A video of a woman living in a “railroad apartment” with no sink, laundry room or dishwasher and a room with a “walk-in closet” has captivated viewers on TikTok.
The clip was posted by Hannah Schiavone (@hannahschiav), a 25-year-old consultant from the New York City borough of Manhattan. The video has been viewed 8.9 million times since it was posted on October 12th.
The clip shows Schiavone sitting on her fire escape and saying in voiceover, “Let's take a tour of my train apartment in New York City. Remember that I am a normal person, this is not a luxury apartment. But it's perfect for me and for $2,400 [a month] I think it's something very special in Manhattan.
The footage takes viewers through the cozy corners of Schiavone's four-bedroom Manhattan apartment, highlighting the design choices she made to “maximize both space and functionality,” Schiavone told Newsweek.
The apartment features a railroad-style floor plan, meaning there are no hallways. “Each room flows directly into the next, like the carriages of a train,” describes the poster.
The approximately 450-square-foot apartment has four rooms, including a kitchen, a bedroom, a converted walk-in closet and a combination living room/home office.
The viral post comes as Americans continue to face rising housing costs. According to a 2024 report from Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies, a rent increase during the COVID-19 pandemic has led to an “unprecedented affordability crisis.”
Roughly half of renter households in the U.S. spend more than 30 percent of their income on rent, while 12.1 million households are “significantly cost-burdened” and spend more than half of their income on housing costs, an increase of 1, 5 million compared to the previous year. Pandemic levels, the report says.
A “life-changing” home feature
The viral TikTok clip begins with a look at the living room, which features a white L-shaped sofa, moody “smart” lighting, and a closet converted into a “corner” where the poster's desk is stored. The living room also has a chest of drawers with a TV and a small dining table.
The video later shows a small, dark bedroom and her converted walk-in closet. Schiavone said, “The ability to convert an extra room into a walk-in closet changed my life.”
She explained, “This setup allowed me to remove the doors from one of the built-in closets to create a hidden workspace – a luxury virtually unheard of in New York City. Anyone who lives here knows how rare it is to volunteer.” Give up closet space.
The walk-in closet also features a vanity for her toiletries and a space for her skin care, hair and makeup routines.
Life without a sink
The apartment is furnished “minimalistically but functionally” and has an “extremely small” bathroom with only a toilet, a shower and a medicine cabinet.
When Schiavone first moved in, the house featured a Japanese-inspired “toilet sink,” with a small sink built into the top of the sink for washing hands using water from the plumbing.
“Although it was practical in theory, the sink could only be used by flushing the toilet and I couldn't avoid washing my hands over a toilet. Instead, I always used the kitchen sink,” the poster reads.
Schiavone had the toilet bowl removed and installed a custom ceramic lid over the tank for “a more visually appealing look.”
She thought not having a sink in the bathroom was a major inconvenience, “but I've adapted surprisingly well and barely think about it now,” Schiavone noted.
Screenshots of a viral video on TikTok showing Hannah Schiavone's train apartment in Manhattan, New York City.
@hannahschiav on TikTok
“A game changer”
Schiavone's favorite part of her apartment is the number of rooms she has to “spread herself” across, which has had a positive impact on her mental health since she primarily works from home.
“Being able to allocate different rooms for specific parts of my day and routine has made a huge difference in maintaining balance,” the poster explained.
Schiavone has lived in the railroad apartment for nearly a year and a half, moving in at a monthly rental rate of $2,400. Because it is a rent-stabilized facility, “the rent increases only in small increments each year, if at all,” she notes.
While $2,400 may seem like a high rental price for other cities, “especially for an older apartment without a dishwasher or laundry room in the unit,” Schiavone noted that “it's actually a great deal for the space I have, and the location.” .”
Before moving into this apartment, the poster lived in a modern, two-story townhouse in Washington, DC, for $1,250 a month
“Moving to double rent for less favorable terms was a big change,” she said, adding: “You really have to change the perspective – my fire escape is my patio, the daily stairs are my built-in workout, the lack.” The variety of Amenities are a “fun” challenge, and the quirky layout is a unique conversation starter.”
“Insanely Expensive” Vs. “Good Price”
Several TikTok users loved the train apartment in the viral clip, such as user @kikicastro28, who said: “What a cozy, quantitative, warm space with so much personality. I love it …”
Andreea Vlogs noted: “I've lived in the city for years and this is HUGE and actually a good price for living in the city! I love it.”
User kell__80 said: “$2400 is crazy! I know it’s New York and it’s a nice place, but this price should be illegal.”
Others were less impressed, like user @mikro__kosmos, who wrote: “2,400 is insanely expensive, you're not a normal person!! Normally people earn 2,000 a month at best, how can you afford that?”
User @_pinkbuddha said: “This price is insane. We own a 4 bedroom 3 bathroom in Canada with a yard and attached garage and our mortgage is half that. If you work from home, what’s the point of living in such an expensive place?”
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