In her first year as an architecture student at the Pratt Institute in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, Kelly Cho lived in the dorms. In her second year, she moved nearby with a good friend.

The roommates chose a two-bedroom in a 2009 high-rise, 163 Washington, with a balcony and a washer-dryer. A Key Food supermarket was handy and Pratt was a seven-minute walk. They split the rent of $4,200 a month.

In a new building, “we didn’t have to deal with plumbing issues and cockroaches,” Ms. Cho said. In an old one, she worried that, even if renovated, structural issues and outdated heating and air-conditioning systems might be a problem.

After three years, her roommate graduated and returned home, while a year of school remained for Ms. Cho, a native of South Korea who grew up in Vancouver, Canada. She assumed that she would move to a studio in her building, along with her energetic cat, Taco.

Meanwhile, her boyfriend, Jaime Soriano, had graduated last May from Full Sail University in Florida with a degree in recording arts.

Mr. Soriano, who is from Mexico City [Poaster's Note: he is a blond blue-eyed Mexican, see pic in article], headed to New York and is seeking an internship at a music or recording studio.

Ms. Cho and Mr. Soriano, now both 22, decided to find a place together. The obvious plan was to downsize to a one-bedroom in Ms. Cho’s building.

But a new management company required a local guarantor or a year’s rent in advance, Ms. Cho said. The one-bedroom available, for $3,000 a month, was on a low floor and seemed expensive for what it was. And the rapidly changing Clinton Hill area offered plenty of other options.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3445935&forum_id=2#32031520)