Heh, the Times has given everyone a new way to slam people, with the title of their article about the affordability of the Upper East Side for young people: "Sorry, Your Wallet Says Upper East Side." Though the people interviewed scoffed at the notion of living on the UES, calling it "a very barren nothing land, a wasteland of rich people," they quickly convertiing after finding decent living options and realizing the UES's quality of living (lower crime rate, many groceries, restaurants and bars) would work for them. NYC know-it-all and Columbia professor Kenneth T. Jackson, says that the UES has been competing with the East Village and Hell's Kitchen for the college graduate renter market. "The decline of crime has made us appreciate the funkiness. There's not much of a funky feeling to the Upper East Side. It seems homogenous. Years ago, we would have said, `Yuck [about the Meatpacking District].' We don't say `Yuck' as quickly anymore. People are looking for a bit of an edge." You want edge? Gothamist figures that only once every five years a new mattress ever makes it into UES building, Normandie Court, aka the Dormandie, because mattresses, as well as anything else you can imagine (foamy sofas, kitchen equipment, boyfriends) is sold and resold a hundred times over there.
Samology has a very informal survey on 1+ bedroom rents in SoHo, the East Village, and Park Slope, based on data from Craigslist, which makes us wonder, what would you pick? A cheaper one bedroom on the Upper East Side relatively near creature comforts with an elevator or rundown but hip East Village/Lower East Side/Williamsburg walk-up?
Plus, there's no talking about the Upper East Side without listening to The Jeffersons' theme song.
