I'm relocating to New York and was curious as to what native New Yokers thought of Roosevelt Island. I'm attempting to find a place to live somewhere with easy access to and within The Bronx, Harlem, Manhattan, Queens, and Brooklyn. Seeing as that Roosevelt Island is right in the middle of all the boroughs I thought it would be an ideal location, but is there affordable housing there? Any housing there? What is there?

Roosevelt Island is a weird and kind of cool place. But I wouldn't call it "easy access!"

Roosevelt Island is a master-planned community with about 40,000 - maybe 45,000 people now - living in giant residential towers. There's one shopping street with one of everything - a bank, a library, a pub, a Chinese restaurant, a food market - and great views. Though the whole place does sometimes have a slightly seedy air because of the two long-term care hospitals sharing the island uneasily with the residential towers, it's generally considered a place to raise children in a small-town atmosphere.

On the other hand, it has no nightlife, few dining options, really little to do, and the only land access is to Queens. There's a subway stop, but on days the F is screwed up, that can be a bit annoying. Unless you plan on getting around by boat, I wouldn't consider it more convenient than other locations.

I went over on Sunday with a friend who'd never been. I think it's awful. The only thing it's got is great views of Manhattan. The housing looks like something out of the Soviet gulag. Hideous doesn't begin to describe it. On the bright side, there is a Starbuck's.

When I was first looking to move to New York a few years ago, I actually saw apartments in one of those "giant residential towers" that Red mentioned. The place had none of the charm of other New York apartment buildings, and I found that everything--both the housing and the island itself--felt slightly artificial and disconnected from the rest of the city. It just wasn't for me.

I'd love to hear from someone who has lived there (or does) or who has spent a lot of time there! I've always been intrigued by Roosevelt Island - went there with my bff once in 1979 for a wild night and early morning at a new friend's place. First there was the tram ride over the river - LOVED that! Then there was the spot where Wellington showed us a view of manhattan that made the empire state and chrysler buildings look like they were the same height, and the view of the night time manhattan skyline from his apartment. I remember that as freaky and other-worldy as the streets and buildings were, i was soooooooooooooooooooo curious about the rest of the environs, the uber-urban island itself, the open spaces and the water's edge and the history and the parts I didn't know...

Mell and I went to the island last year, on the cable car, and it offers the perfect venue for a fabulous photographic back drop of the New York Skyline to impress your friends back home!

Hopefuly we'll have more time to explore the island this year.