The first obvious difference was the lack of furnishings throughout most of Nabokov. While only a couple of rooms in one residence were furnished, every single luxury apartment I've toured in New York City has been painstakingly furnished and decorated — often by prominent designers — to make it as attractive as possible while it's being sold.
Another contrast was size. While the priciest and most prestigious New York City condos are often in skyscrapers with dozens or hundreds of residences, Nabokov is more of a boutique building, with only six floors and 15 condos total.
Both Moscow and New York are billionaire cities — Moscow is home to an estimated 70 and New York an estimated 105 billionaires — so it makes sense that both cities would offer appropriately luxurious real estate.
But from the real estate I've seen in Manhattan versus Nabokov, New York is ahead in one key area: amenities.
It's practically an unspoken requirement that new-construction New York condos be chock-full of lavish amenities. Take 111 West 57th Street, for example, the world's skinniest skyscraper that's nearing completion on Manhattan's Billionaires' Row and selling condos that cost between $16 million and $57 million. When it's finished, the 1,428-foot-tall tower will offer residents access to a 82-foot swimming pool and a massive shared rooftop terrace.
And nearby Central Park Tower, the tallest residential building in the world, will house an exclusive private club with 50,000 square feet of amenities spread across three floors — including a terrace with a 60-foot swimming pool, a sundeck, and cabanas — and that's in addition to its 179 luxury condos (current prices range from $6.9 million to $63 million).
The amenities at Nabokov, which include massage rooms, a fitness center, and parking, seem to pale in comparison.
But while these New York City skyscrapers are in bustling Midtown Manhattan, Nabokov can claim a different sort of luxury: privacy and quiet. I found its location in the Golden Mile neighborhood to be quiet and serene, with very little foot or vehicle traffic.
Wealthy buyers are also getting more bang for their buck in a building like Nabokov than they would in New York, where similar properties are about 10% more expensive, according to Bloomberg.