Welcome to It Happened One Weekend, our weekly roundup of The New York Times real estate section...
1) Rich people. What are they spending millions of dollars on? What are they complaining about? This is What's Up With Rich People?
Hate your neighbors? Well according to The Times, you should have scoped them out before moving in, you dummy. Apparently, an increasing number of renters/buyers are not only concerned with an apartment's physical details; they also want "to be sure that they fit in with the other residents — however they define fitting in." Under the Fair Housing Act, brokers aren't allowed to answer questions about other residents, but that doesn't stop people from going straight to the doormen or, in one bold case, cold-calling the potential neighbors themselves. Arlene Kagle, a psychologist, says that's completely insane: "You're not being asked to have dinner or to be someone's best friend. You're just sharing an elevator and maybe the laundry room. And if that's beyond you, buy a house in the suburbs." Real talk, Kagle. Real talk. [The Who of the Matter]
2) Every "The Hunt" column begins with the Hunters describing the apartment they want, and ends with them rationalizing whatever they came away with. This is The Hunt: Dreams vs. Reality
The Hunters: three recent college graduates
Price
Dream: $3,600/month
Reality: $2,800/month
Neighborhood
Dream: East Village, Lower East Side
Reality: East Village
Amenities
Dream: 3BR, large bathroom
Reality: 2BR, large kitchen, no doors
Summary
This week's Hunters are three recent college grads looking to share a three-bedroom apartment. Despite not knowing where to look in the beginning ("The only places I'd heard of were the East Village and the Upper East Side," ugh) the three focused on the Lower East Side and the East Village, with a budget of $3,600/month. Seeing their limited options, they decided to look for two-bedrooms, with a third "flex" bedroom, but upon looking at a two-bedroom with a small bathroom, they realized "they just couldn't live that way." They could, however, live in a "two-bedroom" apartment with no doors, their living sections instead partitioned with curtains. They are paying $2,800/month for this privilege. [The Hunt/The Après-Graduation Apartment; photo by Vivienne Gucwa/Curbed Photo Pool]
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