Not in the Adirondacks

Ah, the wonderful trials and tribulations of Manhattan real estate! My friend Jennifer has a great two bedroom, two and a half bath apartment on the the Upper East Side of Manhattan. She lives there with her husband and daughter and the place is worth over a million dollars. It's in a fair building on a loud avenue and therefore doesn't have the cache of something on, say, Park or Fifth or Grammercy Park. But it has a doorman and is near good shopping and transportation. Still, she, like all of us living on this Island, is on the lookout for the next place to call home. Something bigger, in a building with more character and history perhaps, and higher ceilings. Something with space, but also with style and a little more of the feel of old money than the 60's white brick building she lives in now. Another friend lives in a three bedroom, three and a half bathroom on the 36th floor of a building down the street with her shar-pei, Topper, and her tea cup chihua-hua, Cliquot. But she's also looking, like all of us, for something better. For her, not necessarily bigger, but something with more downtown style and flair, something fun. Most Americans can't imagine living in a million dollar home, but guess what? That's the average price of a Manhattan apartment. It's enough to make you move to the Adirondacks. Co-ops and million dollar apartments haven't made it that far north yet. And where do we want to life (not counting the Adirondacks, of course)? The Dakota. In John Lennon's apartment.