Dream With Me: 5 Beautiful New York Apartments I Will Never Be Able to Afford

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It is a truth universally acknowledged that anyone living in an apartment in New York must be on the hunt for a better apartment. Since moving to the city, my mild interest in real estate has grown into a bona fide hobby…if you can call shopping for things you can’t afford a hobby.

Knitting is a hobby, which could result in sweaters and blankets and baby socks. But if your hobby is looking at apartments you will never be able to afford, but might someday be able to afford if you sell that screenplay or write that novel, which will never actually happen because you are spending all your writing time looking at real estate…well, there is nothing to show for that. Except maybe a post like this one. Here are five beautiful New York apartments I will never be able to afford, but will continue to dream about, anyway, because dreaming is free.

(Image credit: Corcoran)

170 East 78th Street, Apartment 4A, $1,295,000

I’m in love with the living room of this (relatively) modestly priced place on the Upper East Side because it looks like something I’ve seen in a movie—a beautiful, high-ceilinged space with sophisticated people drifting about drinking cocktails. And there’s a wood-burning fireplace, which is also a plus.

(Image credit: Douglas Elliman)

49 West 9th Street, PH5A, $2,750,000

It’s like your very own ski chalet in the West Village! Only one bedroom, but there are two very large roof decks, which include an outdoor shower and an outdoor tub.

(Image credit: Douglas Elliman)

6 Varick Street, Apartment 2C, $2,500,000

Soaring ceilings! Exposed beams! So beautiful and lofty and so very New York that you could almost ignore the fact that it’s a 2.5-million-dollar studio. Almost.

(Image credit: Douglas Elliman)

201 East 36th Street, 19D, $1,500,000

The rest of the apartment is, at the risk of sounding cynical, a bit average, but that glassed-in living room with breathtaking views of Manhattan is really all you need. Imagine it at night, with the city all lit up. Also, there’s a roof terrace, and six (six!) closets, which just makes me want to weep with envy.

(Image credit: Douglas Elliman)

45 West 10th Street, LJ, $1,035,000

This place can be yours for the humble price of $1,035,000, which makes it practically a bargain compared to the ones above, but I think it might be my favorite. It appears to be a studio, which is not the kind of life that everyone wants to live, but perhaps you’ll understand my love when you see the garden—a beautiful, hidden refuge within in the city.