‘What Renters Want’ with Jessica Fiur: The 9 Best Apartments on TV

Finding a new apartment is stressful. And you always have to make concessions—maybe you give up space for convenience, or you take a walk-up for because it’s less money. But you know what isn’t stressful? Watching TV. And television is filled with awesome—though, admittedly, not always realistic—apartments.

Let’s take a look at the 9 best apartments on TV.

Monica and Rachel’s apartment on Friends. This beautiful Manhattan apartment was above the coffee shop where Rachel worked and all their friends hung out, and was across the hall from some of their best friends. And it was a two bedroom. Bonus, the walls were purple! Of course, this apartment was not without controversy. After all, how could two 20 somethings, one a struggling chef, the other a waitress, afford such prime real estate? (Actually, the show answered this at one point. It was Monica’s grandmother’s apartment, and it was rent controlled.)

Jerry’s apartment on Seinfeld. Again, a beautiful, big, apartment in Manhattan. (Apparently TV writers in the ’90s had some major misconceptions about living in New York.) A pretty nice space, with a decent (for New York) size kitchen. Though neighbors like that certainly make the case for having a good chain lock, yadda, yadda, yadda.

Lucy and Ricky’s apartment on I Love Lucy. It had a dine-in kitchen (how is that even possible in New York City?). The landlords—who were also close, personal friends—lived in the building. And it was big enough for plenty of zany hijinks. Plus, the bedroom was large enough for two twin beds. What more could a married couple want?

Carrie’s apartment on Sex and the City. Though her apartment with Big in the movie was much more impressive (that closet is quite possibly the second best closet in all of pop-culture history, second only to Cher’s closet in Clueless), the TV show apartment definitely left an impression, and was a pretty realistic interpretation of a New York apartment—mice, landlord disputes and all (and, yes, as with the Friends apartment, some people also argued that a newspaper columnist could not afford that apartment, but she was also a best-selling author, so I think that’s fair).

Lily and Marshall’s apartment on How I Met Your Mother. They spent all their money buying a New York apartment in Dowisetrepla (down wind of the sewage treatment plant—don’t you know everything is abbreviated in NYC?), and then the floors were slanted. It’s nice to see characters on TV move in to an apartment that isn’t ideal, and it also shows how important doing your homework is before signing that lease.

Jack, Janet and Chrissy’s apartment on Three’s Company. How could you not love a place where the residents implore you to “come and knock on [their] door,” because “[they’ve] been waiting for you”? And this California apartment was right by the beach! Of course, there was the slight problem of the intruding landlord who was just a little too concerned with who one of the residents was dating. Isn’t that just always the case?

Dexter’s apartment on Dexter. It’s in a great location—right by the harbor in Miami. It’s big enough for his son to have his own room (because he also bought the apartment next door), and for his sister to stay over when she’s in between apartments. And the neighbors mind their own business. Plus there are plenty of air conditioner vents—perfect for a balmy Florida night, or for hiding slides of blood from people he’s ritualistically murdered.

Max and Caroline’s apartment on 2 Broke Girls. Probably the most realistic of the lot of them—two waitresses share a one-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn. The quarters are cramped, and Caroline has to sleep on a Murphy Bed. But, it’s not without its charms. The place is conveniently located near their work. And the backyard is apparently big enough to fit a horse. Yup, realistic.

Pee-wee’s playhouse on Pee-wee’s Playhouse. I know, I know, it’s not technically an apartment. But it had a Chair. That. Talked. How could it not be included in this blog? (“Blog”? That’s the secret word! Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!)

Did I miss any of your favorite TV apartments? List them below!

-Jessica Fiur