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. 



Bronx Pride

LookyLOO Review of the Bronx

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/


Lifestyle

Schools

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. 


Between Two Worlds

Why You Should Move Here Now?

**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**](https://lookyloomove.com/locations/new-york-city-bronx/reviews)

It's Time

Reviews of the Bronx from Locals

Woodlawn is a great neighborhood for young professionals or couples to check out first. It has an active bar/pub scene with a very chill vibe for hanging out with locals. There are excellent dining options and for those with an outdoor lifestyle preference you are right near Van Cortland Park. The neighborhood is also filled with great apartments at half the cost of Manhattan so if you don’t mind the commute it's a great choice. The Fordham area neighborhood is another interesting option. Not only do you get the pubs and Italian restaurants that serve the families and students in the area but you also get the Bronx Zoo, Paradise Theater and The New York Botanical Garden.
- Woodlawn
- Fordham


Young Professionals/DINKs/SINKs

Woodlawn Heights

Riverdale is a stunning option for families and should be on your list if you want to live nice. It’s home to great public and some of the best private schools in the city. It’s classically described as a “leafy neighborhood” due to its close proximity to the Westchester County line and it is filled with country estates that have either remained in the hands of families, or have been converted into modern apartments that smaller families can enjoy. There are also plenty of smaller homes for families not yet ready for the historic mansions and perhaps best of all are the views of the Hudson River and the amazing access to the outdoor spaces like Seton Park and Wave Hill Gardens. 
- Riverdale
- Kingsbridge
- Pelham Bay
- Allerton


Families

Riverdale

New York City / Bronx

**bodegacatBX** / Living in the Bronx / Updated 4mo 
✭✭✭✭

Hey there, born and raised in the Bronx for 33 years! I love my borough. Probably the last remaining boro that hasn’t been gentrified yet. Rent is more affordable, food is amazing & the culture is still intact. If you don’t mind a 45 min - 1hr commute into the city via train, you’ll be set. Pick your area carefully, maybe want to avoid the south Bronx as well as parts of the west Bronx but every area has its safe neighborhoods and bad ones. I would look into east or north Bronx. I can whole heartedly recommend morris park, Pelham bay, throggs neck, Norwood & riverdale if you want the some safe neighborhoods. Van court land park & Bronx river park are a runners dream.

There are amazing murals and art exhibits that pop up in the Bronx but don’t expect Brooklyn type shows and exhibits. If you have any questions I’m more than happy to help.

**SwagSkoolBX** / Living in the Bronx / 4mo ago
✭✭✭✭

I am 55 and have lived in The Bronx for all but two years of my life.

I’m white my wife is black we are raising two biracial children in the North East Bronx.

Since you are from Michigan, my best friend’s daughter will be graduating from MSU this year and he tells me often how being at our house is not like he expected The Bronx to be.

There are some truly awful places in the Bronx, but also some of the last “neighborhoods “ in the city. I currently live in the house I grew up in as a child. My parents bought this house 45 years ago and there are people living on my block that have been here longer than that.

It may be a longer commute than other places, but there are a lot of quiet peaceful places.

**mxdalloway **/ Live next to the Bronx / 4mo ago

I live uptown Manhattan in Inwood, but I consider myself Bronx adjacent because I walk and bike around the Bronx all the time.

When I was looking to move from Brooklyn to this area I also looked at Norwood and Bedford Park areas.

The Bronx is a really diverse borough, there are so many different neighborhoods and they are all unique and some are quite distinct from each other so it's hard to generalize.

There is pretty decent subway coverage into Manhattan, and there are a couple neighborhoods that have stations for commuter rail - that's really convenient if you're going into midtown, or if you wanna head upstate and like me you don't have a drivers license. BUT there are some spots that don't have great coverage and could be a 20-25 min walk to the subway station. There are also buses that go across The Bronx but I find them painfully slow (it's faster to bike!)

I work near Grand Central, so if I were taking the commuter rail from University Heights, or Botanic Garden that's 20 mins into grand central! (they run every 30 mins peak or every hour off peak). It's more expensive than the subway, but you get to sit down instead of being crammed in, and for me it's a nice benefit.

The Bronx Museum (formally The Bronx Museum of Arts) is a smaller museum but has some really nice well curated shows. No matter what subway line you end up on you'll have pretty easy access to all the big Manhattan museums like the Met too. I've also visited the Edgar Allan Poe Cottage (very small, took maybe 30 mins to see everything) and also the Van Cortland House Museum which also has some interested events.

As a Bronx resident you also get free access to the grounds of NY Botanic Gardens which is a nice perk (but you still have to pay for events).

I've lived in NYC for 14 years now and maybe it's just the people I've met, but from a dating perspective I will say that I think that most people will not be interested in dating someone who lives more than a 20 minute subway ride away (and definitely not a transfer) or more than a 15 min uber. Just keep that in mind if you're looking at neighborhoods that are more deep in The Bronx.

**MarketMan123** / Living in the Bronx / Updated 1yr
✭✭✭

The Bronx is huge so it depends on where.

I spent most of my 20s working in theater and living right near Yankee stadium off the 161st st D/4

Biggest Pros:

Very affordable, allowing me to be more flexible about work and/or have more discretionary income*

Living at the intersection of two subway lines meant construction wasn’t disruptive and getting to the east and west side was easy.

Living on express stops meant although it seemed like the neighborhood was far away from the “core” of Manhattan, getting places was quite fast

If you like biking it’s a very bike friendly neighborhood (something I didn’t appreciate until I moved to Queens)

Biggest Cons:

There wasn’t much to do in my neighborhood, doing almost anything required getting on the subway. Even food delivery options were limited.

Odds are none of your friends are gonna live nearby.

All and all, I think living in the South Bronx was an amazing decision. One that significantly contributed to my 20s and time in the arts being as good as they were.

One note: My hunch is it varies significant based on what building you live in. 3 years ago, there were only a handful of coops that were known to be really well run, cleaned up, and I’ll just say it… gentrified (but not necessarily white). Not sure what it’s like now or if there were/are any rental buildings that are well run around there (although further south they were building some).

*I owned a shoebox-sized studio, but I assume the same is true for rent relative to other neighborhoods.

New York City / Bronx, New York

Boogie Down

Looklyloo Score: 87