If you live in Atlanta (I do) and saw this in the paper last week (I did) then perhaps you scratched your head when you read it. I won't argue that she has done some good things making her small space look great.
The weird thing to me is that until a year ago I lived right near the exact same park, but our apartment was more than twice as large (800 feet to her 375 feet) for only $50 more per month. That included some utilities too, and we had a washer/dryer and nice finishes. I know many of the readers on here are in NYC which is a different real estate market, but I was wondering if any other Atlanta readers who live in Midtown thought this pricing was a bit off.

Agreed. $650/month to live in a large closet seems a little crazy in Atlanta. I lived in a terrific 800 sq ft apartment in Midtown for $750 and bought a pretty nice 850 sq ft loft downtown with mortgage payments just a couple hundred dollars more. I'm not sure if this person did their due diligence while house shopping. There are definitely some deals to be had in the metro Atlanta area.

I can't get over the bed in the kitchen. I've only lived in studios and that is just out of the question (unfeasible, too). I once saw a tiny RR in the East Village with a tub in the kitchen. There oughtta be a health law.

Hello neighbors Jim and Holly. I'm in Atlanta too - West Midtown near the Westside shops and Atlantic Station. I'm in a 1000 square foot loft rental for $890/month in a building with a nice pool, gym, courtyard, club room and other amenities. I definitely agree there are some great deals to be had in metro Atlanta. $650/month for that closet doesn't seem representative of what's available here.

Jim - I checked out your Flickr photos on your site - you're doing a great job with that Thinbrick! I imagine that's quite a bit of work. (And your Boston is the cutest!)

I don't know from Atlanta real estate prices, but that place is cute as a button.

I love the green and brown walls. Scrumptious!

$750/month for an 800 sq ft apartment in Midtown Manhattan? I'm sure they are plenty of people here that would be very jealous of that.

Thanks Erin! You're correct, the thinbrick is taking me FOREVER, but it's definitely worth it - it really looks nice in person, almost authentic.

I'd tell Jake that he got another compliment, but I really don't need to boost his ego any more than it already is : )

You've got to be loving Atlantic Station. I was over there a few weeks ago and it's absolutely amazing - that place is booming.

And Archie, I should have specified - that was Midtown ATLANTA - quite a difference in real estate prices I'm sure.

Hey Jim --
Where's you get your LR sofa set? Love it!

Thanks! I got it at By Design about a year ago.

Jim, nice photos on Flickr. I have a boston too, and I live in Norfolk. I saw your pics of Waterside & Munden Point Park. Small world.

Tell me about it, not only all that, but it looks like we both bought our first house in August 2005...crazy. AND, I used to live in Ghent a couple years ago (a 450 sq ft studio in Pembroke Towers). Small world indeed.

Oh, and I love your site by the way...you really have a knack for words. I added it to my links.

Thanks for posting the link I sent! How cool to see the other folks in Atlanta.

I have to say that although you are correct about being able to get more in Midtown for only slightly more money, there is a curve in the rates based on my recent looking where you will mostly not find anything less than $600 no matter how small in the nicer areas. So she could not have found the same apartment cheaper, but she could have found more apartment for only slightly more money. Does that make sense? And if she's like me, always designing tiny spaces in her head, perhaps this was just the project she needed right now.

My husband and I are currently in a 450 sf by choice for a variety of reasons, although for the same amount we could have had a bigger space. We are just really into simplicity in this phase of our lives, we wanted to see how small we could go, and the amenities of living on-campus where I go to school more than make up for the lack of space.