Inwood

Inwood is about as far north you can go and still be in Manhattan. It feels as it you have left Manhattan and living in one of the boroughs. Most people who travel to Inwood to visit the Cloisters, a branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art located in Fort Tryon Park. The Cloisters were reconstructed in the 1930s from the remnants of several European abbeys and display art and architecture form Medieval Europe. Fort Tryon Park is a nice place to take a walk duirng the day but I advise to stay away after dark.

Inwood is fast-changing from a low-income enclave to a vibrant community full of students and professionals who come for the relative quiet of the area as compared with other parts of the city. For both renters and buyers, Inwood offers great apartment deals for both apartment buyers and sellers with the spaces generally much bigger than apartments further downtown.

With the influx of young professionals drawn by the bargain rents, the neighborhood also offers relatively inexpensive restaurants and groceries. You have the choice between a $1.25 cafe con leche or a $5. vanilla latte Starbucks on the same block. There are also some great discount stores where you can purchase most household supplies. For those who want to get in some aerobic exercise, the neighborhood offers some amazing hills to get your heart going.

Columbia University Medical Center is a short distance south and covers several blocks from the Henry Hudson parkway to Audubon Avenue between 165th and 168th Streets

Though Inwood is a good distance from the center of Manhattan, subway service via the 1 or a train can get you downtown within about 30 minutes. On weekends, the A train operates on a express schedule so that you can get to midtown (42nd Street) in about 15 minutes. There are also a few bus lines serving the area although the trip to midtown will take about an hour. There is also the GWB bus station on Broadway between 178th and 179th Streets which provide local and express service to and from Nothern New Jersey and Rockland County.

Inwood is a very pretty and quiet area worth a visit, even if you don't plan to live here.