Welcome to It Happened One Weekend, our weekly roundup of The New York Times real estate section...
The Hunt: 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: A recently engaged couple looking for where they'd start their life together.
Price
Dream: $3,500 a month
Reality: $2,535 a month
Neighborhood
Dream: Queens
Reality: Rego Park
Amenities
Dream: One- or two-bedroom
Reality: One-bedroom
Summary
Shosha, originally from Trinidad, and Romesh, originally from Guyana, met through friends and hit it off so well, they got engaged. Engagement usually leads to marriage and marriage usually leads to co-habitation. It wasn't hard for them to start their search for a home. He was still living with his family in Queens Village and her family was in Richmond Hill. That meant they had the borough. They thought about a house, but the upkeep would be too much. They looked at a co-op, but got turned off of that. So, a rental it would be. They looked in Long Island City, at a high-rise with big windows and great views, but the neighborhood was dead. The ended up at a new building atop the Rego Center mall in Rego Park. At The Alexander, the view isn't great, it's not super spacious, and the paint smudges easily, but they have everything they need, including their relatives, in very close proximity. Plus, someone else is responsible for fixing things. [The Hunt/Rego Park, Queens: A Rental Near the Relatives]