Quote:

I lived in Chelsea in the 80's too and loved it! I had a 475sq. ft. one br on 23rd st. It was in the back of the building with unobstructed southern exposure and a wood burning fireplace in a sunken lr. But after a few years it began to feel claustrophobic. I don't think I could live in a 300 sq ft space.

300 sq feet is doable, if you live alone, use the space efficiently, and don't have a lot of stuff. It also prevents you from buying a lot of stuff.

That said, downtown JC has pretty much everything I need these days, is much more affordable, and is bigger than 300 square feet. ;)

In the 80's I lived 3 years in a 12x20 studio across the street from the Chelsea Hotel. It was awesome! Danceteria was a couple of blocks away. The Squat theater was down the block, I once saw a double feature of Repulsion and Baby Doll! Great pubs like McManus and restaurants like Cuban-Chinese Mi Chinita. For a young person who didn't spend a lot of time at home, it was ideal.

Given Manhattan's real estate market, I would say this place http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2014/01 ... cheap.php#reader_comments will sell at auction for much closer to $300K. Funny - the mortgage owed on this place and my much larger place in Heights are almost the same

But its fun to dream about being back in a real city, with everthing you could possibly want right outside your door! I wonder if that would be enough to make up for the lack of space, if - by some stroke of fortune - I low, very, low-balled it and my bid was accepted?