Woman highlights reality of New York living as she reveals she can’t even open kitchen cabinet

We all know apartment prices are extortionate, especially in the Big Apple.

Now one New Yorker has shared the reality of living in the city’s Upper East Side neighborhood “when you’re not a squillionaire.”

TikToker Taryn Smith (@taryntino21) created a video, giving viewers a tour of her living space that she jokingly describes as “fabulous”.

But, as the theme song to the iconic New York City sitcom Sex and the City plays in the background, Smith reveals a less than glamorous design flaw in her apartment.

She pans her camera to her kitchen and says sarcastically: “Do you like cabinet space? Me neither. I have never, ever been able to open this ever.”

Smith then demonstrates how her large kitchen cupboard cannot be opened because the oven blocks it from doing so. The TikToker pulls on the door hard to illustrate her point.

With space at a premium in small city apartment, this design flaw isn’t exactly ideal.

Afterwards, she moves onto the bathroom, where water can be heard running in the background. She then says: “In a rush? Don’t shower, it’s going to take at least 15 minutes for that water to become lukewarm, at best.”

TikTok Taryn talks about how long it takes for her water to heat up as the running water can be heard in the background (left) and then points out all the restaurants she can’t afford (right)TikTok/taryntino21

The TikToker then perches next to her window, looking out at the buildings around her and jokes about the financial realities of living in an expensive city.

“See that restaurant?” Smith says as she points out her window. “I can’t afford it. That restaurant? Can’t afford it. That restaurant shooed me out last Saturday like a stray cat because I can’t afford it.”

You can watch the video in full here.

Since sharing her apartment tour, her TikTok has recieved more than 9.6m views, 1.8m likes and thousands of comments.

One fellow New Yorker wrote: “‘Because I can’t afford it’ literally anywhere I go around the Upper East Side.”

“I’m SCREAMING! This is why I moved,” a former New Yorker commented.

Someone else added: “It astounds me that people still willingly live in NYC.”

“The water. So true! I turn mine on, go make tea, lay out my clothes, put contacts in, drink some tea, maybe iron my clothes all before the water is warm,” a fourth person added.

Meanwhile, others advised Smith on how she could get access to her blocked cupboard.

One person wrote: “You can open the oven door first, then the cabinet, but good point otherwise.”

“Just take the hinges off. At least you’d have the storage space,” another person commented.

The average rent in New York City for a studio apartment is $3,237 per month, according to Apartment List.