Ya know, finding a neighborhood in NYC with affordable home prices is not an easy task. When deciding where we wanted to go this weekend, Lyle and I were determined to check out somewhere realistic. We turned our sites on at least 2-bedroom condos/co-ops with a price of no more than $400,000. Many of our searches on Trulia retrieved not one result! Not the Financial District, not Hell's Kitchen, not Tribeca, not SoHo. One listing is available on the Upper East Side for less than $400,000, but I shutter to think the condition that the place is in.
So we turned our sites uptown...
Harlem has plenty of 2-bedroom apartments available for under $400k. In order to get us in the mood, we stopped at Melba's for some fried chicken and waffles.
Walking around the neighborhood, we were vibin'. It felt like what I would imagine downtown Manhattan to have been like a generation ago, lively and gorgeous with some genuine grit. It was Sunday, so many were out-and-about dressed to impress, flowing out of church doors as late as 5pm. We hadn't really considered Harlem before, but the more we think about it, the more appealing it sounds. Right off the 123 metro line, the commute time to my office from Harlem would actually be less than it is now. We would have the right to call ourselves Manhattanites, a luxury I never thought we could potentially afford. And we would be sure to be making a sound investment because the neighborhood continues to change as many from lower Manhattan move north. Is it wrong to want to take part in the controversial gentrification of the area?
We didn't attend any open houses, but we did stroll by some buildings with condos and co-ops for sale inside. Check out interior views by clicking on the images below.
1878 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd., 21; $450,000 (I know I said under $400,000, but this a 4-bedroom!)
101 West 115th Street, 3A; $425,000 (3-bedroom, 1.5 bath)
130 Malcolm X Blvd., 1003; $359,000 (2-bedroom, 1 bath)
56-60 West 119th Street, 1F; $300,000 (2-bedroom, 1-bath)
29 West 119th Street, 35; $349,000 (3-bedroom, 1-bath)
I'm not entirely convinced that Harlem is the place for us, but I now have a curiosity that I didn't before. There's something appealing about turning into one of these ladies. 75, strolling around Harlem with your bestie. Is there a better way to spend a Sunday afternoon?
