“New York City has to be a prank, right?”: TikToker’s tiny NYC apartment transformation sparks debate over small-space living

A tiny but adorable New York City bedroom transformation went viral as people expressed dismay over the size. But now, others are sticking up for small space living.

Living small in NYC (and the world)

Some of what commenters have to say has a ring of truth to it. NYC can certainly be expensive. It’s a big city where apartments are heavily in demand, both because a lot of people want to live there and because new development isn’t happening quickly enough.

According to Zillow, the average rent in NYC is $3706, or 77% higher than average rental costs nationally. The median rent is a lot less dire, coming in at around $1600. But part of the reason for that is likely because the lower number reflects homes that are being lived in, not just listed and rented out recently. Put simply, the current market for new renters is very pricey.

That demand, of course, plays into the small size of these spaces. Bigger apartments or townhouses have been chopped up to make space for more tenants, and new builds are often lacking in square footage so more units can be squeezed in.

While there may be a housing shortage, there’s certainly no shortage of small NYC apartment tours on your social media platform of choice. TikTok, Instagram, YouTube—they’re everywhere you look. The same is true of websites that showcase people’s homes, like Apartment Therapy.

And small-space living isn’t unique to NYC. Micro-apartments can be found here and there in other major U.S. cities like Washington, D.C., and San Francisco, and can be much more common overseas in places like Tokyo, Paris, and Hong Kong.

In defense of small spaces

There are plenty of reasons why people might opt for living small. Money is a great one, but some people just prefer it overall. There’s less space to heat in the winter, less to clean, you don’t get bogged down in buying unnecessary stuff to fill things up, and it can motivate you to spend more time out in the world rather than just curling up in bed watching Netflix during all of your free time.

Despite some people ragging on the amount of space Alison had to show off, she had a lot of defenders, too—both for the small space in general and specifically for the trade-off of living in NYC.

How big is Alison’s tiny NYC apartment, actually?

Contrary to some assumptions, the space Alison showed off in her initial TikTok is just her bedroom. She actually lives with roommates (and a cat) in a three bedroom apartment with a separate dining and living space. She gave folks a full virtual tour after her pictures first went viral, also showing off how her roommates set up their respective similarly small rooms:

@alisonpstewart Replying to @Kyer ♬ original sound – alisonpstewart

To some, it doesn’t matter. That bedroom is still just too small. But having recently moved to NYC from Nashville, Alison is just thrilled to have a cute place in the city.

“If you don’t like it, I don’t care,” she told the haters. “You don’t have to sleep in it.”