NYU cribs: Unique student living in New York City

Attending NYU and living in New York City is unlike living in other schools: nowhere else do you find such small apartments, high prices and shall we say “unique” living situations. Given that, some people have still nailed it.

Here we take a look at three rad NYU pads that exemplify both the realities of living in the city, and the pretty awesome setups that some people make of it.

Aley Saparoff, 20, Steinhardt, Studio Art

Aley and her three roommates live in a recently renovated townhouse in Bushwick — but it’s not just a portion of it. For $1000 each per month, they have the entire unit all to themselves, complete with a massive kitchen and living room, large bedrooms for each of them and exclusive rooftop access.

She found her place using Nooklyn, a rental and sales agency that caters to the millennial Brooklynite crowd. Although she said the agency itself “sucks” because of its fees and customer service, she was fortunate that the apartment was only the second one she looked at, avoiding the usual NYC apartment hunt madness.

The apartment is decorated in fun ways from top to bottom, some highlights being the My Little Pony-themed bathroom and Aley’s bedroom which she calls the “Pretty Princess Penthouse.” They jokingly call the apartment itself the “Barbie Dream Motel” and the “Hex Girls Headquarters.”

They live a short walk away from the Myrtle-Broadway stop on the J/M/Z lines, and Aley said that the commute is fine at just 25 minutes door-to-door from home to class, since the J runs express in the morning and the Z train, although elusive, does in fact exist and runs express to Manhattan as well. She said she also enjoys not living off the L train, which is known for its relentless crowds and delays.

“I love Bushwick,” Aley said. “All my friends live here, and there’s so much to do — music, art, poetry readings.” She also affectionately mentioned the local fruit and vegetable market, Mr. Kiwi’s, where she enjoys getting $4 fresh pressed juices.

Lizzy Teplukhin, 20, CAS Economics & Kieran Altmann, 21, Tisch Film

Lizzy and her roommate, Kieran Altmann, 21, live in a two bedroom apartment in the East Village on Avenue A & E3rd Street. They’re both international students: Lizzy from London and Kieran from Adelaide, Australia, which made their search a bit more difficult than American NYU students may find. Many landlords demand high deposits from international tenants because of the possibility of them defaulting on the rent and leaving the country, leaving the landlord with little recourse options, which put Lizzy and Kieran in a difficult position.

After bouncing from broker to broker, Lizzy finally found one that she liked on Craigslist. He showed her their current apartment, which is in a family-owned building, and she met the landlord that understood their inability to put so much money down upfront and gave them a standard lease agreement that most American students would get.

Even better, she said, “The location was prime, just a 15 minute walk to campus, a ten minute walk to the subway lines and all the amenities nearby. The building was also lovely, and when I met the landlords they were so welcoming.”

She says she doesn’t love the price, but it wasn’t changed because of their international status — it was listed at $3325 per month, firm. “I find the apartment quite cozy,” she said.

Micaela Rae, 19, Steinhardt Media, Culture, and Communications

Micaela lives in a stunning two-bedroom apartment at 3rd Avenue & East 11th Street (no, not in Third North!) with her roommate, Michelle Igloo 21, who studies in Gallatin and is Rae’s “big” in their sorority. Micaela nearly avoided the apartment hunt altogether because Michelle’s previous roommate was moving out when Micaela was looking for an apartment, so she took her place.

The commute, if you can even call it that, is a dream — about a ten minute walk to class. Micaela said she loves the location because “you’re literally in the midst of every bar, restaurant, speakeasy,” and the location relative to NYU gives her the time in the morning to “wake up, relax and have a cup of coffee before my day.”

The space itself is beautiful from all angles. The living room is spacious and has exposed brick painted white on one side with high ceilings along with large windows. The kitchen has modern appliances, including a dishwasher, and they have a breakfast bar surrounding the kitchen. Micaela’s bedroom has space for a full bed, a nightstand, a desk and a dresser, along with a walk-in closet and cabinets. It’s also bright, owing to the grand window she has by the bed.

The best part? “Definitely the deck,” she said. Adjacent to the living room is a recently repaired and repainted outdoor deck. “It’s so nice to be able to go outside in the city and have your own space like that. It’s also romantic!” she said.

She and Michelle split the $4600/month rent evenly.