Virginia K. Smith

Slowly but surely, green technology is making its way into NYC homes.

The commute to Roosevelt Island likely scares off (or just plain confuses) plenty of potential residents—unless you've got a car, your options are limited to a single F train stop, the Q102 Bus, or the Roosevelt Island Tram. But when a heavily discounted 500-square-foot "junior one-bedroom" showed up at just $1,895 a month—marked down from $2,445—it got us to wondering if living in a luxe building for a comparatively low price is worth the trip across the river.

Living in a historic district comes with its own ups and downs, but if you're hoping to shield your 'hood's streets from the forward march of glassy new developments, getting landmark status from the city is one way to go.

An entire town in Connecticut is for sale, and cheaper than most Brooklyn brownstones (Gothamist)

What it's like looking for a NYC apartment on a five-figure salary (The Billfold)

Before you resign yourself to paying the equivalent of an extra month of rent just to cover the broker's fee for your new apartment, check out the listings over at Naked Apartments, which include a variety of rentals with fees that top out at 9 percent (versus the typical 12 to 15 percent of a year's rent).