) I am in colorado and pay 950 for 2 bed/2 1/2 bath with a full finished basement - probably about 1200 sf total. Also have a 2 car garage and private patio. If it's not too personal - what on earth does 'me' do for a living that he can afford almost 7k a month just for a place to live? What does your monthly income have to be to afford that? I may be in the wrong career....

Dear Newbie,
You might be surpised at the extent to which inhabitants of the most "sophisticated" city in the world will go in order to live in NY. People compromise fundamental aspects of quality of life elements that are inconceiveable in most civilized places in this country (i:e: 4 educated adults sharing a 2 bedroom apartment, crummy kitchens, inconsiderate neighbors living within inches of eachother, crappy subways, astronomical housing costs whether you buy or rent, and an atmosphere of unabashed greed that personifies the "haves and the haves not." Regardless of how much money a person makes, what one can "afford" invariably transcends logic. The $950 you spend on a civilized living space would buy you a storage space in Manhattan. Thank your lucky stars you live where you do and that you're not working soley to pay the rent. NY looks great on TV. Don't believe everything you see.

To JesusL : "People in other cities around the world marvel over how anyone in their right mind would pay $2000 a month for a studio apartment AND put up with NY's pathetic mass-transit system and our current pop culture of shiny, plastic restaurants and faux bistros." What NYC do you live in? I pay $1100 a month for a very nice sized studio on the border of the Upper East Side and Harlem. My building allows pets, is really quiet and has a pretty sweet Super who is attentive. I am close to Central Park, tons of food choices, the 6 train which is fantastic etc.

The NYC transit system is really good (and yes, I was born here and have lived elsewhere). It's one of the few systems around where you can literally go anywhere you want for one fare. And where are you eating exactly as well? Shiny, plastic restaurants? Sure, maybe in midtown. If you look hard enough and really try, you can find a great deal here in NYC for an apt where you will not be paying through the nose. Same for Stewart above me. I don't understand the hostility towards NYC. "NY looks great on TV. Don't believe everything you see." NY looks great to me every morning for the past 30 years. If you hate it so much and cannot appreciate it, then live elsewhere. It's really that simple. Not everyone who lives here is a trustfund brat or being cushioned by their parents or even makes $200,000 a year and guess what? They (gasp) enjoy living in NYC. Go figure.

Hi V,
Congratulations on the $1100 a month studio you scored (I assume) several years ago. The Upper East Side bordering Harlem is not my idea of a decent neighborhood at any price and residing on the side of town where I am dependent on only one train (the 6) is HELL; the trains are packed all day long and because of construction, the express train downtown has been shut down every weekend for the past 6 months. I'm not hostile towards NYC. I'm hugely dissappointed that the city that once touted itself as the most diverse is no longer affordable to aspiring creative beings; not the Village, Chinatown, the Lower East Side, and now, not even Brooklyn. Real estate rules, period. NY is one big Mall of America and most of it's inhabitants seem to just love it this way. I AM looking to live elsewhere because I'm no longer willing to suspend my standard of decent, fair housing in an interesting environment. The upside is that because NY is no longer even remotely affordable for struggling artists and other creative types, other cities are now being inhabited by these same people and NY is no longer the center of ideas. You can stand on a packed train next to some idiot munching on chicken parts and go home to your $1100 closet. I would rather have the dignity of an actual bedroom and a sky and I will rest well knowing I am missing nothing in The Big City.

I'm a little perplexed by the premise of this "survey". Are we non-NYrs supposed to feel envy or pity for people who pay exhorbitant amounts of money to rent as opposed to owning a decent home which if applied in most other parts of the globe would buy you things like bedrooms, eat-in kitchens, a garden, and parking? I lived in NY all through my 20's when having a decent living space was not my priority but when I read posts from adults paying 2k for a room in someone elses property I'm floored. The REAL kicker is that more than ever, people actually decide to raise kids in the city! How much space and income does THAT require? I agree with the poster who mentions the disparity between people lucky enough to get a rent stabilized apartment the period before the rent laws were amended. So you're either very lucky or very rich and you live in NYC. Either way, the emperor has no clothes.

Can this thread be cursed?

Not two days after posting about my little beloved alcove studio, my landlord called to let me know that he's selling the place.

