Amanda DiMarco didn’t count on New York Metropolis to drag her again, but it surely did.
Ms. DiMarco, 32, had lived within the space for nearly her complete life: She was born and raised in Westchester and spent seven years in Hoboken, N.J., after faculty. However when her function overseeing shopper success for a software program firm went distant in 2020, she bought most of her furnishings, put just a few issues in storage and hit the street along with her roommate.
The pair, who had been renting a two-bedroom, two-bathroom Hoboken residence for $3,500 a month, spent the subsequent 13 months crisscrossing the nation. They earned loyalty factors at Marriott inns, the place Ms. DiMarco would take Zoom calls within the morning earlier than heading out to hike in nationwide parks.
“It was the largest self-growth expertise I’ve ever had,” she mentioned.
However whereas she stored anticipating to really feel a tug in one of many cities she visited between Maine and California, none compelled her to place down roots. “I stored anticipating to suppose, ‘Oh, my god, this feels proper. I have to be right here,’” she mentioned. As an alternative, when she made her manner again house — the place her giant Italian household nonetheless gathers for Sunday dinner each week — “New York, lo and behold, was what felt most proper.”
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It was the autumn of 2021 — rents have been climbing, and mortgage charges have been close to a historic low. Ms. DiMarco, who had been placing apart funds since faculty, knew she had sufficient tucked away to make a 25 p.c down fee on a house costing as much as $650,000.
Her perfect spot was in Manhattan, ideally under twenty third Avenue. She anticipated to finally return to her Midtown workplace, and “losing these hours on a commute was one thing I didn’t need,” she mentioned.
She knew that her finances and site would restrict her to a studio, so she hoped she might discover a place that she might finally function as a rental. “I hope I’m not residing alone in a studio three years from now,” she mentioned. “I wished to have the ability to lease and achieve that revenue down the street.”
When she linked with Christiana Beniamino, an actual property agent with Bond New York and an outdated buddy, she was bouncing between resort rooms within the metropolis and her childhood house in Westchester.
“She had already been nomadic, and he or she wished a secure place,” Ms. Beniamino mentioned.
Ms. DiMarco started residences in early 2022. Amongst her choices:
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