There is a little studio for sale few minutes from my office! 330SF, $329,000.
Only $450 maintenance. (that is very low for Manhattan)
It is so tempting to cut my commute from 3 hours to 10 minutes a day! Hey, I could go home for lunch 
It sounds unbelievable to me.
I could live in a space this small with my honey, I've done it before (but without 2 active cats).
There are obvious concerns, besides the space (people who don't live in NYC won't understand. They talk of McMansions but to us 800sf is luxury).
Besides the cost that would make things tight, there are commuting implications for DH. It may take him much longer to get to NJ in the morning - only one tunnel goes in that direction and he would have to go all the way cross town first. And to come back there is always traffic as well.
Second, there is no free parking ever on any day available in that area. So we would have to pay a huge sum for the garage, or park far away and take a bus to the apartment. His commute cost would go even higher than 40$ a day he is currently paying plus $350 a month for insurance.
So our vacation/going out/fun money would have to be slashed very drastically. (at the time when we'd be living so close to so many options)
Those are major drawbacks. But to live so close to work... I can dream, can't I?
I am soooo tempted!!
January 10th, 2008 at 01:47 pm
January 10th, 2008 at 01:49 pm
January 10th, 2008 at 02:03 pm
January 10th, 2008 at 03:30 pm
I rent a little house that's about the size of the studio you're talking about. It's $275 a month. I'm in Texas, too, and don't understand the rents and such up there. But damn, you can buy a doublewide and a lot here for just what you'd pay for maintenance there if it's monthly.
Scary!
January 10th, 2008 at 03:42 pm
PS: I know some New Yorkers and I used to go to college there, so I know that's a good deal for a place! :-)
January 10th, 2008 at 08:47 pm
Unfortunately my husband cannot give up his car - he works on a military base in New Jersey. There is no public transport there.
The car is so expensive (and we don't even have car payments). If not for needing the car, we could afford both this place and going out.
January 11th, 2008 at 05:21 am
Er, for where I live, I just couldn't even fathom such a thing.
January 11th, 2008 at 07:16 am
January 11th, 2008 at 08:49 am
January 11th, 2008 at 09:10 am
That is why this is considered incredibly low - this is more like a maintenance for a condo.
Unfortunately, most of the buildings in Manhattan are co-ops. The only condos are new luxury buildings.
So there are issues like needing board approval to sublet, to have pets, etc...