A Gen Z couple pays $1,300 for a New York City microstudio. Here's how they made it work for them and their cat.

• A Gen Z couple each pay $650 a month for a microstudio they split in the East Village.
• With such little space, they've made it their own with dozens of posters and a tiny kitchen.
• They say looking out over bustling St. Marks Place makes the apartment even more special.

Elana Wallach, 22, and her partner Luis Cortorreal, 25, paid just $700 for a room in a two-bedroom apartment in Baltimore. When they were looking around Manhattan this summer, though, nothing came close to that price and they decided they needed to downsize.