AN American expatriate in London has realized her dreams of living in New York City.

Kendra Pyne made the risky decision to remotely search for a studio or one-bedroom apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.

She said after hearing “horror stories about how renting is so expensive,” she realized that renting would “quickly deplete” her savings,” according to The New York Times.

With a budget of up to about $400,000, the 30-year-old made up her mind to purchase the property instead. She knew she wanted a place close to a park because of her cocker spaniel, Remi.

“I knew I wanted to live in Manhattan,” said Pyne. “It was a gut feeling after years of thinking about it. New York sounded so magical.”

She had only been to New York City a few times before calling it home: “I didn’t really know too many people in New York, so I never had a reason to visit.”

“Doing the touristy things and the sights was pretty much all the experience I had,” she said.

In 2014, she graduated from Penn State, then headed west to Denver to pursue a master’s degree. After that, she returned to the UK and spent five years earning a Ph.D. in global medicine at University College London.

While back home in England, she worked remotely for an American cybersecurity company and diligently saved her money.

Pyne said she didn’t want to have to spend on airfare and accommodations, as well as make arrangements for Remi while she left the country to apartment hunt.

So she found herself a broker to help her do her bidding from across the pond.

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After doing some online research she found David Gay, a salesman at Compass, who had some experience with remote buyers.

“Virtual showings took off during Covid,” he said.

He explained that Pyne would need a down payment of at least 20% in addition to 24 months of post-closing liquidity.

“The cost-benefit analysis pointed to a co-op,” said Pyne. This also pointed her to the Upper East Side, where prices were within her budget.

Luckily, Pyne had visited the affluent area once before and took a liking to the streetscape.

“I didn’t have a Plan B if things didn’t work out from abroad,” she said. “It sounds very irresponsible when I say it out loud.”

After she was intrigued by photos of a one-bedroom in the Lenox Hill neighborhood of Manhattan, Gay gave his client a FaceTime tour during an open house.

She asked him to describe the scents and sounds: “He said, ‘It is old, but full of charm, and it faces the back garden.’”

She made an offer of $318,000, which was just below the asking price, and her offer was accepted. Her board interview was also done remotely.

“It was frightening to buy sight unseen,” she said. But following her gut worked out for her. “This is the best decision of my life.”