Woman searches for New York City apartment as she seeks to move out of her parents' house

Monica left NYC during the pandemic to live with her parents, and she's hoping to finally find a new spot in the Big Apple.

Video Transcript

I'm Will Taylor, and I'm back with another episode of "Find My Dream Room." Today, I'm off to meet Monica, who is currently living with her parents, but is desperate to get back to New York City living. So I'm here to give her a helping hand.

- Hi, my name is Monica. I'm currently living at home in Maryland, and I'm looking to move back to the city. I am looking for a two-bedroom with one of my best friends, and we're just looking for somewhere that has a good amount of space, natural light and some amenities in there would be awesome, but not a non-negotiable.

- Hey Monica.

- Hi, good morning.

- Well, nice to meet you.

- Nice to meet you.

- OK I want to hear all about your apartment hunt. Where are you living right now?

- So I'm currently living at home in Maryland.

- OK.

- I'm kind of itching to get back to New York, if we're being honest.

- I'm sure.

- Yeah.

- On that front, like what are you looking for from a new apartment here?

- So, my roommate and I are looking for a two-bedroom. I would say a good amount of space, just because we like hosting and having our friends over, and some natural light would be great. And then also just like in a decent location.

- Define that for me. Like what are your top neighborhoods that you want to look at?

- I would say we're looking at Gramercy, East Village, or Lower East Side.

- OK. Love that. Definitely some price variations between those three neighborhoods, so on that point, what is your budget?

- I would say between $3,500 to $4,000.

- OK, so a healthy budget. Any flexibility there, or?

- I think for the perfect place, yes.

- OK, well I think we can find you that. I've got three amazing apartments. The first one's really close, so should we go check it out?

- Yeah of course.

- Let's do it.

- OK, come in and check out apartment number one. I'm really excited to show it to you. You said you wanted space. And I think I've given you space, right?

- Yeah seriously. Oh my gosh, this is so beautiful.

- The high ceilings, the natural light that floods in here. They also open.

- It really does. And it's also just the perfect size for hosting all of my friends.

- Right? It's just crying out the host in here. You've got a dedicated living space. This huge dining space, you could push the table right up into the corner. This could be the dance floor. Like, I'm imagining it all for you, right? Kitchen's like a little small, but you do get a dishwasher, so that's great. This is bedroom number one. Two, closets space for a desk, pretty good, right?

- Yeah, no, it's a great size. And the natural light in a bedroom, it's amazing.

- And then this one's slightly larger. But again, they're really nice bedrooms.

- And just so much space to sprawl out.

- Right? This place rents at $4,100 a month.

- OK.

- Slightly over budget, but you know, do you get a dishwasher in a great location. And I don't think you're going to see anything else that has quite this such a feeling of space. But don't mind up yet because you've got two more to show. Sp let's go check out apartment number two.

- Sounds good.

- Let's do it. After you.

- OK Monica. It's apartment number two. I'm really excited for you to see this one because it's actually significantly under your budget. This is renting at $3,100 a month. And this would be your kitchen. What do you think?

- It's a great size, honestly. And having a dishwasher again in New York City, such a steal.

- It's not huge in here, but it has everything you need, right? This living space again, like small, but perfectly formed.

- It's just like a good size for just hanging out. Maybe not the best for hosting-wise, but it's still very cozy.

- For sure.

- Bedrooms are, again, the theme is like small but perfectly formed.

- Right

- So still has space for a desk. So you've got a decent closet over there, too.

- There's surprisingly a good amount of storage space in here.

- And then bedroom number two is a little bit bigger. I like this one, because it has the window out onto the fire escape, which feels very New York to me. And then also like you have the desk like set up here by the window, that you were saying for work from home, you actually see natural light. So I think this is a steal at $3,100 a month. Obviously, it is a lot smaller, but you're going to save a lot every month. It's nice for you to like have an option. Something over, something under. We have apartment number three to see, though, so let's go see that before you make your mind up.

- Sounds good.

- All right.

All right, apartment number three, and I think it's the best yet. I'm really excited to show it to you. There is a bedroom as you enter right here. There's a half bath here. That's right. This place has two bathrooms. And then enter out into this light-flooded living and dining space.

- This is honestly so stunning.

- Right?

- And the size is perfect.

- Now I'm going to be honest with you. This is over budget. So it's $4,200. But I wanted to show you this left of field option, because that first bedroom you saw is actually the third bedroom. So I'm giving you the option that if you and your roommate decided you wanted to bring a third roommate in, you could actually significantly reduce the price of this, which is arguably the best apartment of the day. And you'd get it for the cheapest price.

It gets better as well, because in the kitchen, there is in-unit washer-dryer, and then out here is your own private roof deck.

- Oh my gosh. In Manhattan?

- I know right? And then we have a bedroom in here. And then this bedroom mirrors that one. Bedroom sizes are similar to the second apartment we saw, but in my book, you're just getting way nicer apartment. It is obviously a little bit more expensive, but you're getting all of those amenities.

But don't make your mind up right now. I know you've seen three, so it's a lot to take in. Go away digest it. We can connect and then you can let me know if maybe one of them makes the cut.

- That sounds good.

- All right, let's go.

- Hi, everyone. I know it's been a minute since we last spoke, but I actually decided to put my apartment search on a hold for now. Will showed me some great places, and I think I have an idea for what I'm looking for in the future. So hopefully next time around, he can show me some more options.