One more wrinkle I hadn't thought of before: long, thin, "railroad" layout apartments beat squarish apartments when you're in a smaller space. My partner and I are usually sleeping at different times; I work the night shift and sleep from 6 AM until afternoon and she sleeps from midnight to 8 AM like a normal person. When we lived in our 440-sf "railroad" apartment, it was easy for one person to be awake in the kitchen, using the gas range to heat water for tea, sitting at the table using the computer or reading a book, all without disturbing the other one who might be sleeping in the bedroom, which was about 20 feet (and two thin, moveable walls) away.

In the square layout, even with a single wall separating the bedroom from the living room, you can hear anything from anywhere, even individual mouse clicks. And these days so many devices insist on beeping to let you know that they're being turned on (our fan, our space heater, even the Playstation 3) that it's becoming difficult to live quietly.

"brooks2, thank you for the welcome. no offense, but my comp ability kicks your ass, so to speak. but given that you revealed that you don't even have an insider account, you're not doing that badly."

Oh yeah, I see a throwdown thread coming. 80's style, one person posts and then the other.

"It's a great message that nada gives to those of us in the nyc "burbs". maybe we should be inviting more often, maybe we just assume that people aren't interested. But I'm newly burbed, so I'm willing to experiment."

Yes, invite away. I love visiting friends even in *gasp* New Jersey.

We were having dinner with some friends last night in some prime neighborhood, we live in some super-prime place, they live in some super-super-prime place, and the talk was of going to Williamsburg on our next outing & how great it is there.

Triple_Zero, you are reversing every tenet of RE. "Bigger is worse." "Railroad apts are great." Any other rules you are going to turn upside down for us?

No, I wasn't saying she lives in NJ, just that I have friends in NJ that I like to visit (viewed as unholy ground by some provincial NYers), so she should invite away.

"Do you take the Hudson ferry, inonada?"

No, I just drive: usually I am going at non-peak hours, and I like any excuse to use the car to make garaging it seem less wasteful. Once when I went during peak hours, I took the bus from Port Authority. My friend in Hoboken swears by the ferry (pleasantness, it drops him off by his office), but from where I was he said the bus would be much better.

All that said, the ferry sounds like a fun way to commute.

" And these days so many devices insist on beeping to let you know that they're being turned on (our fan, our space heater, even the Playstation 3) that it's becoming difficult to live quietly."

I know!

WTF is up with that?

"We were having dinner with some friends last night in some prime neighborhood, we live in some super-prime place, they live in some super-super-prime place, and the talk was of going to Williamsburg on our next outing & how great it is there."

Funny.

However, when you move OUT of your prime-prime-prime neighborhood, you can actually lose friends over it. I did myself. A woman whom I thought of as one of my best friends (we'd known each other for more than a decade and saw each other at least twice a week) never came to my new Uptown apartment. Ever. Not even to the housewarming. I jokingly asked her, after a couple years of living Uptown, when she was finally going to make the trek. WIth all seriousness she just looked at me and said "Never." I said what do you mean? You're NEVER going to visit me?? Her response: "I'll visit you when you move back Downtown. You know my rule -- I never go above 86th Street. EVER."

Sad that she was willing to sacrifice a friendship over her snobbish and arbitrary "rule".

Haven't seen or spoken to her in years. :(

Dr. John?

Your "friend" sounds like an idiot with a complex, NYCMatt. Either she lives in a few thousand square feet in a Meier building or overlooking the park (say), in which case she is a crass idiot for being snobby. Or else, she is a delusional idiot for thinking she is "of sufficient status" to be snobby.

nada, she lives on Lower Fifth in a post-war white brick building.

I see, the delusional variety. In her late 40s / early 50s, 1100 sq ft, 6th floor, live alone with a dog?

Early 50s. Higher floor. 700 sq. ft. alcove studio. Never married, lives alone. Two cats.

Fuck -- my first instinct was to go with two cats, but I thought that would be too cliché.

Welcome back AR!!!! You were missed. I hope you stay long and post often.

hi guys!! hi ar!!!!!!

hi cc! where did ar move?

is that in bergen county?

i am so not.

"Fuck -- my first instinct was to go with two cats, but I thought that would be too cliché."

Go with your instincts, nada. The 700 sqft alcove studio is most hilarious. Matt, I normally don't judge people THAT quickly, but you're better off. Yikes.

Hi Alan! I missed you!!

Yes Alan, welcome back. I missed our insight and humor,

Omg ALAN!! is it Christmas?

Thanks ar. Glad you guys are back.

I traded my Brooklyn apartment of twice the size for my Manhattan place. Outside of not being able to throw a large party or dinner party (which lots of Manhattanites didn't want to come out for anyway), I don't miss much at... and I am much, much (much) happier.

I think we all learn to live with the space we have (like investment bankers with salaries). I had to get rid of some things, but some of the space usage was just wasteful. I have everything I need now... and so much happier walking outside and being here versus in Brooklyn.

swe, how much space do you have in Manhattan? And where were you in Brooklyn, if you don't mind the asking? I think those are pretty huge variables. If you have >1,000 sqft in a Manhattan neighborhood you love, and don't enjoy Brooklyn as much, that's kind of a no-brainer tradeoff. There is such a thing as too much space. The Ecclestone heiresses being the exception.

Sorry, but there is no such thing as "too much space".

That's what people who can't afford the space they want or need tell themselves to justify their finance shortfalls.

Respectfully disagree, Matt. There are certainly limits to the space I would want, unless you crave impractical space. If you have to sit down and think of uses for it for more than 30 seconds, it's probably not worth it. But I'm sure you have a palatial spread in Washington Heights.

You're free to disagree, bj. But it's been my experience that the sancti-spacers aren't very "respectful" when they call people who live in nice spacious apartments that THEY could never afford "wasteful".

Only three things matter when it comes to space - location, location and location.

Not necessarily, West34. Some people put more of a premium over living like a human being *not* a sardine over being in "Prime" whatever.

Matt, not really sure what point you're trying to drive home. That people who proclaim their 800 sqft 2BR is ideal are full of it? Sure. But do you really mean to tell me that you'd truly prefer living in a 5,000 sqft home by yourself vs, say, 2,000 sqft? What about 10,000? At some point, there really is too much space.

Hmm, I suppose theoretically there is an amount you could pay me to live in a bigger apartment in Washington Heights

"But do you really mean to tell me that you'd truly prefer living in a 5,000 sqft home by yourself vs, say, 2,000 sqft? What about 10,000? At some point, there really is too much space."

"Too much space" is a subjective judgement call. It's not my call to say whether 20,000 square feet is "too much space" for Oprah. Only Oprah knows how much is "too much" for her.

"That's what people who can't afford the space they want or need tell themselves to justify their finance shortfalls."

Another brilliant nugget from NYCMatt. By this logic, Warren Buffet lives in a $700K house because he can't afford anything bigger.

But Buffett isn't going around demonizing people for living in spaces larger than his as being "wasteful".

The idea of having too much space is so far removed that it doesn't even compute.

I'd move just about anywhere not to live in a studio.

But once I hit 600 square feet and one bedroom, I'd put greater emphasis on location and apartment features. E.g., an in-unit washer and dryer and nice outdoor space become more important than square footage alone. This time of year reminds me that central air is high on my list, too.

Agreed. I would consider as little as 500 square feet if it meant my own washer and dryer.