00:00Hi, my name is Michael. Welcome to my sweet digs. Before you come in, be sure to leave your coat
00:04on
00:04because the heat is not on unless you are contributing to this electric bill.
00:09But first, subscribe below and come on in.
00:12I live in East Harlem, very close to Spanish Harlem, and I pay $18.95 in rent.
00:17But I do know that I could be living in Ohio for a third of the price, for triple the
00:21space,
00:22but I would also be in Ohio.
00:24This apartment is about 500-ish square feet, so just enough space for one person.
00:30My name is spelled M-Y-C-H-E-L, so growing up, I had kind of a complex about
00:35never being able to find my name spelled anywhere.
00:37So now as an adult, naturally, I get everything monogrammed.
00:41Keep an eye out for all the M's throughout my apartment, like this one,
00:45and let me know how many you can spot in the comments below.
00:51Over here, my bathroom, which is a pretty great size for New York.
00:56I was really excited about having my own apartment, having my own space.
00:59I really want to do, like, something cute in the bathroom.
01:02One thing I love in my apartment is this Mean Girls print.
01:04It has my favorite coat.
01:06You're, like, really pretty.
01:07I thought it would just be something fun to have in the bathroom.
01:10I'm about a year and nine months into my natural hair journey.
01:14I've been in a trial and error phase of trying to find hair products.
01:18I have everything under the sun.
01:20Kinky curly, curly pudding, hydration, elation.
01:25Woo!
01:25Oh, that was a good catch.
01:27I am a product junkie, but I'm still in the process of finding, like, my exact routine, hence the braids.
01:32So one of the worst things about this apartment is that I don't have any closets.
01:35I do, however, have this beautiful water heater closet that fits absolutely nothing else except for this water heater.
01:43And then this is my bedroom area.
01:45Because this apartment didn't have any closets, I had to make one.
01:48I decided just to get a $25 shelf from Amazon.
01:51It's a little bit high for my height, but it works because I can keep hoodies and towels and things
01:56below underneath.
01:57Unfortunately, what usually happens is all the clothes I've worn throughout the week end up on the floor.
02:02And then I have a vicious cycle of picking it up, putting it on the bed.
02:05And then when I come home to get in the bed, the clothes are still there.
02:08So then I just move them back to the floor.
02:10One day I'll get it together.
02:12And this is my, like, living area.
02:14It has my favorite picture of my grandmother, which is a self-portrait.
02:17She made it in the 80s after she retired and was taking art classes.
02:21It's my favorite thing in my entire apartment and something I'll always put up wherever I live.
02:25My decorating style mostly comes from using a lot of color with these pillows or the couch.
02:31I got it at World Market when I lived in L.A. for around $600 and it was on sale.
02:36So I lived in L.A. for almost a year.
02:39Moving back to New York for me just was the best thing for me.
02:42I have close friends here that I've had for a long time.
02:45I love the pace of the city.
02:47It's something that I've gotten really used to and New York really feels like home.
02:50I'm originally from Dayton, Ohio, and it's a really great place to grow up.
02:55It's very normal.
02:56Everyone's really nice and really Midwestern.
02:59And how it compares to New York, it doesn't really.
03:03This is my kitchen area.
03:05One thing that I always have in my fridge are, like, half drunk, drank, drinking?
03:10Half-empty bottles of seltzer.
03:13I actually tried to wean myself off of regular pop.
03:15I found this clock actually at, like, a dollar store in Ohio when I was on my way to visit
03:19a friend.
03:20It ticks very loudly so I actually don't use it for its timekeeping function.
03:25It's purely decorative because it's so cute.
03:28This is my dining area.
03:29I got this table at a thrift store in Los Angeles.
03:32And the cool thing about it is it's actually originally from West Elm.
03:35I got it for $45, and I think it retails for, like, $350 or something like that.
03:41So something else, like, I got a really good deal on.
03:43I eat here.
03:44I work from here.
03:45It's just a really good spot, especially right by the windows that have the trains going by.
03:50And when it's nice, like today, it's a great spot to sit and work.
03:54One thing about this apartment is that it is literally across the street from the Metro North.
03:58But for me, it just is white noise.
04:01I found this apartment on Craigslist.
04:04I decided to come check it out, and within five minutes, I walked in, and it was a bright, sunny
04:08day.
04:08There's lots of light in this apartment.
04:10I wanted it right away.
04:11Before I moved to L.A., I lived in Chelsea for three years, so I lived a little more downtown.
04:16It's definitely a different vibe than living uptown.
04:18My downtown friends still like to go out a lot and drink and have fun and be out late.
04:23Uptown, it's more about having, like, a nice dinner or going out to a lounge.
04:27If my apartment was a pop culture character, it would probably be Issa from Insecure,
04:34but next season when she's maybe got it together a little more.
04:38I think I can relate to being a bit transitional, but I'm finally a little more stable in my life
04:45and in this apartment, and it feels good.
04:46I feel really lucky to have found the place that I really like and don't plan on moving
04:51until maybe I get married, and even then, he better be really cute because I do not want
04:56to go through this New York apartment search ever again.
Comments