Fairly high up on my list of "places I could probably stand to live" would be one of the six little mid-19th-century townhouses in this über-charming courtyard in the West Village. The neighbors must need to get along (at least enough to agree on a single color for all those shutters and what to plant in the flower bed) . . .
but at least they don't have to worry about the riffraff getting in. (Ironically, when these were built they were low-end housing.)