http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/01/realestate/middle-class-finds-few-affordable-manhattan-apartments.html?hpw&rref=realestate&_r=0

Exerpt:

Michael and Melanie Bellanger Boyer, transplanted Parisians who live in a snug one-bedroom in the West 90s, are members of what social scientists sometimes call the “forgotten middle.”

Mr. Boyer, 29, earns $90,000 a year as a financial auditor. His wife, 31, earns $21,000 working at an animal shelter, where a modest salary is offset by generous benefits, a boon since the birth of a daughter, Nora, in January.

Last August, the couple moved to a 500-square-foot space for which the rent is $2,700. With such attractions as exposed brick, an ornately carved fireplace and a location just steps from Central Park, the apartment was the nicest and most affordable one they could find. But the hefty rent check they write every month takes an increasing toll.

“If it weren’t for the high rent, I could afford to stay home with the baby,” Ms. Bellanger Boyer said, noting that the family’s monthly expenses now include $2,000 for child care. “But I needed to keep my job because we need my benefits, and so we had to put Nora in day care.”

So NYC area bees: Do you feel like the middle class is squeezed out of decent apartments because of rent prices, or do you think *most* people are paid more in this area, and therefore can afford the hight rents?

I admire this couple for having a baby in 500 sq feet. I should stop complaining about our place and maybe pair down our stuff.