90-square-foot home?

**Curt James** · 04-21-2011, 11:45 PM

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Simple life in Manhattan: A 90-square-foot home

By Kirsten Dirksen

The average size of the American home is shrinking -- it dropped in both 2008 and 2009 after 15 straight years of growth -- but most of us are still living larger than people in the Big Apple. Home size in Manhattan is about half the national average.

One New Yorker has taken her love of frugal living to the extreme. Felice Cohen’s apartment measures just 90 square feet, but she doesn’t see it as a sacrifice. With such a small space, she pays just $700 to live in a part of town where rents average $3,600 per month.

Her kitchen consists of a toaster oven, hot pot, and mini fridge, but she claims her backyard is larger than average: “I look out my window, and it’s New York City. I mean, that’s my backyard. Central Park is a block away. I can go into the park. I have Lincoln Center. I have libraries. I have gyms all over the place. Sometimes, I feel like you’re in college, and it’s a huge campus, and you can take advantage of everything you want to take advantage of.” Learn how Felice organizes her 90-square foot home.

Granted, Cohen had a bit of a panic attack the first night in her apartment when she woke up in the loft bed with the ceiling 23 inches from her face, but she’s grown accustomed to the small space. Now when she goes back to her childhood home, she misses her apartment’s coziness:

“I think a lot of people have a lot of space that they’re not using. I grew up in a place where my bedroom was 17 feet by 17 feet with two walk-in closets that combined were almost the size of this apartment ... when I go home now, I go in the closet just to feel like I’m back in New York.”

From http://shine.yahoo.com/event/green/s...-home-2472666/

**Kathybird** · 04-22-2011, 12:05 AM

We did that for a year. I don't miss it.

**ihateschoolmt** · 04-22-2011, 12:19 AM

I lived in this little apartment like that for a few months. Someone turned this small house into three apartments and mine was what used to be the front porch. It was like living in a hallway.

**240PLUS** · 04-22-2011, 10:20 AM

Could you imagine marrying this woman? She's have your ass living in a sardine can.
I hate New Yorker's. They're so fucking proud of the stupidist shit.

**Built** · 04-22-2011, 10:25 AM

I lived in a converted one-car garage for a few years; I managed to fit a sectional and a waterbed in there - the waterbed on a loft, with my closet under it. I liked it actually, but I had to leave the room to change my mind, if you hear what I'm saying.

**Jodi** · 04-22-2011, 10:41 AM

I hate NY! I can't understand why anyone would ever want to live there.

I pay the same amount of money for my 3000 sq. foot home with 3 car garage, 4 bed, 3 bath and a pool and even less for another house I own and rent out.

I wonder how she has sex in that bed :o

**myCATpowerlifts** · 04-22-2011, 10:47 AM

Originally Posted by Built

I lived in a converted one-car garage for a few years; I managed to fit a sectional and a waterbed in there - the waterbed on a loft, with my closet under it. I liked it actually, but I had to leave the room to change my mind, if you hear what I'm saying.

I hear what your saying but I don't understand.
Sex? Drugs? Life?

**Diesel618** · 04-22-2011, 10:56 AM

And then you've got assholes like Derek Jeter building 30,000 square feet homes to live in by himself. Dude has never been married and has no kids. Why in the fuck does he need a mansion?

**IronAddict** · 04-22-2011, 11:35 AM

Talk about taking advantage of people! That's no apartment, that's the janitors storage room!

**Prince** · 04-22-2011, 12:30 PM

90 sq. ft. is not an apartment its a closet.

**lifterjaydawg** · 04-22-2011, 01:06 PM

90 sq ft is insane, you would have to pay me to live there.

**OfficerFarva** · 04-22-2011, 01:15 PM

Well no wonder, she's a mac user.

**DOMS** · 04-22-2011, 01:31 PM

Originally Posted by OfficerFarva

Well no wonder, she's a mac user.

Mac slogan: "I'll overpay for something inferior if I think it makes me look cool."

**maniclion** · 04-22-2011, 02:01 PM

I paid $800 a month for a 1 bedroom condo over looking the Ko'olau mountains, Waiikiki Beach and the Pacific ocean was my backyard....I had room for 6 of my friends to crash on the floor and futon, plus a kitchen with a stove, regular fridge and dishwasher.....this lady is a sucker....

**ihateschoolmt** · 04-22-2011, 02:11 PM

Originally Posted by ihateschoolmt

I lived in this little apartment like that for a few months. Someone turned this small house into three apartments and mine was what used to be the front porch. It was like living in a hallway.

Rent was only 190$ a month though.

