romance and real estate

New York City is its own universe. The Met, Central Park, Rockefeller Center, the Yankees, but the city that never sleeps has one major downfall. Two words. Real Estate.

The exorbitant real estate market is quite possibly the sole reason, aside from the unbearable winters and ridiculously hot summers, most folks don’t make the move to the Big Apple. “You live in Manhattan? It’s so expensive!” Indeed it is expensive, which is why it doesn’t shock me when many people have a roommate. It’s more affordable to share with someone you know or perhaps don’t know, as long as the rent and utilities are paid on time. You live under the same roof and yet never have to utter one word to each other. It’s an unspoken, mutual understanding. You simply coexist.

Romance and real estate go hand in hand in this city. Due to the slightly outrageous real estate market, men and women have paired up and are hibernating. Together. Cohabitating relationships. One bed, one bath apartment for two, please. Move in with your significant other and save money all at the same time. Makes sense, right? Is the official “we’re moving in together” because you’re truly in love and shacking up is the next logical step before the famous last words, “I Do?” Date, move in, get married all in that specific order? Who better to split the rent with than your “other half” or in most cases the person you’ve been dating for six months. Is the real estate market in New York City single handedly revolutionizing relationships? What if the two of you decide to go your separate ways? Break up, end the relationship. Then what? You’re stuck sharing a one bed, one bath apartment with the one person you can’t stand much less lay next to. Do you move out? Who gets the rights to the place? The coffee maker? Do you work on the relationship in order to stake your claim on the hottest real estate in all of NYC?

It’s not only who you live with in Manhattan, it’s where you live. There’s a certain stereotype depending on which borough you reside in. Where you live can be the make it or break it for any budding relationship. When you meet someone in a bar or coffee shop or even the grocery store, the most commonly asked question even before the generic “What’s your name?” is usually “Do you live around here?” Location, location, location!! What the good-looking guy in Aisle 5 really wants to know is- how far does he have to travel to take you out? If you live more than a few blocks or a long subway ride away, forget about it. Uptown and Downtown? It won’t work. Consider it a long distance relationship and we all know those never work. New York is bizarre in that way, but it makes sense. Date someone closer. Less compromise, more convenience. The one teeny tiny problem with that is if you two ever break up, you may want to relocate. Avoid that cute little coffee shop you both fell in love with, the restaurant around the corner he took you to on your first date, the local bar is no longer your stomping ground. Laundromat? Don’t even think about it. You don’t want him seeing your unmentionables without proper permission. Once you split, you must be fully prepared to forfeit your rights and allow full custody.