Would You Rent a $1,500/Month Room to Get the “Girls Experience?”
You know, overwrought, self-effacing preciousness on Craigslist aside, and preposterous trends surrounding Girls notwithstanding, this could just be a whole post about how it’s totally normal, apparently, for a single room in a “livable and trendy but trashy-enough-to complain-about-apartment” to cost $1,500 to live in every month, just because it’s in Williamsburg, in 2013. Everything about this is deeply obscene, and I will never get over it.
But! Today, we’re just going to talk about this Craigslist ad that’s making the rounds, in which two youths seek another youth (“‘Shoshannas’ or ‘Marnies'” preferred) to pay more than twice a reasonable rent in order to partake in the “HBO Girls living experience.” It is exactly how you think it will be:
-One gay roommate, with a penchant for backhanded compliments, adding the oh-so-needed bitchiness to a night in of getting drunk and re-watching 90s TV shows. He is everything you might want in a roommate: neurotic, judgmental, and certainly more attractive than you.
-One roommate named Hannah (for reals) with the fashion sense of a homeless kindergartener. She shares a number of wardrobe items with Lena Dunham, but also adds a flare of originality through such novelties as elephant pants. She self-identifies as an “artist.”
-Both of us graduated from college two years ago and moved to New York to “follow our careers.” Watch as we navigate the minefield that is our 20s and tackle the challenges of our generation, including: Is it appropriate to sleep with [person X], and would you judge me if I did? Which Thai restaurant should I order from tonight? And how does one install a coat rack onto an electrical panel? (But really if you know the answer to that last one, please drop us a line.)
It also promises “warehouse parties,” “hanging out in Greenpoint,” “gallery openings that are incredibly meaningful to us on a deep personal level,” and “dinner parties that can really only be called that because they sometimes involve dinner, but more often involve wine” as potential perks to the room, which is only described as having “a window.”
Now, before we get into it too much, it’s important to note that they’ve already gotten at least one response in character as Shoshannah, saying, “I would love to see some Instagrammed photos of the apartment, but please don’t use frames?” Meaning that any pushback against this kind of nonsense is useless. This is not a fight anyone can win.
Follow Virginia K. Smith on Twitter @vksmith.
