Considering New York City / Bronx

1,427,000

Population

Sunny Days: 200

75100 Affordability

80100 Schools

90100 Diversity

80100 Safety

See all the facts!

LookyLOO Review of the Bronx

Bronx Pride

The diversity of the population of The Bronx is amazing. Depending on your street you might have neighbors who are Dominican, Bengali, Nigerian, Albanian, Jamaican, Pakistani, Indian, Yemeni, Mexican, or any other nationality. We also mean the diversity of neighborhood experiences you can find. Every part of The Bronx is different and you can find homes with garages, driveways, and lawns, you can find high-rise apartment buildings and you can find palatial mansions in the upscale neighborhoods of Riverdale. It’s all here (and just a train ride from Manhattan).

A note of caution: the Bronx can seem noisy to some and whether that noise bothers you or not is going to depend on where you’re coming from. If you’re in Manhattan or Brooklyn and you move here then maybe it's no big deal. Or if you move to a part of The Bronx that is quiet then again, no big deal. However, much of The Bronx is big-city living. Loud trains, sirens, constant traffic, tons of people yelling, laughing, and singing are all a part of the fabric of big chunks of the borough. If you want it quiet then stick to the far north of the Bronx or Riverdale or steer clear of the area altogether.

Lifestyle

Having noted how diverse the neighborhoods are in The Bronx it isn’t surprising that the lifestyles vary quite a bit. If you live in the northern Bronx then it can feel like you’re living in suburban Westchester County and your life will be pretty suburban but with easy-ish trips to Manhattan on trains. Your kids will ride yellow school buses and you’ll drive to the grocery store just like you would in Connecticut. Ditto if you live in Riverdale or Throggs Neck. All nice, pretty palatial neighborhoods that plenty of families enjoy for the beautiful homes and more quiet experiences for the kiddos. If you live in some areas of the South Bronx then you will experience more poverty, street crime and the kind of vibe that has plagued the borough for decades. And in between the quiet, suburban-style neighborhoods and the rougher South Bronx style blocks, sit plenty of middle-class areas that many families and couples call home.

If you want to see what's happening in the Bronx check out the calendar of events: https://events.bxtimes.com/

Schools

Why You Should Move Here Now?

Between Two Worlds

The Bronx sits between Manhattan and Westchester County (and the beauty of northern suburbs/New York State). While it is for sure its own powerhouse of culture and commerce and costs a heck of a lot less than Manhattan one of its great selling points is how simply you can head into Manhattan or head up to Westchester or points north, far easier than you can from anywhere else. It is perfectly positioned between these two worlds.

Reviews of the Bronx from Locals

It's Time

Prestigious_Sort4979 / Living in the Bronx / Updated 1yr

Basically the “best” parts of Brooklyn and Queens (even Jersey City and Hoboken) are right off the most expensive and “desirable” areas of Manhattan. Brooklyn is cool now so people would rather pay more there than move up in Manhattan. Inwood in Manhattan which is gorgeous is way more accesible than most of BK but there arent many younger people moving there. Ofc, many people think Bronx is like they see in movies lol which looks bad for entertainment purposes not realizing Brooklyn, Lower East Side, and many areas of Queens also had the same image. However, there are new people moving to the borough for sure and even high rises have gone up to accomodate these people so it’s def “taking off” based on your definition although I dont necessarily see it as a virtue when the growth is not intended to benefit those who already live there.

Bronx is the best place to buy! Housing is “cheaper” but you get all the NYC benefits including decent property tax and public transportation. Via car it is very accessible to leave NYC for any reason (eg weekend trips) and in all directions which is imo one of the biggest cons of the other boroughs as I feel trapped in them. The Bronx trains are all really good (inc Metro North) and the more secluded areas have express buses and/or the ferry. La Guardia is close by. There are many big parks in the borough including Van Cortland, Pelham Bay, and Crotona. Plus incredible places to visit: Bronx Zoo, Wave Hill, NY Botanical Garden, Arthur Ave, City Island, Orchard beach, and Yankee Stadium.

I suggest you visit the borough’s areas to understand what areas you would like vs not. When you look at your housing budget consider the tax rate is diff from non NYC and traditionally the houses go up in value here so in NYC it would be worth it to have a higher budget for a house than somewhere else and you end up paying the same.

Also, to buy dont just look at where young people want to live. Popularity among ppl in their 20s is not a good barometer for a nice place to buy where you will live long term. For example, in Brooklyn I would argue places like Brooklyn Heights, Red Hook, and Fort Greene are all way better to live long term than the popular Williamsburg or BedStuy. Inwood and the Upper West Side are way better places to live long term than Soho or the Village.

For more reviews of The Bronx from locals check out: The Reviews