In Which Maturity Comes in the Form of an Uptown Studio

If reading The Hunt stokes your deepest hopes that someday everything in life could work out, then you, too, are obsessed with the New York Times Sunday Real Estate section. Join us as we venture into the depths of this weekend's installment.

After an unfortunate moment of life re-evaluation following her realization that she's still purchasing particle board coffee tables, Jessie Weber decided she needed to change things in her life. First, no more roommates. She had been on an austerity kick with her living situations, but it was time to break free. Second, she would buy a place. An inheritance put her in the position to buy a place between $350,000 and $500,000. And so, like so many before her, Jessie sought out the ideal Upper East Side apartment. As far as hunts go, hers was actually quite painless, we'd say.

Ms. Weber, a yoga teacher and jewelry designer, had a budget of $350,000 to $500,000. She wanted a sunny place with great closets, “because I am a stickler for organization,” she said. She preferred a relatively low floor. The higher floors of tall buildings make her dizzy.

She confined her hunt to the Upper East Side.

Ms. Herman took her to the Eastmore on East 76th Street.

A studio apartment there, listed for $410,000 with monthly maintenance of almost $800, had a lovely renovated kitchen and a dressing area, but otherwise seemed too small and boxy. (It remains on the market, for $369,000.)
At the Kimberly, a co-op on East 80th Street, a one-bedroom listed at $499,000 was relatively spacious, but the maintenance, nearly $1,500 a month, was a deterrent.

In a newly converted building on East 81st Street filled with duplex condominiums, one-bedrooms were in the $500,000 range. The layouts didn’t seem practical. “Why have two separate, tiny spaces?” Ms. Weber said.

But she was instantly taken with a 16-story co-op building on East 79th Street. “The elevators reminded me of the Chrysler building,” she said. “It had this old-world marble feel.” The carpeted hallways were hushed and homey.
The large studio, on the third floor, was listed for $435,000. It had a foyer, a sunken living room and a “step-up-to-the-bed platform” that reminded her of a stage, Ms. Weber said.

Ms. Weber bought the apartment for $422,000 in the summer.

· The Time-is-Now Apartment [NYT]