Cramped Quarters

It’s been said that at any given moment, most New Yorkers are looking for one of three things: a new job, a new relationship or a new apartment. I’ve spent most of my time in Manhattan looking for the latter, as my midwestern sensibilities of what constitutes an apartment were never challenged until I moved here.

A quick review of what I learned in Indiana:

An apartment fits couch and bed.
An apartment comes complete with toilet and sink.
A crack den does not an apartment make.

A quick review of what I learned living in Manhattan:

For $1,700 a month, one fits either couch or bed.
For $1,950 a month, one gets either toilet or sink.
A crack den does not an apartment make.

It’s taken me five years and seven apartments to find a place that not only has room for a toilet, sink, couch and bed but also a dishwasher, an extra bedroom and a dining room - oh my! So, it figures that only after getting a much larger place, do I discover that there can be a big reward for living in a teeny space.

Curbed.com tipped me off to Apartment Therapy’s annual Smallest, Coolest Apartment Contest – an online competition for the best apartment in NYC and beyond that is under 650 square feet. Curbed tracked last year’s contest and noted gems like "Brandon's Chic Shoebox", a 450-square-foot apartment on the Upper West Side. Here are a couple more you'll enjoy.