After I read that article, I poked around Craigslist for apartments in Manhattan. Damn. Lots of them that are very close to what I’m paying now, with no fee, and some close enough to walk to work. One of the things that I *don’t* like about where I live now is that, while I’m geographically closer to work than I was over in Kensington, the commute time is about the same because I have such a long walk/bus ride to the subway. So I spend an hour and a half to two hours daily commuting.
If I could get a place in Manhattan, I could cut that down to half an hour or less. I’d love to have an extra hour in my day to walk the dog, go to the gym, hang out with friends, do something crafty, or just relax. Or sleep later. And if I lived much closer to work, I might even be able to use a dogwalker only on the days when I have class, thereby saving some cash.
Not only are rents coming down, but a lot of landlords are paying the exorbitant broker fees (I saw lots of listings from brokers stating that there was no fee — which can run $12,000 or more — or that the fee was covered by the landlord) and they’re being a little more forgiving about credit. Which is less of an issue for me than it was last summer, since I’ve paid off most of my debts, certainly all the ones which I was behind on. But I’d been certain that I’d have to wait at least a year before making any kind of move in order to build up a good reputation again. Not anymore!
Other than the expense and hassle of moving, I don’t really see a downside to doing this. I don’t have a lease to break here; even if I sign a lease somewhere else and rents continue to fall, I can renegotiate or leave at the end of it; if I get a rent-stabilized place, that affords me some protection from increases; I’d get closer to work, which means I recapture time in my day; there are even 1 BRs in my price range, so I could put a door between me and the cats; I could afford Manhattan.
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