Hi!
I read a lot of posts saying Harlem was great but there are areas to avoid too.
Im looking for an apartment and noticed they are affordable in harlem and washington heights. Are there any street areas/ zones that are more or less safe or desirable than others, and , if so, why?

As a 30 year old Af. Am. woman, who has lived i Harlem for 6 years, I would say that you can live anywhere in Harlem and be relatively safe. Like anywhere you need to be careful about how you conduct yourself i.e. if you are out partying downtown and getting drunk w/ your friends until 3 a.m., take a cab home - not the subway. Try to take the busier, more well lite routes home at night, don't invite people that you don't know or just met to your house.

For the most part, harlem is a working class minoroity community and the people their interact everyday with white folks, so if you are a white person who interacts comfortably with minorities then you will be fine but if you have some inner fear of blacks or hispanics or are so intimidated by them that you cannot even have a conversation comfortably, then Harlem is not for you!!! Pay the extra money and live downtown.

As a 30 year old Af. Am. woman, who has lived i Harlem for 6 years, I would say that you can live anywhere in Harlem and be relatively safe. Like anywhere you need to be careful about how you conduct yourself i.e. if you are out partying downtown and getting drunk w/ your friends until 3 a.m., take a cab home - not the subway. Try to take the busier, more well lite routes home at night, don't invite people that you don't know or just met to your house.

For the most part, harlem is a working class minoroity community and the people their interact everyday with white folks, so if you are a white person who interacts comfortably with minorities then you will be fine but if you have some inner fear of blacks or hispanics or are so intimidated by them that you cannot even have a conversation comfortably, then Harlem is not for you!!! Pay the extra money and live downtown.