I spent a year or so living in a small town in the Free State (for work) in a three-bedroom house, with a massive back and front yard, for R5 000 a month.

That’s not a typo.

Move to Cape Town and that might get you a tiny room in someone’s backyard if you’re lucky.

We’re used to high rental prices here, especially if you’re after a sea view, although that could change (a little) as economic instability brought on by the pandemic might force owners to lower rents.

Just take a look at what’s happening on the Atlantic Seaboard at the moment.

With all of that in mind, let’s make ourselves feel better with a trip to New York’s West Village.

Compass Real Estate agent Cameron Knowlton, per The New York Post, took his TikTok followers on a tour of what he dubbed “the worst apartment in New York”.

Here’s what you’ll get for $1 650 (close to R25 000) a month:

That’s a hovel, with no stove, something that barely resembles a kitchen, and the real kicker – a bathroom that you have to share with everyone else on your floor.

You get your own key, so that’s…depressing.

TikTok users were understandably horrified, with one commenting: “And people thought we were joking when we said New York City apartments were like closets”.

We believe you.

Tatum Kelly of Compass Realty says that despite the pandemic, the landlord is digging his heels in on the price.

And while it might seem that nobody would want to live there, the building was apparently full pre-COVID-19.

It looks like “you get what you pay for” doesn’t apply in New York.

[source:nypost]