Virginia K. Smith

New Yorkers spend a lot of time swapping apartment horror stories, which makes perfect sense: for one thing, we've all got 'em, and for another, it's cathartic (and usually pretty funny) to know that you're not the only one who's suffered a kleptomaniac roommate or toilet overflow. Of course, if it were all that bad the entire city would've thrown in the towel years ago, and there's no time like the present to do, well, a little "thanksgiving" for our apartments (and apartment buildings).

Whether it's a shoddy apartment or a shady roommate (or both), people will put up with a lot to find a cheap-ish place to live in New York. Further proof: a writer for Bustle put up a comically awful Craisglist ad in search of a roommate and came up with a startling number of enthusiastic responses.

Craigslist isn't just for rentals: find a ramshackle Japanese-style house in Kew Gardens for $1.2 million (DNAinfo, Brownstoner Queens)