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Why are you trying to move me out of Pelham Parkway already lol. Hey, as I said a few times, I don't need to live in a trendy or hip neighborhood. Sure it's nice to be in area that has more things that I like to do but it's not even one of the top 5 factors in me choosing a place to live. The main drawback for me is how long it takes me to get home when I hang out - which is usually below 34th St. I didn't know that the 2 goes local through Manhattan after 12:00 am which kinda sucks; especially after I've had a few .
But I have been to Woodlawn and it's a nice looking area. Seems really green and quiet with some nice looking Irish pubs and restaurants which is cool since I'm more of a foodie than a bar guy. However, I don't think that Woodlawn would be the place for me for a few reasons.
Edit: I think I may have misunderstood your post Yodel. You were just suggesting I visit Woodlawn; not move there right?
I guess I was just thinking that Woodlawn is a neighborhood in the Bronx with lots of bars/nightlife (I had thought it was more important to you in your post), but there's a trade off in the even longer transportation times. Again, my feeling is that there are no ideal inexpensive neighborhoods - if it's not one thing it's another!
I do understand how you feel - I used to have a life too (now my kids have my life).
".............. The main drawback for me is how long it takes me to get home when I hang out - which is usually below 34th St. I didn't know that the 2 goes local through Manhattan after 12:00 am which kinda sucks; especially after I've had a few ....
Not sure if it would ever work for you Jaas but there are some late night metro north trains from Grand Central that get to Fordham in about 15 minutes.If you make a good BX12 connection you can be in PP in 10 or 15 mins from there.Not too pleasant if you have to wait too long on Fordham Road for the BX12 @2am but I have done it a few times.Most of the time I either try to get back uptown before 11 or 12 or just deal with the hour it can take on the subway in the middle of night.There is also a post midnight express bus from 23rd st to PP that usually gets up here in under 30 minutes at that time.I take express bosses a lot but they stop around 12:30 or 1:00.
Jaas if you spend your time below 34th st, the reality is, Pelham Parkway is a long commute, and absolutely horrible at night. It sounds like you either should move closer to Manhattan (either further south in the Bronx) or to another borough closer to downtown. There isn't any other advice anyone can give you....you either get used to that long commute, or not. I personally think living up there is way too far literall and figuratively, from the city, so I understand your concern/problem.
If you are city centric, living that far north is just not fun, particularly if you are a young, urban, single professional.
Well I had 2 weeks to find a place so I needed to find something fast. I had a list of neighborhoods in mind: Jackson Heights, Elmhurst, Rego Park, Yankee Stadium, Pelham Parkway, Washington Heights & Inwood. In that order.
Here's how it went down:
Tuesday - Saw a few places in Jackson Heights and Elmhurst but they weren't quite what I wanted. Was told to check back on Friday.
Wednesday - Checked out a place near Yankee Stadium. It's still a little hood around there but I could have dealt with that. The problem however, was there were a lot of roach droppings and mold on the walls of the apartment. The super seemed really on top of things by the look of the building and his professionalism. He said there's a paint that they use for mold issues like that but with the bug problem and mold; I just didn't wanna take the chance.
So I left there to check out places in Pelham Parkway. Saw 2 nice apartments but the last one was the best I saw so far. I lived in the Bronx before and I've spent time in the area so I knew what I was getting into. Apartments go quick in NYC so I didn't want to take a chance of not finding something in time. Put a deposit down and got approved the same day. The main anticipated trade-off I've always had about the area has been the 2/5 train (all those little stops on the map) but I decided that wasn't significant enough not to take the apartment since the 5 goes directly to my job. What was unanticipated was the local service at night.
In my OP I was trying to consolidate a few thoughts I had in my head into one post but I think things sorta got conflated. The important part to me was about the businesses in the neighborhood not so much about me and my social activities lol. Look, I'm not crying in oatmeal about living over here but if I ever do, I can always move. No big deal.
True...I will say local service at night all the way up there is painful..and so is the cost of a cab if you can even get one to go up there. I have to tell them I am right on the other side of the Willis Ave bridge..and they simply jump right on the FDR and it's a straight shot. From 14th/Union Sq to my place in Mott Haven is $20 bucks with tip...and worth every penny at 3am!
I think you made a good decision about avoiding the apt in Yankee Stadium..if they are showing an apt with mold and roach droppings, that's a huge red flag. Who wouldn't correct that before showing the place? That's nuts...and totally unacceptable.
Not sure if it would ever work for you Jaas but there are some late night metro north trains from Grand Central that get to Fordham in about 15 minutes.If you make a good BX12 connection you can be in PP in 10 or 15 mins from there.Not too pleasant if you have to wait too long on Fordham Road for the BX12 @2am but I have done it a few times.Most of the time I either try to get back uptown before 11 or 12 or just deal with the hour it can take on the subway in the middle of night.There is also a post midnight express bus from 23rd st to PP that usually gets up here in under 30 minutes at that time.I take express bosses a lot but they stop around 12:30 or 1:00.
Oh I know about those late night Metro North party trains lol. It's cool though - I rather see people with smiles than a frowns on their faces. Actually, I looked into using the 12/Metro North route as a daily commute but the timing was off and too expensive anyway.
I do take the BxM11 sometimes but mainly in morning.
True...I will say local service at night all the way up there is painful..and so is the cost of a cab if you can even get one to go up there. I have to tell them I am right on the other side of the Willis Ave bridge..and they simply jump right on the FDR and it's a straight shot. From 14th/Union Sq to my place in Mott Haven is $20 bucks with tip...and worth every penny at 3am!
I think you made a good decision about avoiding the apt in Yankee Stadium..if they are showing an apt with mold and roach droppings, that's a huge red flag. Who wouldn't correct that before showing the place? That's nuts...and totally unacceptable.
Well to be fair, they didn't want to. I kind of pushed them to show it . But yeah, I never heard of mold killing paint but maybe it does exist.
Jaas,what part of PP do you live in ? Just curious.I live by Pelham Parkway North and Bronx Park East.
I looked at places down by Yankee Stadium too before I bought up here.Decided I didn't want to deal with the QOL issues.The decision was probably made easier by the fact that I work here in The Bx so my commute wasn't a big factor even though I actually work in The South Bronx and living there would have made things pretty easy commute wise.
I was looking to buy too and the financials on a lot of the buildings down there kind of scared me.
Last edited by bluedog2; 12-07-2012 at 03:28 PM..
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. But yeah, I never heard of mold killing paint but maybe it does exist.
