Thinking of Washington Heights. or not.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=181st%20and%20broadway%2010039&rls=com.microsoft:*&oe=UTF-8&startIndex=&startPage=1&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wl

eliz181144, I am not so much saying the commute is generally bad from WH, and of course its easy to imagine worse commutes than the above example...i am just calling BS on Matt's claim that he goes door to door from WH to Chambers in 30 minutes, when the train ride alone takes over 1/2 an hour.

But yes, if you lived in West Soho or Tribeca and worked Midtown East, you might have a longer commute than the above.

I commute for just under an hour from Brooklyn to Midtown and I'm used to it. For downtown, it would shave 20 minutes.

I just don't understand the people who are afraid to leave the island of Manhattan, will travel longer and be in worse neighborhoods with less amenities.

Conversely, I do not understand people who are afraid to live in upper Manhattan but would rather move all the way to Brooklyn. It depends on your POV. My commute is faster than any possible location anywhere in Brooklyn.

I mean to my midtown office, which is where I am based.

Folks, I love WH; my husband and I are thinking of moving there. What grabbed my attention was the post about pests. This is a deal-breaker for me; we've lived in Manhattan for 25 years, and other than our first apartment, haven't had any cockroaches and only the occasional mouse. Can someone give me more info?

"i am just calling BS on Matt's claim that he goes door to door from WH to Chambers in 30 minutes, when the train ride alone takes over 1/2 an hour."

From the moment I would step on the 1 train at 181st to the moment I would step off the 1 train at Chambers street was exactly 30 minutes, no matter what time of day. I could set my watch to it.

I think NYCMatt is wrong about the commute --- it's longer than he states. In fact, people who work downtown DON'T like living in WH because of the long commute.
Actually, I think NYCMatt is nicely enthusiastic about WH, but some of his details are inaccurate.
WH has plenty of actor/set design/theater types who work in the west 40's ----- but that's not downtown. WH is very convenient for west midtown.
Rodents and roaches? Not a problem unless you're in a real iffy building .....
I lived near Dyckman/Broadway for a couple years, and I enjoyed it. But you've got to work where the commute is do-able.

The only part of Washington Heights I fund attractive is the Jumel Terrace area. There are some beautiful homes there but the district feels very detached from the rest of the Heights. Do people up there consider this enclave to be part of Washington Hts. ?

"Folks, I love WH; my husband and I are thinking of moving there. What grabbed my attention was the post about pests. This is a deal-breaker for me; we've lived in Manhattan for 25 years, and other than our first apartment, haven't had any cockroaches and only the occasional mouse. Can someone give me more info?"

I lived in Brooklyn Heights for 10 years, and Williamsburg for one year. I can tell you that I saw the biggest roaches in my life during my time in Brooklyn Heights and Williamsburg (THREE inches!). During my time in Washington Heights -- knock wood -- only the occasional house spider.

"I think NYCMatt is wrong about the commute --- it's longer than he states. In fact, people who work downtown DON'T like living in WH because of the long commute."

Again, I offer up my personal commuting experiences:

A train from 181st to 59th Street: 20 minutes.

1 train from Chambers Street to 181st Street: 30 minutes.

A train from 175th Street to 145th Street, transfer to the D to Rockefeller Center: 30 minutes.

Rush-hour car service FROM Washington Heights to West 57th Street: 15 minutes.

I looked at WH 5 years ago. Transport is good, housing stock can be beautiful, some buildings are horribly maintained. Biggest issue is that I did not feel comfortable walking down the street in the middle of the afternoon as a woman. Lots of catcalls & looks.

nyc10023 ... what part of WaHi were you walking down?

Have you been up there lately? The neighborhood (at least west of Broadway) is loaded with single white women, many with strollers. Even at night! (Not to mention tons of gay men, too.)

I don't get comments when I'm with kids, anywhere in the city. W/o kids, and dressed to go out, it's a different story.

Well, like I said, there are single women walking around everywhere in WaHi. They don't seem to be bothered.

I don't act bothered. But I didn't like it. I don't think it's dangerous, but to put it bluntly, it's a cultural thing. Middle-aged white men in suits may ogle but they keep their mouths shut.

I think if you're a single good-looking woman, you're going to get catcalls. Frankly, I see more of this in Midtown and Downtown around construction sites than I ever do in WaHi.

from 116th to chambers on the 1 train often takes me > 30 minutes, so doing it from WH in 30 is quite magical

I think the catcalls are a matter of attitude. I used to get horrible attention when I lived in Harlem, but being a NYer, I moaned about it to my therapist and she suggested that I change my attitude when walking down the street. It's like dogs and fear. I changed my mindset to something along the lines of "don't even think about saying something to me" and I saw a change immediately. I went from 5 catcalls a block to maybe one every few weeks.

I rarely get catcalled in Wahi, but I do get a lot of looks - however, I'm not going to give a guy a hard time for looking. I know they can't help it and it keeps my husband on his toes.

"from 116th to chambers on the 1 train often takes me > 30 minutes, so doing it from WH in 30 is quite magical"

EXACTLY. I take the 2/3 EXPRESS downtown frequently from 116th, and its NEVER as fast as Matt claims the LOCAL is from 181st. EVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRR. Google and the MTA website BOTH say it takes far longer than he says...and THEY assume the trains run on SCHEDULE! The man is flat out lying, but just will never admit he is wrong. Why do the MTA trip pkanner AND Google maps both say that even if the trains run 100% on time that your timles are impossible matt? Google maps also says a trip by car WITHOUT traffic is 19 minutes. And up to 30 minutes with traffic. Again, from 61 blocks farhter south it takes me more than 15 minutes by cab in rush hour.

Incidently, the fastest time listed on both websites (38 minutes) happens only if you transfer to the express at 96th exactly on time.