1st Avenue

$900 for a shared apartment, the ad said. Expensive to be sure, but in a great location and ultimately I need a place. 

So, off to see it. The apartment is small, essentially just a room, but decent quality. From the front door I can see the bedroom (just a bed with a screen around it), washroom and kitchen.

“Nice place… where is the room you’re renting?” The guy walks through his bedroom to the far corner and opens a door. 

Behind the door is a bike, resting in what appears to be a corridor. A dark, cramped corridor, with an exceedingly low ceiling. I peer in and… the corridor ends, as abruptly as it began. What is this sorcery?

The guy didn’t list the size of the room, because it was seven feet long by five feet deep. There were no windows or natural light of any kind. If I’d stayed there for a year, I would have paid $308 per square foot to live in the closet beside his bed.

Back to the drawing board.