The lease on my apartment, in which I’ve now lived for almost two years, will be up at the end of September, and my landlord just emailed me to ask that I stay on another year.

I had never intended to do that, but the idea of moving is a bit overwhelming, and there is literally nothing which bothers me about my apartment, except its diminutive size.

That said, I just read this New York Times article in the real-estate section, “The Stay-Put Incentive,” which declares that management companies across the city are actually reducing the rent of their best tenants.

So I’m going to ask for a rent reduction, although I feel slightly guilty about it - I know my landlord needs to pay her own bills.

In the interim, I plan to look around at what’s out there … if anyone has any fantastic suggestions, I’m open to anything.  Well.  Not ANYTHING.  But I’m not married to any particular neighborhood, although I’ve always wanted to live in the West Village (of course, so do most people!).

I don’t know … I could be happy staying right here.  Frankly, I love Hell’s Kitchen, which is just as much a surprise to me as it might be to you.  Who knew??

PS. I was going to live with my high school debate partner, Judy, but she found an amazing one-bed in the West Village, and couldn’t say no.  To be honest, I’m also a little reluctant to live with a roommate, given my strange nocturnal hours, and propensity to become anal-retentive about cleanliness.  Better to pay a bit more and save a friendship, you know?  I’ve lived with people before (many times), and am still friends with them (CD in college, Krystal when I first came to New York, and finally, with Alex), but … I don’t know.  It makes me vaguely nervous.  Also, is it weird to have roommates after a certain age??  I’m almost 29, shouldn’t I be living alone?  Or maybe there are no rules for this sort of thing anymore.