New York is a city of renters. 69% of NYC population don’t own their own home are forced to hunt and fight to the death for their next place. Finding the right apartment is no easy task either. Words like “cozy” “flex one bedroom” “convertible” “unique” “up and coming” “easy walk to...” appear on the rental description as well as photos that you know for a fact they are not actual photos of the unit. All these distractions try to hide the truth about these places: they’re small, ugly, has a brick view window and is far from the subway. In summary: they suck. The unfortunate part is that out of desperation, you end up conforming and renting whatever is available. Then, you realize your mistake. The landlord is terrible, the commute to work is actually worse than you expect and you find out that there’s an indoor city dumpster right in front of your building (all true stories, separate units and I’ve only been in NYC for 2.5 years).
I interviewed 5 users for this exercise, 4 out of 5 are not native New Yorkers but have lived in the city for more than 5 years.
Interests and Values
Hensel just moved to New York so he wants to be where the action is. He is usually out and about hanging out with friends and eating out. He barely cooks anything and uses his apartment for mainly sleep. He does have a dog so he does need to live in a pet friendly apartment. He’s not really into home maintenance and doesn’t spends a lot of time in housekeeping.
Goals
He doesn’t spend a lot of time at home, so space is not really an issue for him as long as is pet friendly. He’s most important priorities for a new place is location and amenities. Since he doesn’t like to do housework, he prefers a place that has a dishwasher, in unit- washer/dryer, consierge service and elevator along other things.
curious but not nosey.
friendly but not clingy.
respectful but not overly agreeable.
honest but not rude.
trustful but not gullible.
approachable but not vulnerable.
relatable but not generic.
