Her Chelsea place wasn’t listed yet, and she wasn’t quite ready to move, so she halfheartedly bid around $935,000. The apartment later sold for $940,000.

In Greenwich Village, she saw two duplexes on the penthouse level in the Cast Iron Building, circa 1868, on East 11th Street. Both had a private roof space and were going for around $1.3 million, with maintenance of $2,400. The price was just too high.

Sometimes the neighborhood was an immediate nonstarter. The Bowery was busy and loud. Long Island City suffered from the Long Island Rail Road’s throbbing diesel locomotives idling in the train yard. Some apartments had just a small balcony or a dark yard hemmed in by surrounding buildings.

So when she saw a listing for a condominium in Greenpoint, Brooklyn — a penthouse duplex with a 600-square-foot rooftop that included planters and a pergola — she was intrigued. This one was listed at $1.18 million, with monthly charges of around $600.

The inside was modern, with an open layout. “There are no doors,” Ms. Choi said. “It is a huge duplex loft with two separate sleeping spaces and two bathrooms.”

The smaller lofted area, window-free and closet-free, had been a child’s bedroom.

“A lot of people might have walked out, thinking this isn’t a real two-bedroom, because there are no walls and no doors and no way to hide,” Ms. Myers said. “For me, living in an open studio where I had so many friends coming through and staying as guests — that doesn’t bother me.”