Manhattan residents living it up, but borough residents disagree

Erica Pearson, Leigh Remizowski and Samuel Goldsmith New York Daily News 10/21/2010 17:51

Survey says Bronx residents (l.) aren't as happy as the Manhattanites portrayed on Gossip Girl.

Most New Yorkers love life in the big city - especially well-heeled white Manhattan residents. It's a different story in the Bronx, where two-thirds of the borough would pull up stakes and flee if they could.

Those are the findings of a new poll that found 84% of Gotham is "very satisfied" living here, but also exposed a tale of two cities in the five boroughs.

"These results are polarizing and polarized," said Vin Cipolla, president of the Municipal Art Society, which commissioned the Marist poll of 1,000 New Yorkers.

"When you consider the very profound level of dissatisfaction among Bronx residents, there is a real unsettling disparity."

The least satisfied group in the city is people of color in the Bronx who make less than $75,000 a year. White Manhattanites who make more than $75,000 are the most satisfied.

Given the opportunity to move, nearly two-thirds of Manhattan residents say they would stay put. Only about a third of those in the Bronx would stay.