City Dwelling

Recently, an old college friend moved to the city.  She scoped out potential apartments before her arrival and signed the lease for an apartment in Brooklyn.  This apartment was so much better than the other ones she looked at, she said.

Her apartment had just been renovated.  Everything was going to be brand new.  The other apartments the broker showed her were nice too, but in less desirable neighborhoods or a farther walk from the subway.

The apartment she liked boasted a kitchen with full size appliances whereas the other places did not.  One apartment only had two college-sized mini fridges in lieu of one normal sized fridge.  So, in comparison, the apartment she chose pretty much sounded like a luxurious urban oasis. 

She felt pretty lucky about her decision… until she actually moved into her newly – not totally – rehabbed apartment.  Half of the apartment was either missing or not working. 

She lived for THREE WEEKS with NO:

1) Hot water

2) Kitchen sink

3) Gas

4) Working stove

Ben and I laughed and shook our heads with pity when she told us the story.  Nowhere, NOWHERE else in America would a person be expected to live in such conditions and pay rent.  But, in New York City, we are.

We do it with a smile on our face because it’s New York.  New York!  We know that surviving in this city will make us stronger (we hope).  We know that if we can make it here, we can make it anywhere.