Before living in a condo in Astoria, Louis and I spent years in an overpriced prewar apartment that cost $1,500.00 per month (and the rent increased each year). The landlord was greedy and cheap, so he let tenants endure infrastructure from 1930, when the building was built.
Despite owning dozens of apartment buildings throughout New York City, he rarely invested to improve them. That is typical in NYC since 1870. This is what thousands of residents endure (for the privilege of living in NYC)!
This was the bathroom...
This was the kitchen...
It really looks like a third-world nation, yet that is how thousands of neglected apartments are in America's richest city. Despite overpaying $1,500.00 per month, my apartment lacked a dishwasher, microwave, and laundry appliances. The building did not have an elevator. It did not have washing machines or dryers. In all weather, I carried my laundry to a laundromat, located 2 streets away.
For comparison, this is what typical apartments look like in Prague, the capital of Czechia. Despite being in older buildings, these examples are marvelously updated with modern infrastructure and conveniences... and they cost $920.00 per month. They are all near Metro (subway) or tram stations.
They look amazing because they were built by a civilized society in a truly first-world city. I'm aware that incomes are lower in Europe, but so are the costs of living, and Europeans get Universal Healthcare. So, their overall value is superior.
American are often duped into overpaying for crap in NYC, and being forced to pay 4-times the price to obtain decency. The previous US President is a notorious NYC landlord, and he's running in the next presidential election. When he talks to people who dislike the standards in America, he says...
Who would want to stay?
