Back in the mid 90s, I lived in Jackson Heights, Queens, for three years, and I took the #7 train into midtown Manhattan almost every day. The #7 ran all the time and the short ride into Manhattan was a breeze. I paid $700 a month for a spacious studio, which was half of what I would’ve paid in Manhattan. But here’s the thing: Not once in three years did my many Manhattan friends come to visit me in Jackson Heights. One pal even told me, “I’d sooner take the train to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, than Jackson Heights, Queens!” It’s literally only six or seven miles from Jackson Heights to Times Square, but as I once read: “Yeah, it’s only seven miles, but psychologically that’s the longest seven miles in the world.”
Response to question: New York City: Why do people pay expensive rents in Manhattan when there are far cheaper apartments a short subway ride away?
