My family and I moved to Kingsbridge Heights in the Bronx last October from Upper Manhattan.

I've debated about sharing how amazing it is because I've been out priced from neighborhoods all over NYC for the past 20 years and I'd hate to be priced out of here any time soon. But I wish I knew how good the living is here before I stayed in our last apartment in Washington Heights for as long as we did.

The problem is this - I had some ideas about the Bronx that date back, way back, to some photos of Jimmy Carter visiting blighted sections of the Bronx in 1977. I don't even know how I came across that photo as I was only 5 years old when it was in the newspapers, only that it turned into a feeling about the Bronx I could not shake.

President Jimmy Carter touring the Bronx on Oct. 5, 1977. Photo: Teresa Zabala/The New York Times

The story and the debate about the gentrification of the Bronx is detailed in this article and many others like it in The New York Times and other media. I am here to say definitely that my view of the Bronx and resistance to living here was based on seriously outdated notions.

Here's why:

$1750 for a good size 2 bedroom 1.5 bath apartment.
Great for a family. Within walking distance is Van Cortlandt Park, which is beautiful, with hiking trails and a museum; and Fort Independence Park and Playground near the Jerome Park Reservoir.
We're close to the 1 train and these incredible express buses to Manhattan buses that get us to Metropolitan Museum and Central Park or the main New York Public Library in 25 minutes. The fare is slightly more than the regular MTA fare but it's express. Express!
The shopping and restaurant options are a mixture - small businesses like independent cafe's, Bronx Alehouse, Garden Gourmet and S&S Cheesecakes mingle with Chipotle, BJ's and TJ Maxx. I have to say, emphatically, having a BJs around the corner helps when you have growing kids. They can eat a lot of apples in one day.
Good restaurants in neighboring Riverdale. Leohmans, scrumptious pastrami, Jewish bakeries, sushi, Thai, Indian, Vietnamese... This was more than our upper Manhattan location offered.
Diversity. I can safely say that all types of families and singles live here and I see them everyday walking around the neighborhood. I can't tell you enough how much that means to me - it's the whole reason I live in NYC with my family!

So, if you're stuck in an over priced apartment or a neighborhood you don't really feel at home in and would like to pay less money and get more space - come check out our neighborhood. Send me an email. I'm glad to answer any questions or just chat about living in NYC!

And just for fun.

Some of the neighborhoods that were sketchy when I moved into them:

Brooklyn - Park Slope, Bushwick, Prospect Heights

Queens - Long Island City/ Astoria

Manhattan - Harlem