NYU vs Harvard for city life: which one actually feels more connected to the city?

NYU feels much more connected to the city in day-to-day life. Its campus is woven directly into Greenwich Village, classes and residence halls are spread through city blocks, and New York is part of the routine rather than a place you leave campus to visit. Harvard gives you access to an urban area, but the student experience is more centered on a distinct residential campus in Cambridge.

At NYU, the city is effectively the campus. You walk out of class into busy streets, restaurants, internships, subway lines, parks, and neighborhoods that students use constantly. That creates a stronger city experience because there is very little separation between university space and New York itself. The tradeoff is that campus can feel less self-contained, since there is no traditional boundary where school life clearly begins and ends.

Harvard is urban in a different way. Harvard Yard, the Houses, and the surrounding Cambridge area create a much more defined student environment, so campus life tends to feel tighter and more cohesive. You can still get into Boston fairly easily, and Cambridge itself has plenty going on, but the city is more something you access from campus rather than something fully merged with it.

If your main question is overlap, NYU has far more of it. Harvard offers a better balance for students who want a clear campus community with nearby city access, while NYU is the one where everyday student life is most deeply embedded in the surrounding city.