If You Lived In New York City, You'd Be Thinner By Now!

Sure, New York City apartments are expensive, but so's your fuel-ravenous, insurance-sucking, malfunction-prone auto and the hours you waste stuck in traffic finger-miming threats of bustin' caps and throat-slitting to your fellow commuters. And if you moved to an NYC apartment or condo, believe me, you'd get used to the convenience, safety, reduced expense of living "car-lite" right quick.

You know what else is expensive about not living in a NYC apartment? The membership fees to that gym you don't go to because you just can't justify the gas expense and rebuilding the living room wall that firefighters will have to knock down so the forklift can take you to the hospital. And then there's the forklift driver's tip, of course. Heck, even an NYC luxury apartment looks like a bargain if this is what living in a state shaded red on the CDC's obesity map costs in health, dignity, and cash.

The Center for Disease Control [CDC] reports that 66% of all Americans overweight or obese, while only 56% of New Yorkers are. And no, that average wasn't taken during fashion week when New York City's population "swells" with models so thin there's no medical reason why they should be alive. So then what are the magical dietetic properties of living in the Big Apple? New Yorkers walk the walk.

According to Walkscore.com - a website that rates cities, neighborhoods, and even individual street addresses on a scale of 1-100 based on how easily routine destinations can be reached on foot - New York City is the second most "walkable" city in the US after San Francisco (but we're coming for you, SF!). Without having to rely on cars - indeed, most Gothamites don't even bother to own one - the car-lite or car-free lifestyle of NYC apartment dwellers is not only healthier and more cost effective, WalkScore also highlights how walking benefits our environment, our social capital, and strengthens local businesses and economy.

Keep in mind though, if you are moving into an NYC apartment for dietetic purposes, not all boroughs' butts are deflated equally. According to Sam Roberts of the New York Times, Manhattan apartment residents consume the same amount of yummy food as other boroughs' denziens, but with only 42.3% overweight or obese, they sacrifice far fewer square feet of real estate to excess pudge:

"Over all, more than 300,000 New Yorkers get to work on foot. But Manhattanites tend to walk more than people who live and work in the rest of the city. They're more likely to walk to the bus or subway. Walk up and down stairs to stations. Even walk all the way to work. They're less obese than New Yorkers in other boroughs, regardless of race or income."

Also keep in mind, though, that there's a lot of variance within each NYC neighborhood, so if you want to find out how walkable a Brooklyn apartment for rent in a neighborhood you know little about is, just enter the exact address and voila! Not only will you get a Walk Score, you'll get a list of the businesses, services, schools, parks, etc., within walking distance. And you don't even have to get up off the couch to do it.



How Walkable Is Your Neighborhood? [NYT]