Category: rent

apartment, New York City, rent

Step 348: More Space Than I Thought I Had

Christa Avampato

In New York City we are used to small spaces. 1000 square feet, a modest size for many other cities, feels like a palace in New York. the size of our apartments is a normal topic of conversation, as is how much we’re paying for it, what amenities our neighborhood has, and our dreams of a private outdoor area just outside our door. We are a city obsessed with the idea of space, and we usually think we don’t have enough.

Since getting Phin, I have had a little wire playpen set up for him. I leave the door open and within its tiny perimeter I kept his food, water, bed, toys, and yoga mat. (Yep, he has his own yoga mat where he does all his deep thinking, just like me!) Now that we’ve been together for 3 months, he’s chilled out and I folded up his playpen and just placed it against the wall. I couldn’t believe how much room I had once I took it down! My tiny studio (and I mean seriously tiny, not just perceived tiny) seemed so much bigger.

I was reminded of how much room and time we have in our lives. I’m one of those people who is regularly guilty of over-stuffing my schedule. It’s ridiculous, and I have no one to point the finger at except the lady in the mirror. When we work to fit something into our lives, when we consciously make room for it and then have that time or space free up again, we realize that we aren’t time or space starved. We’re awash with it. Life seems so short, and yet if I think back on everywhere I’ve been, everything I’ve done, and the great volume of living that lies ahead, I realize that life is long. The opportunity to do an abundant amount of extraordinary work, is constant.

The photo above is a New York City studio apartment. Tiny but made to look big by a wide camera angle.

New York City, rent, yoga

Step 347: I Booked a Room For My Yoga Classes

Christa Avampato

After a solid month of looking intently for a room to teach my own yoga classes, I found one. I looked at over 50 spaces in total.

I was picky. I wanted:
– beautiful space
– bright
– shiny wood floors, sprung (meaning they have some cushioning to them)
– well-maintained
– housed in a place with lots of artists around
– quiet, ideally sound proof
– good subway access
– doorman
– elevator
– affordable
– professionally managed
– amenities like clean restrooms, wi-fi, and a comfortable space for students to wait if they arrive early
– ability to move to a smaller or larger room to accommodate the class size
– mirrors
– easy cancellation / re-scheduling policy

I asked for the world. In truth I was pickier about the space than I was about finding my own apartment. I wasn’t willing to live with less. If I’m going to ask people to come to my class and pay to be there, even if it is a modest $10 a class with $2 donated to a charity of the student’s choice, I’m going to make sure it’s perfect. And as Brian always tells me, “You get what you settle for.”

Pearl Studios NYC located at 500 8th Avenue between 35th and 36th Streets will be home to my very first independently run yoga classes as part of Compass Yoga. Classes start on Sunday January 30, 2011, 6pm – 7pm. The class on the 30th will be free to anyone who’d like to attend. Thereafter, they will run every Sunday from 6pm – 7pm. Schedule will always be posted here and on this Facebook page. I hope you’ll join us!

The photo above is a picture of the room where I’ll be teaching yoga at Pearl Studios. (We’ll move the piano!)

apartment, business, entrepreneurship, Examiner, home, New York City, rent, technology

NY Business Strategies Examiner – Interview with Lee Lin, co-founder of RentHop

Christa Avampato

It’s moving time again! I’ve been thinking a lot about the moving process and the hunt for apartment lately. I’ll move into my new digs next month and the movers arrive this Thursday. I can be a stressful undertaking, especially Around August 1st when the rush of students and new college graduates is hard to miss!

Looking for a little sanity in your apartment search? Enter RentHop – an innovative new service that allows would-be renters to browse free, no -fee listings in the New York City area. I had the opportunity to speak with Lee Lin, co-founder of RentHop.

For the full story, click here.

apartment, hope, housing, New York City, real estate, rent

My Year of Hopefulness – An Affordable New York City

Christa Avampato

My pot-smoking neighbor is back in full-force. Gross. I have opened up my front hall closet two days in a row to a waft of marijuana. So, I sent my landlord a very nice email explaining that problem was occurring again and that I may consider finding a new apartment. He swears that he has spoken to her again and that the problem will not happen again. Still, I am skeptical so I decided to take a look around the neighborhood and see what’s available. 

First, I discovered that I am overpaying for my studio. I signed the two year lease at the height of the market in the summer of 2007 and I needed to live in my neighborhood to park my car on the street and make my commute as easy as possible. Now, a year and a half later, times have changed. Rents have dropped dramatically, even in my ritzy neighborhood. I can get a place twice as large as my current apartment for less money. Amazing!
And there is availability everywhere with free months of rent promos, waived fees, and apartments held with no extra cost. The New York City rental market may actually morph to be like rental markets in other cities. That is to say it could actually become reasonable!
Now this is cause for much rejoicing and much hope. Yes, we’ll get to save a bit more money but the exciting piece for me is that New York City has the great potential to save its edge. For years now students, writers, artists, musicians, activists, and entrepreneurs – people who make our world an interesting place to live – have been driven out of the city by rents that are too high. You have to have an MBA, or be a doctor or lawyer to afford a place in a decent neighborhood. It’s crazy! With these lower rents, a more diverse population will be able to afford a wider variety of neighborhoods. And we will all be the benefactors of that diversity.
Just when I thought all was lost and that I’d never be able to afford to buy in New York, I’m realizing now that eventually it might be possible. That alone is a great reason for hope.