Surely, at one time or another, you’ve looked around your cramped $4 million sixteenth-story walk-up apartment in Manhattan and wondered, “Could I live better in another city?” And the answer may surprise you! As long as you’re willing to leave behind life in New York, the rest of the world holds a tantalizing array of highly attractive real-estate alternatives, many offering such space-age luxuries as garages, backyards, and even in-home washer-dryers along with all that square footage. On these pages, we compare your swappable options for a Murray Hill studio, a Tribeca one-bedroom, and a Park Avenue penthouse. Dream on.

Related:

• Archive: “VU”
• Articles by Lane Brown
• Table of Contents: Sep 29, 2008 issue of New York | Subscribe!