If you’re trying to figure out if you should live in uptown NYC, you’ve got a lot to think about. The two areas are just so different that choosing the wrong one could wreak havoc on your life, and that’s not overkill. Everything from your social life to the way you get to work will be affected. Listed below are reasons that you should consider living uptown.
Nicer Apartments for the Money
Don’t let the The Jeffersons theme song fool you; moving uptown, even to NYC’s Upper East Side, can be a lot less expensive than moving to a downtown address. You can find studios, one-bedrooms, and larger, shareable apartments that are in much better condition and cost less than similarly sized units in places like Chelsea, the East Village, and even Brooklyn. If you set your sights on areas like Harlem and Morningside Heights, you’ll get even more bang for your buck.
Very Family Friendly
Image Source: Flickr/Charley Lhasa
Whether you live on the East Side or the West Side, you’ll find uptown NYC has a very family-friendly vibe. The Upper West Side, Upper East Side, West Harlem, and East Harlem are all within easy access of the city’s best parks, including Central Park and Riverside Park, not to mention countless playgrounds. There are great schools, both public and private, and there are tons of businesses that cater to families with kids, including gyms and an endless number of classes.
You’re a Homebody
If your idea of a perfect evening is settling in with a bottle of wine and curling up on the sofa while wrapped in a cozy fur throw as you binge watch The Walking Dead for the sixth time, you’ll love living uptown. Why? New York’s nightlife epicenter is located below 14th Street. If you’re a person who needs to be at the center of it all, you will not be a happy camper living uptown. Any money that you save on rent would quickly be eaten up by Uber fares shuttling you to and from your favorite hot spots. If you only head downtown once in a while, or you don’t mind braving the subway, living uptown and partying downtown won’t be much of an issue.
Great Investment Potential
They’re not giving uptown apartments away, but if you’re looking for an investment property, an uptown apartment may prove to be really lucrative in the long run. As mentioned above, uptown apartments tend to cost less than comparable downtown apartments. If you were to buy in now, you could be sitting on a potential goldmine. As people are priced out of other parts of the city, uptown will become even more and more attractive to buyers. If you’ve bought early, you could reap a windfall.
Main Image Source: Flickr/The All-Nite Images
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