If you’re passionate about anything, chances are the East Village is too and they do it better than anywhere else in New York. If you love cocktails, Angel’s Share, Death and Co., or Please Don’t Tell will have you reeling out the door and into the street, reeking of elderflower, muddled blood orange, and ginger syrup. If coffee’s your thing, Ost Cafe, Abraco, and Ninth Street Espresso will give you more than just a fix, with third wave rigor and the best beans in the city. Foodies will find that wonders both high (Apiary, Prune, Motorino, or any of David Chang’s East Village strongholds) and low (Pomme Frites, Artichoke, Crif Dogs) abound. You can play this game at home with almost any category you can imagine (bookstores, music, etc.) . The East Village embodies the urban holy trinity of food, drink, and culture. There’s just one catch, and it’s the one you expected: price.

Ironically, the older professionals most likely to be able to afford the exorbitant rents are the ones least likely to appreciate the EV’s hard partying, youth culture. Nearby NYU and New School dorms keep the nabe stoked with young blood, and youngins of every stripe descend on the area every weekend. When I moved here at 25 I already felt I was at the wrong end of the age bracket (unfortunately I was also at the wrong end of the income bracket). But living in the EV means accepting that St. Marks will explode with revelers at the barest provocation (I think they’ve even started inventing their own holidays).

Some of the nabe’s former grit is preserved by its border with nearby Alphabet City and living there might help those struggling with the rent situation. But even then, you’re dealing with not-great rent and not-great subway access so that you can live where you go out on weekends. If this isn’t essential for you, it’s usually a subway ride away from most places an aspiring EV resident would choose as a safety ‘nabe. That said, if you’re under 35, single, have means and exacting tastes, well, your decision’s almost made.