In sleep we dream of affordable living, of all the extra niceties we could buy if only we weren’t spending two thirds of our income on housing. As our body rests, our mind scrolls through Craigslist page after Craigslist page where gorgeous, not sketchy-looking ads proclaim great deals in nice areas near subways. “Please,” the OP begs, “this spacious Park Slope one-bedroom is so stunning it overwhelms me, won’t someone be so kind as to sublet it from me for $300/month? I simply cannot bear its beauty another day.”
If you’re reading this and not a god, you’re probably not asleep and dreaming, so we at Brokerlyn have done our best using our own rental service (and trusty old Craigslist) to whip up a dreamy-as-possible list of cheap-ish listings meriting the title “decent deals” for you to peruse in consciousness.
Brag to all your friends about having not one but two closets
Dyker Heights
$700/month
Room in a two-bedroom
That’s right, this listing boasts DOUBLE CLOSETS in the bedroom, which is in an apartment you’ll be sharing with at least one current roomie. Looks a bit…lived in, and hopefully that air mattress in the living room doesn’t constitute your roomy’s bedroom, but seven hundo a month is a tough price to beat, and that includes utilities.
Porch access, booyah
Sheepshead Bay
$740/month
Room in a two-bedroom
Explore southern Brooklyn on the cheap and come live in Sheepshead. No pets, no smokers, and you gotta be a clean one. You’ll be two stops away from the beach and have room for a queen-size bed in your room. What more could you ask for?
Mmm arched doorways
Manhattan Beach
$650/month
One-bedroom
How can it be, a one-bedroom for $650 and it’s not in a lottery? Likely the reasoning is because it’s in Manhattan Beach, where you’re probably best spending a hunk of that unspent rent money on a car so you can get anywhere. This is a really nice lookin’ unit though, with some original details and what appears to be a recent renovation.
Periodic table shower curtain is a chill roomie guarantee
Bed-Stuy
$800/month
Room in a three-bedroom
It’s hard to gauge the apartment’s layout from the photos, but the kitchen and bathroom both appear beyond immediate critique, and the room has at least one very bright window. That periodic table shower current should soothe any other concerns you may have.
Old school window curtains should come back in style
Bed-Stuy
$1,250/month
Studio
The listing is categorized as Bed-Stuy, but the description says “Brownsville border Crown Heights,” so FYI. The view from the window is green and bright, the kitchen quaint and cozy, the bathroom alright, the bedroom not pictured.
We’re all about southern Brooklyn this roundup
Gravesend
$1,299/month
Studio
Maybe you haven’t recognized most of the neighborhood names in this roundup so far, but that’s because they are decently well kept secrets of affordable apartments. While all y’all transplants move east to Bushwick and Ridgewood, the affordable, albeit transportation-deprived, quieter units are waiting down south and to the west in BK. This one looks cute enough, and the building has laundry and on-site maintenance and security patrol.
It was all yellooowww
Bushwick
$1,300/month
Studio
It’s not neutral, but it is cheery. This “sun-drenched” unit has heat and hot water and is “just blocks away from the Brooklyn Bagel Shop.” That is overly specific in terms of a business recommendation, but the apartment does appear nice and bright and clean.
Closeup on the washer
Kensington
$795/month
Room in a two-bedroom
There’s a whole apartment out there, but of these four shots representing the unit, one is exclusively of the washing machine. It is, to be fair, quite shiny. Ya, you’ll be sharing the kitchen and bathroom, but it’s hard to beat the price for this quality of recent renovation (or new construction).
You lookin’ fine, accent wall
Crown Heights
$1,299/month
Studio
The orange really does pop, ok? The rest of the unit is standard, heat and hot water are included in the rent, and you’ll be within walking distance of the 2, 3, 4, and 5 trains. No photo of the bedroom, but the bathroom features a nice big ol’ tub and one of those accordion-style wall mirrors.
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