Farm to City: My friends and family are not impressed

By Emmalie Vance | July 16, 2012 - 10:28AM

Since my last installment of Farm to City, I have temporarily parted ways with my beloved NYC sublet and moved back to in with my fiancé in Ohio. This was not by choice since I have loved living in NYC probably more than anywhere else I have ever lived, but rather out of financial necessity.

Rest assured, I will be back.

In the meantime, as an exercise in perspective, I'll wind down this column with a sampling of my friends' and family's reactions to my sublet.

I was somewhat surprised at the comparison people tended to make between my apartment and a college dorm—my apartment was generally considered inferior.

“Most of us who have ever been to college had more than that,” said my Dad.

My fiancé, Joe: “I have never stayed in a $975 a month dorm room with a kitchenette."

I get it. It was small, but to me it never felt like a dorm room. Maybe it was just the lack of text books and a minifridge between two paper-strewn desks that gave it a more home-y feel. Also, it's hard to imagine a college requiring its students to walk up four flights of stairs.

The word “dorm” came up a lot, but there was also a lot of discussion about the general lack of space.

“I'm not like a super bumpkin surprised about the city,” Dad said, “but it is awfully tiny for what you had to pay.”

I must admit that I, too, was surprised at the price considering I was sharing such a small space, but on the Upper East Side, that’s a steal. I’ll definitely be looking outside of Manhattan—like somewhere in Astoria or New Jersey—when I move back.

My mom certainly had a lot to say on the subject of size as well.

“I don’t know how I would handle such a small space. I don’t think I would make it very long living there myself. I mean, my entire kitchen is bigger than your whole apartment. I’m pretty sure our dining room is bigger too!”

Thanks, Mom.

My friend Alyse also expressed some strong opinions.

“Your kitchen felt like a prison," she said when I asked her to reflect back on her visits to my sublet. "Also, I felt like I was going die when I got to the top of the third flight of stairs and realized there was still one more flight to go.”

I agree. That third flight definitely started to burn in the thighs.

“Although I’ll miss it, I also won’t,” she added.

I can’t say the same. I will definitely miss my first little (shared) studio in NYC. Having grown up in a 3,000-square-foot farmhouse surrounded by hay fields, woods, and wildlife, the city is an experience I definitely want to experience again.

Emmalie Vance is a New York newbie who grew up on a hay farm in western New York. In Farm to City, she chronicled her real estate adventures here in the big city.

Farm to City: I am the Stair Master

Farm to City: I share a studio apartment with a total stranger

Rental Rookie: Finding my Next NYC apartment

Rental Rookie: Basic steps in the roommating dance

Rental Rookie: I lay eyes on my apartment for the first time

Rental Rookie: I rent my first NYC apartment from 3,000 miles away

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