As someone who has lived in New York City for my entire life, I am used to the rent being ridiculous. But that doesn't mean I'm cool with it. Every time I move it's to another tenement-like apartment and farther from "civilization." It's frustrating, as a native, to be pushed out of your own neighborhood. But this is where the jobs are, and where my friends and family are, so I deal with it.
Lately, I've been hearing that it's actually cheaper to live in Manhattan than Brooklyn - a claim I can only respond to with a skeptically raised eyebrow. "Try the Upper East Side," they say. They even have the audacity to suggest living in Midtown, a neighborhood that feels completely devoid of culture - unless you're a finance bro who enjoys being surrounded by other fleece vest-wearing finance bros. And thanks to a studio apartment walkthrough that went viral on Twitter recently, I now have proof that Manhattan is not a place to go if you're looking for a reasonably-priced home.
Twitter user @JoshuaPHill shared the mind-boggling TikTok on March 7th, paired with the caption "You'll never guess the price at the end of this. It's outrageous." And he wasn't joking. After a quick walkthrough (in which the narrator emphasizes how small the studio is), the price is revealed $3,700 a month for a 250-square-foot closet. Renovated or not, that's way more than most people make in a month. Completely ridiculous, and wholly unsustainable. As per usual, the people of Twitter were not afraid to share their thoughts on the absurdity. And we have to agree with them. In the words of a legend, "The rent is too damn high!"
