Living on Roosevelt Island?

I lived on Roosevelt Island during my summer internship back in the day and while certainly an unconventional choice, I really didn't think it was that bad. Rent was a decent bit cheaper esp since I sublet off an international student who was out for the summer. I wouldn't say the amenities are anything special and some of the water drainage was a bit meh (maybe it was just my apartment), but it does what it needs to and can be a viable option. 

Overall, you can expect around a 10min walk to get from the major apartment blocks in the north half of the island to the metro station. It can be a bit of a pain to get to (followed by needing to descend/ascend multiple stories underground), but I think its more than reasonable. At least when I was there, it felt super safe/secure compared to much of Manhattan even, given there's a police station right below the major apartment areas, and I could walk around at night without really being concerned. Lots of Asian international students living there so it might not be much of a social scene though.

Would also add that the area itself feels really nice to walk around while being next to the water and there are a few cafe's and restaurants between the metro and apartment areas. It can be a bit of a pain to get to a decent supermarket though since there's only one medium-sized store on the island itself, and I sometimes found myself going all the way out to a Trader Joe's on Manhattan or even the Costco a decent bit away to stock up on anything more than your daily eggs/milk.