I have this recurring dream where I find an extra room in my tiny Soho apartment that I sort of always knew was there, but didn’t really utilize. And it dawns on me as I watch it get bigger before my eyes in that zoom-out-reverse-dolly way things do in movies that I could make this a second bedroom, or an office, or a library…it doesn’t matter that there’s a sink and countertop in there…(and how does it have a view of Long Island Sound???)…then I think…WHO CARES? it’s more space!
I’m thinking about buying a home upstate or in Pennsylvania this year but still renting my apartment (prices in Manhattan being insanely out of my reach)…and recently I watched two (bad) movies which were coincidentally about buying a new home and having the whole thing go hellish very quickly. One, “Cold Creek Manor,” was a cautionary tale about moving from the big city to a small community with dark secrets and fiercely loyal locals. The other, “Duplex,” was another cautionary tale about being taken by the pro’s in the only sport in New York even the most bleeding-heart pacifist believes is worth killing for…one’s very own two-story townhouse with fireplaces…really, anyone who says they’d be sorry to get one if it meant another New Yorker had to die is lying…(only kidding….no, I’m not…yes, I am).
Then there was this in the New York times. I immediately drooled all over my keyboard. It could be next to a nuclear power plant, and I’d still give a kidney to get this place. There’s no real point to this post other than to link to this page…and to hope that perhaps some multimillionare out there reading will buy this place, then need to go on sabbatical in Asia for five years and remember I directed them to this when wondering who would be a good housesitter…
OK, so I’m dreaming…it’s late and I should be in bed anyway…I’m just to lazy to move the dishes off, and put the matress on, the countertop…
My brother’s in the touring band of a young as-yet relatively minor rock star, a guy who does a song on Letterman on occasion but doesn’t get picked up much by radio stations (perhaps because the music is too intelligent, perhaps because of a lack of bribes) but is still doing well – anyway, this guy lives in Manhattan in a 400-ft**2 apt with views of brick walls. I guess you have to be a stock broker.
The link’s dead, btw – I guess someone snatched the place up…
People in Boston think the apartment situation is comparable to New York’s. What they don’t realize is that, while rents are often similar, you get 50%+ more space for the same amount of money up here.
I was born in Manhattan, moved away when I was two, have spent all sorts of time in the city since I started dating my husband. One day I’ll be able to call myself a New Yorker, but until I go through an apartment search and try to cook in a small closet, and have recurrings dreams about extra space–I don’t think I qualify.
Have you tried Brooklyn? Me and a good friend of mine are actually excited about the rezoning of Fourth Avenue…
“really, anyone who says they’d be sorry to get one if it meant another New Yorker had to die is lying…(only kidding….no, I’m not…yes, I am).”
He speaks sooth. The New York real estate market is not for the weak. Or slow. Or lame. Or those without people who will notice their absence, come to think of it.
The link’s dead, btw – I guess someone snatched the place up…
Well, it took almost an hour (and at midnight on a Sunday)…good indication the real estate market is slowing down a bit.
My neighborhood, although hardly competetive with the NY apartment market, is pretty hot. We consider that the market has slowed down substantially when a house is still on the market after the first weekend. I don’t expect it to last, though, as all good things must end eventually. So we’re going to have the place reappraised to get rid of the PMI.
We were just barely able to get the ten percent down scraped together without pillaging our retirement accounts. Sosume.
My brother’s in the touring band of a young as-yet relatively minor rock star, a guy who does a song on Letterman on occasion but doesn’t get picked up much by radio stations
rilkefan, that wouldn’t be Rufus Wainwright, would it? There was an article in yesterday’s New York Times Magazine about Wainwright’s dinky little apartment… he seems pretty happy with it.
Oh yeah, and as someone who’s gone through the process of looking for an apartment and a house in the Bay Area, you New York whiners don’t impress me. 🙂
you New York whiners don’t impress me. 🙂
Not trying to. Just be warned if you decide to move here one day. It’s an absolute blood sport.