In honor of Halloween, here's what it's like to have a funeral home as your neighbor

By Leah Hochbaum Rosner | October 29, 2015 - 2:59PM

Many New Yorkers have learned the hard way what it's like to live in such close quarters with all sorts of people—and businesses. Will the Indian restaurant downstairs leave your apartment smelling like curry? Will the noise from the Irish pub next door keep you up all night?

Believe it or not, a funeral home is one of the best businesses to have as a neighbor, at least according to our sources.

In honor of Halloween (and The Day of the Dead, a.k.a Dia de Muertos) this weekend, we though we'd revisit three of our popular posts about New Yorkers living near funeral homes. Apparently it's not bad at all.

Pros

Quiet neighbors: Since funerals tend to be quiet, solemn affairs, you won’t be affected by the noise.
Few insects or pests: If you live atop an eatery, you’ll probably see insects on the regular, but funeral homes tend to be pretty clean and therefore rarely attract pests.
No strong food smells: Don’t want your apartment to reek of today’s restaurant specials? There won’t be any such odors emanating from a funeral home.
A new lease on life: Nothing like a constant reminder of death to make you appreciate your life.
Perspective: A bad day is better than no day at all. You realize that when you live above a funeral home.

Cons

The creepy factor: If seeing hearses and body bags on a semi-daily basis will freak you out, this is not the place for you to live.
Occasional street closures: On occasion, if there’s a particularly large funeral procession or if it’s a policeman or fireman who has passed, there will be a large police presence on the block and the street will be closed to traffic.
Constant reminder of death: Will having to pass a funeral parlor each and every time you exit your home be too depressing for you? Think hard on this before moving in or you may be miserably pontificating on the brevity of life on a daily basis.

For more, read “The best kind of business to live above: A funeral home?,” “How renting next to a funeral home gave me a new lease on life" and "Living next to a funeral home: No matter what kind of day I was having, at least I was having a day"

In Case You Missed It: Every so often, BrickUnderground digs through the archives to find the best advice our experts have shared through the years.

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