After immigrating from their native India in 1998, Vidya Jayaraman and Jay Krishnamoorthy settled in Connecticut after which New Jersey, visiting New York Metropolis as a lot as doable. Work led them to St. Louis after which to Atlanta, the place they lived a suburban life, elevating their daughter.
“We’re empty nesters — hen launchers, is what they are saying now,” Ms. Jayaraman mentioned. Although their woodsy Georgia neighborhood was suited to household life, she mentioned, “now that we’ve got launched our hen, we needed the town life as effectively. The town has a lot to supply.”
Their daughter, Rithika Jayaraman, now attends Stony Brook College, on Lengthy Island. The couple, who each work remotely in tech jobs, go to together with her usually.
“I don’t need to be too far-off from my daughter,” mentioned Ms. Jayaraman, 49. “I need to be in nearer proximity to her so I may be part of her life and she or he may be part of my subsequent section of life.”
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Ms. Jayaraman and Mr. Krishnamoorthy determined to purchase a second house within the metropolis, quite than spend cash on motels. Early final 12 months, they started trying out listings with the purpose of shopping for a small place — nothing greater than a glorified lodge room — in a doorman constructing for as much as $600,000.
The couple centered on the East Aspect, handy to the brand new Grand Central Madison terminal, the place they may catch a prepare to Stony Brook. They discovered themselves gravitating towards Midtown East, which appeared extra occurring at night time than some areas of the Higher East Aspect.
After seeing a number of one-bedroom co-op items, “I mentioned, Let’s go a step down and see how the studios are,” mentioned Mr. Krishnamoorthy, 53. Studios have been nearly as massive in sq. footage, they discovered, however the month-to-month upkeep was sometimes much less.
“I assumed, How can we match our life right into a studio?” he mentioned.
An alcove studio appeared to be the reply, for the reason that alcove might be used as a sleeping nook. However the pair had a tricky time navigating the Manhattan market. They encountered excessive down funds, uncertainty as as to whether negotiation was doable, and a dizzying array of co-op guidelines. They usually felt it was essential to have a rapport with an agent. That didn’t all the time occur, assuming the agent even returned their name. In order that they hunted on their very own.
Sooner or later, exhaustion took over. The couple thought of settling for a spot that wasn’t fairly proper. They thought of giving up.
Amongst their choices:
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