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Problem was, the management company required her to find someone to take over the lease, which she had just renewed.

"All I could think about was getting rid of the apartment," she said.

Ms. Root, 37, lived at 25 West 87th Street for two years - the longest she had been in one place since childhood.

As a medical anthropologist - she recently studied the health of female factory workers in developing countries - she traveled (and moved) often.

In April 2002, when she moved to the city for a high-paying research job, she relinquished a $1,400, two-bedroom apartment in Somerville, Mass. Through a broker, she found the one-bedroom for $1,850.

"I fell in love with the space," she said. "There was a neat geometry to it."

After a year, the rent rose to $1,887. After another year, it rose to $1,971.

Ms. Root wished to return to academia, and was offered an assistant professorship by the City University of New York. "I was thrilled," she said. "This is exactly what I wanted - but it meant that I had to move."

But while she was hunting, she passed a building with a "for rent" sign outside. It was at 136 West 87th Street, just a block away. She didn't have a pen, so she programmed the number into her cellphone and forgot about it.

A week later, she remembered. . .

The one-bedroom apartment, for $1,400, was still available, no doubt because it was a fifth-floor walk-up. As soon as she stepped inside, she declared, "It's mine.". . .

Now her chore was finding someone for the old place. Ideally, she would find someone to sign a lease at $2,075, which the management company told her would be the new rent. She enlisted the help of a broker it suggested. Not wanting to rely entirely on somebody else, she also listed the apartment on Rent-Direct.com, where she had liked the experience. . .

The broker, who also wasn't getting much traffic, told Ms. Root the rent was too high. So she lowered it to $1,975, planning to pay the $100 difference herself.

The calls started coming in. One was from Kate Ashford, 27, who dropped by the next morning with her boyfriend, Michael Carpenter, 28.

Ms. Ashford had been nomadic, too, taking assorted internships and freelance jobs after earning a journalism degree from Northwestern University. "I am on my 10th address in 18 months," she said. "I slept on an air mattress from August until May.". . .

When Mr. Carpenter got a job last month, the two began hunting for a one-bedroom for $2,000 or less. They, too, signed up for Rent-Direct.com.

Ms. Root's listing looked nice, Ms. Ashford said, and so did the apartment. But it was the very first place they saw, so they kept looking, heading next to Gramercy Park, a neighborhood they had targeted because a friend lived there.

"With nothing to compare it to, you hate to make a year-long commitment," Mr. Carpenter said. Still, "we felt when we walked out we were making a mistake.". . .

In the afternoon, they called Ms. Root, worried the apartment would be taken. It was, sort of. The broker said she had received a deposit from an Australian couple. Ms. Root was torn. She liked Ms. Ashford and Mr. Carpenter, but felt obligated to honor the Australians' prior claim.

Ms. Ashford offered to pay the full $2,075 rent if it would help. It would. In the meantime, the deal with the Australians mysteriously fell through.

Ms. Ashford and Mr. Carpenter happily signed a one-year lease of their own.

For Mr. Carpenter: "I thought finding an apartment was going to be awful. This didn't seem near as bad as people made it out to be.". . .

For Ms. Ashford: "This has been a long time coming. I've been living like a student with Yaffa blocks and a mattress on the floor. I felt totally nonanchored. I am so excited we have a lease.". . .