Penthouse in Harlem vs. Studio in Upper West Side

Guys,

I'm trying to decide between living in a luxury building penthouse (studio) located in Harlem vs. living in a regular studio apartment in the Upper West Side. Which would you choose and why?

 

It just depends on what you want and it depends where on the apts are located. An Apt in the UWS that is far away from a subway (riverside/west end) might lead to a longer commute than an apt in "harlem" close to a subway (i.e. mid 90's on the east side close to the 4,5,6).

It also depends on what you like/how much time you will spend in your apt. Do you like coming home to a nice apartment with a doorman? Or do you rarely spend time at home/work a ton of hours? Do you like having a bunch of nice restaurants/shops close by?

 
IlliniProgrammer:
Get a studio in Jersey City and save yourself $1500/month.

who voted this down? He is trying to help someone save money (which I agree with)

I'm gonna get that bish some binary Bishes love binary --------- Kind Regards, Bin_Ban
 

It depends where in Harlem. I had a friend who lived around 125th street on the East Side. The apartment was huge but the building was a total dump and the area sucked. I never felt unsafe, per say, but it wasn't a place you'd want to be walking around at night. Nor would I want a girlfriend or whatever walking around there at night. Plus, it was just a dump all around. Garbage everywhere, dudes just chilling on the corner all the time, fucking absurd.

 
Best Response

If it's a luxury penthouse I assume there's doormen and maybe some type of security for the harlem place. But how's the rest of the neighborhood? Are we talking mid-high 90's "Harlem" or a neighborhood with a bunch of projects and shady characters? Is it really close to the subway?

One big consideration when choosing a place in NYC is proximity to subways. Being say 3-5 mins away from the 96 street subway vs. 10-15+ mins from the 72, I would take probably take the former.

And when considering subways, be sure to consider your workplace (like choosing a place on UWS when your office is closer to midtown East makes morning commutes a pain in the ass)

If the neighborhood is fairly safe, you have peace of mind with the doormen, it's got a convenient subway within a 5-10 min walk and it's closer than the UWS one, then why not?

 

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