Random TV And Movie Characters Who Can't Afford Their Homes (12 items)

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  (#3) Max Black

  • 2 Broke Girls

  The Apartment:

  Max and Caroline's Williamsburg apartment is meant to look cheap, but it's clearly not. It's huge by New York City standards, even though Caroline sleeps in the living room. The place is always in a state of disarray, but even the clutter is strangely unrealistic. And there's a yard, which is incredibly rare and fiscally impossible. 

  The Income:

  The girls are supposed to be broke; they waitress at a local diner. However, a one-bedroom Williamsburg apartment is around $3,500 a month. Waitresses living on tips would struggle to afford that sort of rate.
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  (#12) Tom Haverford

  • Parks and Recreation

  The Apartment:

  Tom always seems to have tastes far beyond his means. His Pawnee, IN, apartment is no exception. More than likely a one-bedroom unit, it's almost too hip with luxury decor and furnishings.

  The Income:

  Employed in a mid-level position for small-town government, Tom should not be able to afford his apartment or lifestyle. He probably makes between $20,000 and $30,000 a year. In Indianapolis, IN, a one-bedroom costs around $800 a month. While that major city is surely larger and more cosmopolitan than fictional Pawnee, it's easy to assume Tom would pay around that much for his very chic apartment.
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  (#9) Ted Mosby

  • How I Met Your Mother

  The Apartment:

  This New York City, NY, apartment is far beyond Ted's means. His unit is a two-bedroom with generous windows and a fireplace. Located on the Upper West Side, the flat also has exposed brick walls, a piano, and a separate workspace area.

  The Income:

  Ted is an architect, so it stands to reason he isn't bringing home chump change. Still, an apartment that size might be a financial burden. A similarly-sized Upper West Side apartment may cost about $3,500. With Ted's paycheck, which is probably around $4,900 a month, he would have to scrimp and save to afford the bare necessities.
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  (#10) Kimmy Schmidt

  • Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

  The Apartment:

  Kimmy and Titus share a one-bedroom basement apartment in Brooklyn, NY. Titus has the bedroom, and the title character sleeps in a closet. In the unit, there's a small kitchen, living area, and bathroom. Landlady Lillian calls the unit a "garden-level maisonette."

  The Income:

  The space is small and a bit dank, but still, it would demand a small fortune in New York City. A one-bedroom in that neighborhood usually calls for around $3,200 a month. Neither of those characters are consistently employed, and when they are, they don't rake in the dough. At one point, Kimmy works as an Uber driver; a median salary for a NYC Uber driver is around $3,700 a month. Assuming she's covering the rent (because Titus's full-time job is being Titus), that doesn't leave much left over.
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  (#8) Dana Barrett

  • Ghostbusters, Ghostbusters II, Ghostbusters III

  The Apartment:

  A penthouse unit on Central Park West, Dana's apartment is colossal, especially because she doesn't have roommates. There's a living room with views of the city, a large bedroom, and an absolutely massive kitchen.

  The Income:

  Dana is a symphony musician, so it's hard to imagine how she affords her spot, even in the 1980s. A one-bedroom in the same building sold for nearly $1.3 million in 2014. Symphony musician salaries can vary, ranging from a few thousand dollars a year to upwards of $150K. Still, though, if Dana wanted that apartment today, she'd have to be incredibly creative to make rent.
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  (#4) Josh Baskin

  • Big, Big: the musical

  The Apartment:

  The young character in Big really lucks up and lands a fantastic apartment. A huge Soho corner unit, the place comes with hardwood floors, high ceilings, and wall-to-wall windows.

  The Income:

  Josh lands a job as a toy-tester for a major toy store in New York City, NY. It's the perfect gig for a kid trapped in a grown man's body. Yet even in the '80s, a fun job like that wouldn't cover the rent and the cost of living in the metropolitan area. By today's yardstick, that apartment would cost about $9,000 a month to rent. Even if a present-day Josh made $100,000 a year, he still wouldn't have enough money.

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