Mom of 5 Reveals Steep Rent for N.Y.C. Apartment She Uses for 'Storage' — Despite Having $12K Apartment Across the Hall (Exclusive)

Kristi from @kristiipartyof6 and her husband are parents to five children

• Kristi from @kristiipartyof6 and her husband, who works in financial tech, are parents to five children — one from each of their previous relationships and three together

• Four years ago the family moved to New York City. Since then, they've rented a $12,000-a-month apartment

• This summer, as they continued to grow their family, the couple realized they needed more space. Eventually, they ended up renting the apartment across the hall from them for $6,000 per month

• Since posting about the situation online, Kristi tells PEOPLE how followers online have been critical of her family's decision

Kristi from @kristiipartyof6 is explaining her family's decision to rent a second $6,000-a-month New York City apartment, in addition to their primary $12,000-a-month apartment.

The Salt Lake City native and her husband, who works in financial tech, are parents to five children — one from each of their previous relationships and three together. Speaking to PEOPLE, the content creator shared insights into their lifestyle, including why their family of seven initially chose the $12,000-a-month apartment when they moved to N.Y.C. four years ago.

In addition to the two apartments in New York City, the family also owns a large home on half an acre in Utah, which they built in 2017. They spend the summers at the house, and try to get out there at least one more time for a couple weeks every February or March.

"We originally started with our main apartment, a three-bedroom, two-bathroom unit on a very high floor in a luxury doorman building," the mom tells PEOPLE. "When we were apartment hunting before we moved here, we fell in love with the area."

"We really loved how family-friendly it was and how safe it felt," she adds. "There were so many parks in the area. We loved the area, and we loved the apartment we found."

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This summer, as they continued to grow their family, the couple realized they needed more space. They wanted to stay in their neighborhood, but since they already had the largest apartment in their building, they knew that staying there wasn’t an option.

When they began searching for other apartments, they didn’t find anything they loved or that solved their space issues. Then one day, Kristi opened her door and saw that her neighbor across the hall was moving out.

"It literally felt like God opened a door," she says. "It was right there, right across the hall. It’s a one-bedroom, one-bathroom unit with laundry in the unit, a kitchen and multiple closets."

"I texted my husband and said, 'I think I just found our solution,' " she continues. "We spoke with our building management, and at first, there was some resistance because technically, you can’t have two apartments listed under one person. But we worked it out so that my husband is on the lease for our main apartment, and I am on the lease for the apartment across the hall."

Since renting the additional apartment, Kristi says she and her husband have moved everything out of their master bedroom closet and turned it into their baby girl’s nursery, as the parents welcomed their daughter this summer. They’ve stored their clothing, shoes, kids' winter coats, scooters and strollers in the second apartment.

They've also turned the main living space of the new apartment into a big playroom and moved all their kids' toys out of their main apartment and over to the second apartment.

"We also use the second apartment a lot for laundry," she adds. "With seven people in our family, we do a ton of laundry. We use the washer and dryer there and hang clothes there too."

"It’s also been amazing to have a second fridge, because, again, we’re a large family," she says. "It lets us stock up on groceries, whereas in our current apartment, we could only keep a small amount because the kitchen is so tiny. We've also been able to host family and friends who visit us in New York. The second apartment gives them a place to stay close to us, but not in our actual living space. It’s been really, really beneficial for our large family living in the city."

Kristi says because she shares most of her life on TikTok, it seemed very natural to share this apartment hunting journey with her followers as well. But while her longterm followers were understanding and excited about the move, other people online have been more critical of the decision.

"People were just saying it was wasteful and it was very expensive 'storage unit,' which I use those words in my video because that is what my husband says," she says. "And the truth of the matter is it is. We use it a lot for storage, and it is a very expensive storage unit, but I understand that it really wouldn't work for most people, but I feel very fortunate that it works well for our large family."

"I think people that live in New York get it," she continues. "They understand, but I think it's the people that live outside of New York who I got so many comments from like, 'Oh, what you pay in one month is what I pay in an entire year, and I own my home' or 'That's my mortgage.'

"I think people that don't live in the city don't quite get it, but also I understand that it's a huge luxury," she adds. "This is not a necessity. We definitely could make it work in one apartment and we would be totally fine, but this is a luxury and we are extremely fortunate to have this second apartment, and that's not lost on me. I fully understand that."

However, for the foreseeable future she think the two-apartment situation is going to work out great, and expects the family to keep it for a while.

"It really fulfills all of our needs for more space," she says. "I like that we have that separation."

"Once you find the apartment that you love and then you really build your community, it's really, really hard to leave," she adds. "I know that we could find a larger apartment somewhere else in the city and pay less than we're paying right now, but community is a really big deal to us. This is our home. This is our community, this is where our friends are, and it's really hard to leave."