Cheap apartments. I could write a book on this one. Living in and moving around in the biggest city in the world for the better part of the last decade, I’ve been doing a lot of searching for the ever illusive ‘best apartment.’ Let me tell you, I gave that one up after staying there only a short year. If you ever hear a broker say things like “gut renovation” and “rent stabilized” unless you’re walking over dead bodies to get to the place, you should consider yourself lucky that you’re able to bid on something like this. I had that. In New York. And I gave it up, because I worked in the “theatre” and I didn’t like “taking the train.” So my steadily dwindling quality of life has led me to where I am now; a cheap apartment for rent in a crumbling building that’s a studio which is on par with one of the smallest rooms you’ve ever been in anyway how could not one but two (!) people live there?

The answer is simple; there are no cheap apartments in New York City. Even to live in neighboring suburbs like Queens, Brooklyn, or the Bronx is problematic. No need to even get me started about Staten Island. New Jersey adds the whole other obstacle of having to commute to another state and so it’s another bus ride or subway fare just to get back to your state. And to top it off the apartments in nearby Jersey City or the boroughs are through the roof anyway! You can’t win!

I’m sure they still exist. Not just in New York, but worldwide. I bet if you’re the careful German and you’re looking to move into a really progressive neighborhood you could do alright by a cheap apartment in Berlin. Somewhere.

Wherever you’re looking, you need to do your leg-work; cheap apartments don’t just come to you. It’s problematic if you’re making a big move like internationally as you’re likely to get fleeced coming and going. If you’ve got friends or family to stay with in the intermittent period, that’s helpful. If you’re comfortable living on meager means until you’ve found a place you can stash your stuff in a locker or not ship it until you’ve found a place or get a furnished joint and live out of a bag in a hostel while you’re searching the good search.

If you need a cheap apartment for rent in a place like Rome and you’re totally unfamiliar with the European continent then you’ve got some problems. There are international real estate agents who can help you with the transition but make sure that they’re reputable! You don’t want to show up on day one and find out that you’ve just been taken for a ride and there’s really no apartment to be had. Cheap or no, that’s just downright nasty!