**OfficerFarva** · 04-22-2011, 02:54 PM

When I was going to university my rent was 433 for a pretty damn big apartment. Three bedrooms, each with its own bathroom. Utilities included, I only had to pay for my internet connection.

**Jodi** · 04-22-2011, 05:14 PM

Originally Posted by DOMS

Mac slogan: "I'll overpay for something inferior if I think it makes me look cool."

**maniclion** · 04-22-2011, 05:18 PM

Originally Posted by OfficerFarva

When I was going to university my rent was 433 for a pretty damn big apartment. Three bedrooms, each with its own bathroom. Utilities included, I only had to pay for my internet connection.

That's Canada though isn't it....your backyard was an iceberg

**LAM** · 04-22-2011, 07:19 PM

fuck that!

**Built** · 04-22-2011, 08:19 PM

Originally Posted by Jodi

I wonder how she has sex in that bed :o

That was my first thought, too. Before I built my loft, the first thing I did was to lie down, stick my feet up in the air and measure how much clearance I'd need.

Originally Posted by myCATpowerlifts

I hear what your saying but I don't understand.
Sex? Drugs? Life?

University. It was free; in the back of my mom's place.

Originally Posted by maniclion

That's Canada though isn't it....your backyard was an iceberg

You obviously haven't seen Vancouver housing prices. Alberta must be a LOT cheaper.

**OfficerFarva** · 04-22-2011, 08:25 PM

Originally Posted by Built

You obviously haven't seen Vancouver housing prices. Alberta must be a LOT cheaper.

Hell no, its pretty bad out here to depending on where you live. Calgary, Edmonton and Fort Mcmurray are pretty expensive. The average home in fort mac is worth over 700k.

**Built** · 04-22-2011, 08:46 PM

Fort Mac Money is just as bad as Vancouver, then. Incomes can be a tad higher there though, hey?

**OfficerFarva** · 04-22-2011, 09:43 PM

Originally Posted by Built

Fort Mac Money is just as bad as Vancouver, then. Incomes can be a tad higher there though, hey?

Mhmm, if you're a journeyman tradesman you can easily make 150k a year. Any kind of decent job and you should be making over 100k. They start fast food people off at something like 18 bucks an hour with benefits lol.

**Jodi** · 04-22-2011, 09:49 PM

US Fast Food workers make about $8 bucks per hour here.

**OfficerFarva** · 04-22-2011, 09:52 PM

Originally Posted by Jodi

US Fast Food workers make about $8 bucks per hour here.

Fort mac is the exception, theres a shortage of workers generally because its pretty isolated from any other major city, its expensive, and its fucking cold in the winter. I honestly thought -10C was warm.

**sassy69** · 04-22-2011, 10:38 PM

It reminds me of living in the college dorms... We stacked our beds to make more room, had a mini-fridge, a microwave and a 13" tv. Then I rented a room w/ 2 other roommates at $200 per person I think. Then I moved into my own place at $333 for 700 sq ft. I felt rich. 25 yrs later I live in 820 sq ft for $1650. (Difference between Tempe, AZ, San Francisco, and 2 and a 1/2 decades. The difference now is I have better furniture but I work more hours.... Does this mean I'm winning the rat race?

I visited a friend in NYC he had a fairly big apartment but it was long & skinny. It made me claustrophobic. It was ironic tho - at the time (~5-6 yrs ago) for probably half the money, I had a 2000 sq ft, 3 story townhouse in Atlanta and maybe saw 2 people in the 6 units in my building in 2 yrs, wherease in that place in NYC you were literally living in your neighbor's bedroom it was so tight. My place was nice, great location, beautiful backyard view, but very isolated and I also managed to have a freight line running thru the woods about 100 yds off the townhouse property, making it annoyingly noisy at night. Whereas in the NY apt you stepped outside the front door and it was like family around you and the noise was the homey noise of lots of people and lots of activity.

Its hard to say which I would take but generally I never feel like I'd survive in a big city. I like the burbs, but just not too burb-ish.

**lnvanry** · 04-22-2011, 10:39 PM

Originally Posted by Jodi

I hate NY! I can't understand why anyone would ever want to live there.

I pay the same amount of money for my 3000 sq. foot home with 3 car garage, 4 bed, 3 bath and a pool and even less for another house I own and rent out.

I wonder how she has sex in that bed :o

Thats what I was thinking

**x~factor** · 04-22-2011, 10:42 PM

$700 rent?!?! I miss paying that much per month for rent. Now I pay double that just to pay for property tax! NY/NJ sucks. I can't wait to move to PA.

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