Mt Sinai area - recommendations? (Madison, Hope: to rent, crime, home)

[gingercat]

My husband is considering an offer at Mt Sinai. As I work from home and therefore have no commute, he wants to live within 7-8 short blocks of the hospital.

I'm having a little trouble getting a clear picture of what that neighborhood is like for living, as it is technically part of East Harlem, but the crime maps show the concentration of crime further east and north. Based on what I've read about East Harlem, I have reservations, but my husband says all the doctors he's met at the hospital live around there and say it's totally fine. We presently live in the E 60's.

Does/has anyone live in this area? Any recommendations on the borders of where we should be looking? We're are mostly just in the market to rent, so the tony co-ops, etc., are not on the table. It's presently just us, but we'll likely have children in the next couple of years, if that is relevant.

Certainly we'll go walk around ourselves before deciding, but not being a city girl (most of my life has been upstate--UP upstate ), I'm not great at assessing neighborhoods quickly.

Any recommendations or insights are greatly appreciated!

[Viralmd]

If I were you, I'd stay in the East 60s, where you are now. All he has to do is take the bus uptown. No big deal.

[gingercat]

Trust me. I'd love to stay put. Unfortunately we are all the way east (1st Ave). It's kind of a transportation dead zone aside from a couple buses, none of which would get him there. Plus, he's got a thing about commuting.

[Viralmd]

Frankly, it sounds like he's been spoiled by NY Hospital.

I would NOT want to live in that area, if I were you. It's not that bad commuting: he can read journals while he's on the bus. OR he can bicycle. The 68th St. crosstown runs frequently and it's a free transfer to the Madison Avenue bus. He needs to get over this.

[gingercat]

Frankly, it sounds like he's been spoiled by NY Hospital.

Haha...gee, how'd you guess? You can add his previous job, which was a 10-minute drive. It's definitely a point of contention with us.

I told him I'd consider it if and only if I felt the area was safe and livable--eg, grocery, reasonable restaurants, etc. My inclination is to go UWS. Could try to compromise with something in the 80s closer to Madison/5th, but things get sooo expensive over there...

[Viralmd]

Exactly. The shopping and restaurants in the immediate area are NOT what one would really want. YOUR wants should count for something! I wouldn't like living around there.

[gingercat]

Thanks for the input. Hopefully he won't like it either. Else, this will be...interesting...