Property Tales
At the end of the day, when you've paid your rent and your student loans, you have nothing left to spend on enjoying yourself. I couldn't go with my friends to restaurants because I couldn't afford it. I had to choose between going out to dinner or going to the movies. New York is a city for people with good, high-paying jobs. If you've got a six-figure salary, it's the best place in the world. If you're a struggling artist or writer, it's going to be hard. You're going to have to select the nights you go out, what you do, who you choose as friends, who you date-everything.
After four Big Apple years, L.B.'s leaving town. He's heading for Chicago-where he hopes life will be equally productive and much sweeter.
Real estate's played a part in his decision to move.
"The gist is that I'm being out-priced. Since May 2003, I've shared a $2400-per-month East Village railroad apartment with two roommates. I pay almost $900. The place is on 7th St., near First Ave.-a quiet block in the middle of mayhem. My roommates are great. The building's good. Best, we have a backyard where we have barbecues and parties. But our rent's being jacked up, and I'm nervous about the future. I could wake up tomorrow at 35-and still have roommates. I could either take a dumpy apartment in East Bushwick or move to another city. As a freelance writer, I can work from anywhere, as long as I have the internet and a phone," says L.B. "Most people come to New York to see and do it all, but this city's making me claustrophobic. I want to see what other cities can offer."
L.B. arrived in New York in 2000 to begin a two-year master's degree program at Columbia University.
"I couldn't get student housing, so I had to find someplace to live. This was during the dot-com boom, and rents were crazy. Through newspaper ads, I found a $1000-per-month studio in a brownstone on 107th St. and West End Ave. It was perhaps the smallest studio apartment in Manhattan: a former closet. I had a fold-up futon, tiny desk and minuscule kitchenette. That was it. But, I'd viewed other apartments, and this was best," he recalls. "I liked the other tenants-couples mostly, law students or PhD candidates. Their apartments were larger than mine, but not by much. I'd invite people over, and when they saw my apartment, they'd say, 'Holy shit, you live here?'"
After his Columbia years, L.B. took a short-term Brooklyn sublet, then moved to his East Village digs.
"My room's not much bigger than my studio was. I've enjoyed sharing. When I was studying, I needed to live alone. While I was freelancing and doing odd jobs, I liked having roommates. Now the pendulum's swung the other way-I want my own space," says L.B. "I know I'm giving up great camaraderie, a nice apartment in a great location, great friends, good work contacts, good career opportunities. But now I want to have a dog, car, more space, more light, cheaper rent. I can't have these things in NYC."
Is L.B. riding the crest of a trend?
"I don't think there's a wave of people following me to Chicago, but I do think there's a wave of people moving away from New York. I think there are two reasons: First, New York's so pricey, you can't afford to live here. Second, I suspect New York's influence is waning. Is New York always going to be the place you must be to be successful? I've done what I came to New York to do-finished graduate school, got good freelance jobs writing for magazines, even for the New York Times. I've met a lot of great people and will keep in touch with them. But I've also met a lot of people who are leaving New York. I think that they, like me, have found that New York has so much opportunity, you can't keep up with it," says L.B. "I'm looking forward to going to a new city and seeing what's out there."