I don't have the downpayment to buy it, and a quick cruise thru Craigslist has me despondent. Even if I bump up to 2K a month, the pickin's are pretty dire. Single-windowed studios abound.

ack,
LC

I don't really think it matters what non-New Yorkers think of the poll. You clearly decided that being in the city has no value. I for one wouldn't leave the city no matter how much you paid me. I would rather slit my wrists than spend an anesthetized life in a 4 bed, 2.5 bath, 3 car garage coffin in the suburbs.

I pay $3700 for a 1-bedroom in order to be in walking distance of Chinatown, my job, Soho, the Village, the LES, to be near every major subway line, to wander through the Met without having to plan a trip, to eat fantastic food (and cook it too, since that's my job), to never ever need a car, to picnic in Central Park...

You might not see those things as worth the rent, but I hate lawns and cars and driving and commuting and strip malls so giving up what I love in order to achieve those things would be idiotic for me. I happen to think the emperor of suburbia is the naked one, but that's just me.

Here, here. Yes, the rents are way too high, but you have to think about some of the money you're saving by NOT living in the burbs. How much does a car cost? Payments, insurance, upkeep ... when I get depressed about my rent I mentally subtract all that and thank god for our subway and being able to walk everywhere. When I think about moving out of the city, I go home to Oregon and spend some time with my parents in the burbs, and remember that eerie feeling of the day after an atomic war, all those empty houses, the wind whistling down the streets, not a person in sight ... yikes!

Interesting how rayona doesn't think it matters what non-NYers think of the poll. Is this site exclusively relevant to NYers? I didn't read that in the header of the survey. You seem to disregard the fact that the only option outside of NYC is to live in the burbs. There are other great cities in the US that aren't plagued with the same the absurd rental market where you also have the option of affording a car and parking AND have the option of decent public transit systems, innovative restaurants, and real culture. I find it amusing that the most staunch advocates for living in NY no matter the cost are those who have fled some trauma in some burb. At the end of the day the whole dialogue speaks to self-value and the standards that people develop and the conditions people endure are relative to the way you feel about yourself. There actually is an evolving world out there and after living in NY for 30 years, feeling as though nothing of value existed anywhere off the island, I made the leap and I found a city where I don't have to rationalize the cost of Surviving and actually understand the cost of living. The desperation in the tone of most of these survey posts makes me very grateful for having seen the light.

Rayona, darling, what a price to pay to be "near subways and to be able to go to the Met without planning a trip". $3,700 a month for a bedroom in Chinatown? Do New Yorkers really have time to actually enjoy these amenities they hold so dear in order to justify what amounts to 4 mortage payments for a house in Phillie? If the income equation that qualifies a renter is 40 times their weekly salary I have to ask what do you people do in order to afford not only rents but utilities, food, leisure AND saving? I'm far more interested in a survey that asks income, profession AND monthly rent. I would have to deal in arms AND work as a trader on Wall St. in order to justify that kind of rent. I suppose my meals would all be charged to my business account and so would my wardrobe. But what about cat food??!!

I pay $482 per month for the 2 bedroom rent controlled apartment I grew up in and inherited from my deceased parents. My neighbors pay $2,900 for the same apartment. They hate me. I've been in and out of court 9 times in the past 9 years because my landlord wants me to get out or die. I sleep with a baseball bat. I could afford to pay 3 times that but an apartment at today's market at that price does not exist. Am I the problem or is the market that is driven by imbeciles who are willing to live 5 to a $4,500 per month unit on Avenue C or children of boomers who will pay any price for a closet anywhere in Manhattan the issue? BTW, is this a "braggers survey" for people who get away with paying below market or for super-rich hedonists?

As a former resident of NYC I think it would be helpful (and entertaining) if people were asked not only their monthly rent but what they had to do in order to actually secure their lease. People outside the city would be fascinated by stories of dealing with brokers who drag you around, showing uninhabitable, overpriced wrecks for their 15%, showing up for "appointments only to find 30 other people milling around an apartment with checkbook in hand and hostility on their faces, and the bribing, the extent of financial disclosure, and the endless hours it takes to eventually find something even remotely inhabitable. By the way, I pay $1,450.00 a month for a duplex loft with terrace and a parking spot ,10 minutes from the beach in West Palm Beach, FL, the fastest growing city in America. Don't miss NY at all.

I pay $1375/month for my place, 450 ft studio spacious studio in the Upper West Side. Rent-stabilized. Though it's not a killer deal, it's got a great kitchen and perfect for a single guy like myself. As my income will be doubling/tripling in the next year or so (as commissions come in) I should be in a position to purchase something, if I wanted to, within a couple years... I think I'm getting a good deal, but I know my money would be much better spent on BUYING rather than renting.

