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Listen, it’s not as though getting an apartment in New York has ever been easy. But one could probably argue that it has never been harder than it is right now. The most god-awful studios are regularly renting for thousands and thousands of dollars with lines of interested tenants out the door. Here, we’ll find the actually worth-looking-ats, the actually worth-the-costs, and the surprisingly affordable-for-those-parquet-floors from all around the internet.
Did the thing where I let Craigslist take the wheel, an approach that I find freeing and spontaneous. Using Craigslist to find inventory is like shopping at Goodwill — sure, you have to sort through a lot of ugly rayon button-downs to find what you’re looking for, but when you find it, it’s so much more satisfying. Stuck around Brooklyn, mostly, with a quick trip into Manhattan to tour Fidi and Kips Bay. And a freestanding mini-feature at the bottom.
Brooklyn Heights Apartments
$5,500, 1-bedroom: The design choices are giving Marriott, but the apartment itself is pretty sweet. The sandy tile in the bathroom is really doing something for me, as is the table for two on the terrace. Fully furnished with servicing weekly, 30-day minimum to rent.
$5,200, 1-bedroom: Feels like they hired the same decorator as the listing above … Maybe it’s in the same building? Something about that cobalt-colored wall-to-wall carpeting is just not doing this place any favors. But the breakfast nook is fantastic.
$11,500, 2-bedroom: If you know Brooklyn Heights, you know that Pierrepont Place is both posh and Waspy. Any “place” in Brooklyn Heights, for that matter, guarantees a certain level of Protestant chic. This two-bed is at once ugly and grandiose — the study with the twin beds is my favorite. And the skylight in the living room. Oh, and your backyard is the promenade, so that rocks …
$3,000, 1-bedroom: This one is special. Technically a studio (I think those are clever storage boxes, not a staircase) and technically in Carroll Gardens, but I love the feel of the space. Like a well-designed ship — with a sweet galley kitchen, a cute outdoor area, and a nice squat window.
Park Slope Apartments
$3,650, 3-bedroom: Seems like a good deal for Park Slope! Not a ton of windows, and the bathroom could use a scrub. Or a demolition. On St. Marks Avenue, which is a fantastic ave, IMO.
$4,500, 2-bedroom: Love this one — a furnished two-bedroom in Central Park Slope that’s for shorter-term stays. Feels like a brownstone but could just be a small apartment building. Find more photos here.
$2,500, 1-bedroom: It’s the windows for me. Primary bedroom has a door to the outdoors … Not sure whether that’s a pro or con. And tons of very bright, natural light. Not a terrible price point for the neighborhood, either.
$2,800, 1-bedroom: I like a lot of what this place has to offer: the garden, the kitchen that abuts the garden, the parquet floors, and the bay window. Don’t love the odd windowless room or the bathroom, however.
$2,600, studio: Tiny cutie with a great ceramic tub and tiling in the bathroom. The current tenant’s taste in curtains really sends me. Oh, and it’s ON the park!
Bed-Stuy Apartments
$3,300, 3-bedroom: Another well-priced biggie: A prewar apartment with some original details and moldings. To call this Bed-Stuy is maybe a stretch. It’s looking a little Ocean Hill–y. But nonetheless …
Williamsburg Apartments
$3,875, 1-bedroom: Pretty with great bones. The bathroom is a nightmare, but it’s part of the charm. Pet friendly …large … that’s all I have for you.
$4,400, 2-bedroom: Bad furniture, bad accent wall, but good garage-style windows — 12 whole panes.
$4,200, 1-bedroom: Mostly just here for the title of this one. Demure this loft is! Laundry in the basement and a vegetable garden are the highlights. But don’t @ me if it’s McKibben.
$7,690, 2-bedroom: Very off-brand of me, but I’m kind of obsessed with this place. I would be such a different … being … living here. It’s the windows, but it’s also the deck chairs on the terrace, and the pool, and the sauna, and and and …
$4,750, 1-bedroom: This loft is 100 percent NOT in the McKibben lofts — rejoice! Everything about this one feels very 2012: the plants, the string lights, the exposed brick. But looking past all that, this is a nice loft.
Kips Bay Apartments
$3,895, 3-bedroom: She’s cute! Here for: the interior-exterior glass block for all you glass-block heads, the strangely shaped floor plan (it’s a duplex with only a bedroom on the top floor), and that funny little window that leads out to a terrace!
FiDi Apartments
$2,900, 1-bedroom: High-in-the-sky one-bedroom with decent parquet floors, so much natural light and highish ceilings. Some amenities too — gym and roof access.
$3,450, 1-bedroom: Another high-in-the-sky one-bedroom, but this one has a sunken living room and some of the nicer floors I’ve seen so far this week. The listing boasts “fascinating views,” and I’ll just have to trust them on that.
Feeling Unattached?
This $1,500 a month barn/studio is calling my name. The stained-glass window, the sleeping alcove, the tiny winding stair? Get me to Katonah! In keeping with the Katonah theme, this painted-red cabin could be so cute if filled with the right furniture: $2,975 a month for two-bedrooms — and that includes landscaping services. A service I never thought I’d wanted until right this very second. Here’s a five-bedroom house in Irvington for $5,100 a month, the same price as that one-bedroom in Brooklyn Heights. Are you questioning everything yet? No? Okay, how about now. This three-bedroom Italianate McMansion is going for a cool $6,500 a month, and I’m pretty obsessed with the Tudor-style living room with its roaring fire. Lastly, we have this pretty hideous but sort of fun three-story new construction with two glaring amenities: a swimming pool and an elevator. Imagine having your own private pool and private elevator that you don’t have to share with all your neighbors. Now that’s the suburban dream. Wait, I lied: There’s one more — and it’s my favorite! Three-bedrooms at $5,000 a month with great details like hidden stained glass, crown moldings, bay windows …