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I've never been there until recently. Semedd like a quaint little area. Is it cheaper than Manhattan? It is it more expensive? What profile of person lives there? What is the thought process and rationale?
Contrary to the "Welfare Island" stereotype this is a rich, bougie neighborhood and it has the same population as the Midtown area around it. This is not an affordable area. There is a "tram" that goes there which is weird. I used to see it when I took a bus out of 59th st to go to Queens. The cost of rent is probably the same as other areas of midtown Manhattan. I don't know if they have a food store there. No ethnic grocery or foods.
It's got a smaller feel than anything in Manhattan. When I last went, there was one road around and no driving in between. Drive on or off the island, but not to the store. It was an odd mix of big buildings and town-like thinking with a lot of undeveloped area. Since the subway opened I have no clue how it's changed, but I'm sure it has.
I would say Roosevelt Island is more similar to the nicer waterfront areas of LIC in look and feel than Midtown. As far as amenities, there's a regular-sized grocery store by the bridge to Queens/large parking garage. There's a few other smaller gourmet delis/mini-markets on the island as well in addition to a Duane Reade by the train station. There's a Starbucks, Subway, pizzeria, and a handful of little asian restaurants. There used to be a bar and grill too but I believe it closed within the past year.
A lot of people that work at UN live there as it is a very short/easy commute and is considered part of the borough of Manhattan. It is a nice little island with all the basic amenities. For visitors it is nice to take the tram there and then walk around the perimeter of the island starting at the southern end with FDR Four Freedoms Park which include the remains of the hospitals (the insane? lepers?) that used to be on the island years ago as well as an FDR Memorial.
I know people who live there. Mostly upper middle class professionals with a pretty large number of families with kids now though it used to be a lot less expensive a decade ago and even more so prior. It’s not hard getting on or off the island to get to Manhattan (note that is is technically part of the borough of Manhattan) and riding the tramway is pretty neat. It’s not really cheap to live there, but it’s pretty safe and quiet especially with very little car traffic. The restaurants there are pretty mediocre though. Also, the city’s trying to build a giant biotech hub there, so maybe things will change quite a bit in the coming years.
You can also walk off the island by a small bridge into Astoria. The immediate area of Astoria you end up in is not that nice, but if you walk a few blocks you are in a good area with lots of restaurants.
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