Which is more important: Apartment size or access to amenities?
In-building amenities like pools, basketball courts, and business centers are common among new rental and condo developments nowadays, and the implicit sales pitch is often that the perks make up for small apartment sizes. So if it comes right down to it: Would you rather live in a compact apartment in an amenity-filled building, or a large apartment in a building with zero amenities?
We posed the question to five New Yorkers this week.
Here's what they had to say:
Give me big over bells and whistles
"I won’t use most of the amenities anyway, and amenities have a way of fading away, falling into disrepair, or costing money in the future."—John Lee, Upper West Side (pictured below)
Large prewar, please
"I’d prefer a large apartment in an old prewar [building] than a small apartment with lots of amenities. Space is an amenity in New York, and it’s way more of a luxury than a doorman or a gym (that you end up having to pay extra for anyway!)."—Alicia Stetzer, Hamilton Heights
Tired of tracking lost packages
"Considering [that] my current living arrangement is a small apartment and no amenities, this is a tough call because both are tempting. Though I’d love to be able to host apartment dinner parties for more than two friends, I think I’d rather have a small apartment with building amenities so that I could spend less time tracking down lost packages and taking trips to the laundromat. Does this mean I’d have a rooftop pool, too?"—Kendra Lied, Yorkville
Not much for in-building socializing
"I would much rather live in a large apartment with zero amenities. Interacting with others in communal spaces is something I (and many New Yorkers) try to avoid at all costs."—Jacqueline Manley, Upper East Side
Size doesn't matter
"I would rather live in a small apartment in a building with a lot of amenities, because sometimes there are things that matter more than size does! While my current apartment is not that big, my building has a gym and rooftop, which definitely makes up for it."—Jessica Van Horn, Midtown East
The verdict: It’s a close call but for a majority of these folks, amenities aren’t nearly as important as a big place to call home.
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