Lucy Cohen Blatter

Every time we happen upon a well-below-average rental apartment in a desirable neighborhood on StreetEasy, we do a little happy dance. And this rent-stabilized studio in Prospect Heights fits the bill. It's $1,650 a month, almost $400 less than the area median price for studios. (Which may make up for the fact that it's not exactly "condo quality.")

Bayside may not be as hip a Queens neighborhood as others that rivals Manhattan in its pricing. (Hunters Point and Long Island City we're looking at you!) But it has a low-key, suburb-in-the-city vibe and good public schools, so we're turning our attention to this $3,100 three-bedroom, three-bath apartment there.

The co-op board for this $399,000 studio on York Avenue between 75th and 76th streets is rather lenient, allowing for co-purchasing, gifting, parents buying for children, and pied-a-terres. Plus, there's an unlimited sublet policy, which makes this a good investment option (and not as big of a deal if you find yourself growing out of it quickly).

The kids are back at school, which means it's time to spend your free time apartment hunting (if you're anything like us, anyway). And in honor of Back-to-School Week here at Brick, we've found some three-bedroom for under $2 million that just might convince you to keep your family here in the city.

We've always thought that once you finally buy a NYC apartment, you're kind of set. No more worrying about endless rent hikes that could drive you out of the city altogether. But as the New York Times recently reported, you're not 100 percent secure even if you own—in this case, a co-op.