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I just got a job in Manhattan at a university in Morningside Heights. I will not get a housing benefit, but my salary will be $180,000 annually. I am in my fifties, white, married, no children. Looking for an apartment in West Harlem, Upper West Side, Morningside Heights. I am comfortable with transitional neighborhoods but my spouse, who is not American, is not comfortable with street insecurity (we live in Latin America and have been traumatized by bad past experiences with street crime). A few questions:
(a) is $3,000 a month -- tops -- a reasonable budget for a two bedroom, reasonably nice apartment in these neighborhoods? I am thinking between 800 and 1000 square feet. We will have many visitors in NYC and need that extra bedroom to house them..
(b) is Harlem worth considering? I am too old to be an urban pioneer -- and would make easy pickings for street crime, given my age -- and would like contemporary opinions on the safety of west Harlem these days.. (Many of the posts I've seen seem to date back to 2008 or so.. have things changed significantly?)
(c) how safe is the area just north of City College of New York on Amsterdam? I've seen reasonably-priced apartments in that area but wonder if there's a catch..
(d) are there other neighborhoods close to Morningside Heights that I should be considering?
Our life style is urban. We're used to livable streets, going to cafes for lunch and to work in the afternoons, we both like to jog and really love to cook and eat well.
Thanks to all for any insights you can provide. Any advice is well-received! Thanks!
Convent is better than Amsterdam, also some of the side streets. Broadway and Amsterdam remain quite seedy and there are major project blocks. Many new restaurants have opened on Broadway and Fairway is right there but we would not live there.
If not Convent and environs, if you are at St. Luke's, I would look on Morningside Avenue and FDB.
I would keep west of St. Nicholas Park unless you consider the school building on St. Nicholas - very nice and solid building. They had two-bedroom apartments around your budget. You could still probably walk to work and the subway is downstairs and half a block.
If you post more specific places as you look I will give my opinion.
The area is totally fine and is actually a great place to live. Lots of new places to eat/drink and large apartments/houses. Also a very beautiful area. Try and lock something in while you can.
I recommend between 140th Street and 150th Street, between Broadway and Edgecombe.
Wow! Thanks for all the great responses! This is so helpful! Ernie G thanks a lot for posting those specific buildings -- they give me much more of a sense of what is doable.. Harlem Resident, thanks for the street-specific information. WhyRUMad your confidence is inspiring.. Thanks to all!
Stay away from Broadway and Amsterdam. When I lived in NYC I lived on Amsterdam and it was very seedy at night. Convent is a really nice and quiet. Hope you find something.
Stay away from Broadway and Amsterdam. When I lived in NYC I lived on Amsterdam and it was very seedy at night. Convent is a really nice and quiet. Hope you find something.
Wow! Thanks for all the great responses! This is so helpful! Ernie G thanks a lot for posting those specific buildings -- they give me much more of a sense of what is doable.. Harlem Resident, thanks for the street-specific information. WhyRUMad your confidence is inspiring.. Thanks to all!
You're welcome. Glad you're real and appreciate that you say thanks. Many people don't!!!!
Washington Heights just north of Morningside Heights might be worth a consideration. Generally, the idea is to stay West of Broadway and things are quite nice. Even nicer if you are along or west of Fort Washington Avenue. There's the bougie real estate name Hudson Heights for that general area.
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