This 34-Year-Old New Yorker Loves Her Miami One-Bedroom, And Happily Paying $4150 a Month For It

The discussion surrounding the soaring cost of living especially about the high rents, is not going to end anytime soon. Amid this, Rachel Koggan, a 34-year-old Media Relations executive, left New York to move to Miami, Florida, hoping to save some money by paying a little less for rent.

"I just love Florida. I love the weather," she told CNBC Make It. Koggan approached a realtor who helped her find an apartment. This one-bedroom apartment with a one-and-a-half-bathroom was above the Brickell City Centre. "When I saw this apartment, I immediately jumped on it," Koggan said, adding that she didn't even see the apartment in person before making an offer.  "I’d done a lot of research on the building and I felt confident that it would be something that I liked but I just had to go off the photos, basically," she said. 

The apartment was originally listed for $3,100 a month, but she decided to raise her offer to $3350 as several applications had been submitted. The move worked, and Koggan was able to bag the apartment. The rent increased to $4,200 for her second year, but Koggan was able to negotiate her monthly rent for the third year down to $4,150.

The rent that she pays now is way more expensive but the place is way bigger than the studio apartment she used to live in NYC. "I lived in a studio, and it was only about 400 square feet, and here I have about 1,200 square feet, so I understand that it is more expensive for a reason," she says.

Koggan had paid two security deposits of $3,350 and one month’s rent, totaling $10,050. She also paid a $500 pet fee when she first moved in. The one-bedroom apartment that she currently lives in has a washer-dryer unit as well as a balcony. The bathroom has a dual-basin sink installed and the building offers amenities like a spa, and a gym as well as multiple pools and shared outdoor space. The building is connected to the mall, which came as a pleasant surprise to her. 

"It was the best discovery in the entire world. It is now my absolute favorite feature of my apartment, and whenever anyone comes to visit, it’s sort of my party trick to show them what my backyard is...It honestly gives me so much entertainment and joy every single day," she says.

Moreover, the residents of the Brickell City Centre building get invitations to events like happy hours and workout classes as well as to new restaurant launches. While these perks are great, Koggan talked about how she had to cut down her expenses. "I understand my limits and I have a pretty good relationship with my shopping right now, but I still do love it and it still does bring me a lot of joy," she said. 

So far, Koggan is enjoying her stay and says that she will be renewing her lease. "I’m going to make sure I check the comps in my building to see if my current price is still fair," she says.

While New York is still one of the greatest cities in the world, many are deciding to move out of the city. As per a recent New York State Comptroller report, New York's population has declined by almost half a million between 2020 and 2022. Many New Yorkers are known to be looking for housing across the Hudson River. People leaving the city behind had a median wage of $49,000 in 2022, down 18% from 2021, as per a report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The report also found that among those leaving, over a third belonged to the millennials, and just under a third were Gen Z, via Business Insider.