Homeless man’s dismal N.Y. housing blog goes viral

A week ago, The Worst Room launched on Tumblr with these unassuming words: "This is a blog created for me to share the craigslist postings I sift through on a daily basis trying to find decent, affordable housing in New York City."

Now, it's pretty well known by now that New York is an expensive place to live -- in fact, the most expensive U.S. city. In Manhattan, the cost of living is double the national average.

But Ryan Nethery's New York housing blog is going viral (even across the pond) because it puts visuals to those statistics, showing just what kind of living space you can expect on a modest budget. For those who live outside the city, it's pretty shocking.

[Click here to see a slideshow of some of his most appalling discoveries.]

Nethery's circumstances are compelling in their own right. A 25-year-old freelance cinematographer from Kentucky (see his work on Vimeo), he has lived in the city for five years -- and he's currently homeless. He keeps his stuff in a car his grandmother gave him, and mostly he crashes on the floors, couches and beds at friends' places, he tells Business Insider.

We've put together a slideshow pairing up the appalling home listings he's found with links to the original craigslist postings. You can also, of course, check out The Worst Room for more. We've emailed Nethery for comment, so we'll update this post if we hear back from him.

We wish you luck, Ryan. (And as he told New York magazine's Daily Intelligencer: "I am still looking for a decent place to live. If you have a room opening up in your house, or an apartment that is available, please feel free to e-mail me.")

And just in case anyone reading this is in the market for a freelance cinematographer, here's a reel of his work:

Ryan Nethery - Cinematography Reel from Ryan Nethery on Vimeo.