T
om Callahan, a Vermont-born lawyer living in Moscow, agreed to be the Bachelor of the Week for a Russian gossip website in 2016. His girlfriend, Dana, who was born in Kazakhstan and grew up in Russia, discovered him through Instagram and they started dating soon after. They spent two years together in Moscow before moving to New York City, where Tom had lived on and off since 2003. After getting married, Dana pursued a master's degree in fashion history and textile studies from the Fashion Institute of Technology.

    Their one-bedroom apartment in an Upper West Side brownstone was ideal, but as they considered starting a family, they realized it wouldn't be practical with their full-size bed and a potential crib. Tom estimated that buying a comparable home in Manhattan would require spending over $1 million and saving for at least five more years. However, when they began browsing real estate sites, they found listings below $800,000, which was a surprise.

    When Dana discovered she was pregnant, the couple set a deadline to find a spacious two-bedroom apartment within their budget of $700,000. They wanted a place that felt like an upgrade from their rental but wouldn't compromise their lifestyle. To achieve this, they decided to look beyond the Upper West Side and explore neighborhoods like Morningside Heights and South Harlem, where prices changed significantly. Their broker, Sargis Mosyan, suggested that for the same price as on the Upper West Side, they could find much better space in these areas.