How the heck did the Friends afford their apartments?

Just a casual watcher of the show and I know this is TV so we aren't really supposed to think of it but they lived in Greenwich didn't they? And that's one of the most expensive areas in the States to live.

All for people who didn't exactly bring home the highest of salaries.

Just for fun I looked up the building they used for exterior shots and it costs roughly 3k a month for a 1 bedroom... holy crap! and considering the apartment Monica and Rachel had and its size.. well...wow.

Another more recent one is Penny in the The Big Bang Theory.. she lives in a big LA apartment while making minimum wage as a waitress (or used to anyway) sure she would get some tips but you'd have to think not that much.

meh.. boring Saturday morning.

Well, remember, Monica and Rachel's apartment belonged to Monica's grandmother. She mentions at one point that she's subletting the apartment and otherwise wouldn't be able to afford it. But this wasn't mentioned until later in the show I believe. The episode where it shows us how things came to be. Chandler finding a roommate, Joey and Monica having a crush on each other, Rachel engaged to marry Barry. etc...

So it doesn't sound like Monica would be able to afford that apartment if it weren't for her grandmother and all that. I don't really know who is responsible for payment if she passed away. But I like to think by the time Monica owns her own restaurant, Chandler moving in with his big business company salary, they could afford such a place. The Friends gang seems to become more and more successful in their careers allowing them to afford such places. However, at first I don't think they could afford it but again Monica was able to because of her grandmother.

As far as Chandler and Joey, I think Chandler could always afford his place and Joey just helped out when he could. lol. And I guess Ross and Phoebe did well enough at the start of the show to afford their places.

And I doubt based on searching the building based on exterior shots is an accurate guess to their monthly rent in the show. Even if it is, I bet in the story of Friends it could be something less. But that's usually not important. :)

Ya that was just for fun... but still 700SF for $3100? YIKES

Yeah. About Big Bang Theory.
Leonard needed a roomie to afford his place. Both are very smart in the science field.
Penny has the same size field and is fine on her own.

I thought it was mentioned that Monica's apartment was rent-controlled since she took it over from her grandmother, so it had much lower rent than would be expected. Ross and Chandler always did well financially, so they would never have a problem with their rents, and Phoebe was living with her grandmother at the beginning of the series.

CWS2005WS posted...

I thought it was mentioned that Monica's apartment was rent-controlled since she took it over from her grandmother, so it had much lower rent than would be expected. Ross and Chandler always did well financially, so they would never have a problem with their rents, and Phoebe was living with her grandmother at the beginning of the series.

All of this is correct.

honestly the friends with their manhattan apartments is more believable then the dunphys living in that nice house in suburban los angeles with one income in the first four seasons with phil solely having to provide for groceries, car insurance, bills, and a general middle upper class lifestyle for that family.

chandler was always able to afford his place. he didnt need a roommate he just wanted the company. joey really didnt pay for much and its mentioned several times that chandler pretty much financed joeys career paying for head shots and acting lessons. chandler basically supported joey financially for several years until joey could support himself just because chandler is a very lonely man

The_Grimdog posted...

honestly the friends with their manhattan apartments is more believable then the dunphys living in that nice house in suburban los angeles with one income in the first four seasons with phil solely having to provide for groceries, car insurance, bills, and a general middle upper class lifestyle for that family.

I don't watch Modern Family, but isn't he a realtor? That should be good enough to provide for a family. Hell, my family and I lived in a middle class suburb near Los Angeles for over 15 years on only my dad's salary, who was an electrical engineer.

alienfreaks04 posted...

Yeah. About Big Bang Theory.
Leonard needed a roomie to afford his place. Both are very smart in the science field.
Penny has the same size field and is fine on her own.

Penny quite often says she can't make rent in fairness