Jackson Heights Life

Forest Hills comes in first and the article states, "with the shortest ride to midtown of any outer-borough neighborhood on this list - just 35 minutes on the subway - Forest Hills also proves that New Yorkers don't always have to endure a lengthy commute to find an affordable home."

LOL!  Jackson Heights comes in 5th on the list. I realize it's not the only criteria that was used, but it is a good 5 minutes closer to midtown than Forest Hills.  And because Forest Hills is so sprawling, the subway isn't nearly as convenient for many of its apartments.

This is a pretty badly written article. They say it takes 45 minutes to reach Jackson Heights from midtown, but it's more like 15 minutes depending on where you get on

Three other Queens neighborhoods qualified as affordable for average first-time buyers: Rego Park, Kew Gardens and Jackson Heights. The latter area is known especially for its elegant historic district and its variety of culinary options from around the world. Though Jackson Heights has limited public outdoor space, many of its apartments include private gardens and courtyards. All of these neighborhoods are reachable on the subway from Midtown in about 45 minutes.

It is very strange that the Streeteasy analysis makes no mention of size. If the average 2 bedroom in Jackson Heights costs the same as the average studio apartment on the Upper East Side, they are not comparably "affordable."

If they had looked at only 2-bedrooms, for example, I have a feeling this list would look very different.