If I had the option to pay $1375 monthly for a mortgage on this same place, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

As far as getting the apartment, I spent a weekend looking at places by myself and with two brokers. I was originally going to have a roommate but it turns out he could only afford about $600/month, so we were looking at places from $1800-2000 and I'd end up paying $1200-1400 anyway. I decided to drop him and just get a place by myself. His credit score makes him a liability anyway.

Ahh, what we pay to live in the greatest city in the world. I just want to meet a great girl who'd be crazy enough to settle down in CT and commute to Manhattan with me :)

I pay $1200 in Sunnyside/Woodside Queens. No roomates. I live on the first floor of a building. Apartment is spacious but doesn't have enough closet space. One block away from the subway line and near THREE diffrent grocery stores. Actually was able to give up my car because of the apt. being so centrally located.

I used to live in Long Island in a small one bedroom for $875 (but it actually had a lot of closet space)but needed to be closer to work in the city.

Rayonna:

LOL! Your post is Exhibit #1 in the case proving that New Yorkers are the most provincial people in the world: they can't live anywhere else.

It's also indicative of the attitude that caused me to leave New York several years ago for my 3,000 SF mid-century modern "coffin," furnished with original masterpieces from the 1950's and 1960's.

$1600 for 2-bed 750sf in Astoria with no roommates. Before here, I lived on the Upper East Side in a 300sf 2-bed (really!) with no natural sunlight (and a dumpster outside my kitchen window!) for $2100. Sometimes I miss just walking out my door and being right there in the bussle of the city, but I wouldn't go back to that for this new sundrenched apt with a great view just on the other side of the river from where I used to feel like I was hibernating.

$975 for a 200 sq ft studio on 3rd Ave in the lower 90s. Not rent stabilized, but rent only goes up $20/yr (according to the precious tenant). It's pretty small, but it's clean, no bugs, exposed brick, two windows, 2nd floor, though it does have a teeny tiny really old and ugly kitchen. Found it on Craigslist this past summer, and felt extremely lucky to get it. No broker fee.

I pay $2900 for a 800 sq ft 1 bedroom apartment on E68th street b/t 2nd and 3rd. Its a full service building with full-time doormen and porters. I've been on a 2yr lease and have been told that my rent will be going up to $3100!

$1000 for a 1-bedroom. It has a nice sized eat-in kitchen, narrow seperate living room/guest room, and a bedroom, all totaling a bit under 300sqft. It's on a bad block in East Harlem, and on the 6th floor of a walk-up (oy)
I love NYC, but I'm escaping suburban trauma.

I pay 1/2 of the rent in an apartment in the east village, at $850. Our neighbor just moved in to the exact same apartment for $300 more. Although, they told her it was a three room studio, whereas we consider ours a two-bedroom without a living room :)

Formerly split an apartment on CPW in the 70's with three people- two floors, garden, 1.5 baths, and two living rooms. Total rent was $4200.

I pay $975 for a two bedroom apartment in Flushing. Roughly 1000sf, with a working fireplace, large living room, and dining room. Apt. is on the top floor of a four floor walk-up, windows on three sides, so there is a ton of light. Live alone, so second bedroom is for guest/family sleepovers. Rent stabilized so I can't see myself leaving anytime soon....

$2300 for a three bedroom with washer/dryer, half basement, front and backyard in Sunnyside Gardens, Queens. Split with my husband. We have over 1200 square feet of space, not counting the yards, three exposures (south, west, and east), and every window of our home looks out onto a garden.

We love Sunnyside Gardens. It's a planned utopian experiment built in the 1920s inspired by the British garden city movement and Ebenezer Howard. All houses are arranged around a huge common garden and little twisting pathways connect the houses. We have 100-year old elm trees growing outside our house! Our neighborhood is applying for landmark status, so changes to the gardens and outside facade will soon be protected.

I made the move to Queens from the Upper West Side this fall. With all the space you can get here, I don't know why more people don't move here. It's beautiful, green, lush, and you can find all sorts of ethnic cuisine here. I'm only 20 minutes from midtown by the 7 train.

$1375 (split with my partner) for an L-shaped 800sf loft in Williamsburg. We've been here three-plus years now and our very cool landlords haven't raised the rent (thank you jeebus). There are problems: some leaks, wildly inefficient heating, and jerky downstairs neighbors, but reading this has me convinced we should stay put until they force us out. There's no way we can buy here.