Sisters Nadia and Sabela Ralston are sharing an apartment in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, after a series of life changes led them both back to New York City. The two, aged 26 and 25 respectively, occupy a third-floor unit in a four-story mixed-use building, with Sabela holding the larger bedroom.
Nadia, the older sister, moved east after graduating from Princeton University in 2022 with a degree in civil and environmental engineering. Following a Fulbright scholarship researching community energy systems in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest, she began working at Dalberg, a consulting firm focused on climate technology and sustainable development. Initially settling in Greenwich Village, Nadia found the small apartment and noisy surroundings overwhelming. She relocated to Williamsburg in early 2025, drawn by the neighborhood’s quieter atmosphere and a friend’s offer to share her apartment for three months.
When the original tenant left for graduate school, Nadia secured the lease for the apartment in June 2025. Shortly thereafter, her sister Sabela joined her. Sabela had arrived in Manhattan in 2019 for her freshman year at New York University but left due to the pandemic and a desire for a different academic experience. Transferring to the University of Southern California, she graduated and worked as a strategy and design consultant at Deloitte in Los Angeles. Due to work demands on East Coast hours, she decided to return to New York, moving into her sister’s apartment last October as her lease in Los Angeles ended.
The sisters split rent, with Sabela paying slightly more due to her larger bedroom—$2,250 compared to Nadia’s $2,050. They furnished their home with secondhand items and castoffs, benefiting from ample closet space and a collaborative living arrangement. While adjusting to living together presented challenges, including avoiding past sibling dynamics that led to bickering, both say they have settled into a balanced routine. Sharing similar ages, careers, and lifestyles has fostered mutual understanding, especially as they both occasionally work remotely.
Their apartment is near McCarren Park, a favored spot for weekend leisure. Nadia devotes time to painting, with her artwork displayed in the apartment, while Sabela enjoys cooking. Their mother reportedly supports their living arrangement, though with some skepticism about how long the arrangement will last without conflict.
Together, the sisters demonstrate a blend of independence and shared responsibility as they navigate their early adult years in New York City.