Cheaper rent is not worth your sanity!
Gosh, that sounds like a hysterical blog post title. But, the thing is. . .it’s surprisingly easy to make a decision to will totally screw you in order to get a cheaper rent. I mean, take it from me. . .I almost did it this weekend.
My boyfriend’s friend had a two-bedroom opening up in their building in Astoria for June 1 and while the bf and I had talked vaguely about moving in together some time. . .that some time did not have a lease starting in 4 weeks. But, the place was going for $1400/month — $200 less than what I pay now. We’d be able to split food costs, get decent furniture, at first glance it seemed like a perfect idea. Plus, commuting from Queens to Brooklyn sucks. I mean, it’s almost a long distance relationship!
But…after some consideration, it was pretty obvious what a monumental mistake moving there would be. First of all, I love Brooklyn. In fact, it’s the only part of New York that I like and feel at home in. Getting off the subway after work, I always release this small breath that I hadn’t even realized I’d been holding in for the majority of the day. Plus, I’ve developed a few communities there, as well as a weekend habit of walking to the nearby park and up and down the avenues of brownstones. . .plus. Um. Moving in with one’s significant other is a BIG deal and really shouldn’t be done out of convenience. It’s ruined more than a few couples I know.
Luckily, even though we’d put down a deposit, the girls in the apartment decided they wanted to stay and renew their lease. So, instead of BEGGING the landlord to give us back the security deposit, we were able to detangle ourselves from that mess pretty easily. But, AH, we were so lucky and you BET we learned from this mistake. So, when you’re looking – if you don’t feel comfortable in the neighborhood, if you aren’t sure about, well, ANYTHING, don’t take the super cheap apartment. A year lease is a long time when your sanity is on line.
