The short version
Downtown Yangon is the city at its most concentrated: a tight colonial grid between the river and the northern rise towards Sule, with markets, offices, temples, old apartments and an extraordinary amount of life on the pavement. It is a place to choose for immediacy rather than ease. A short walk can take in a grand portico, a gold pagoda, a tea shop and a wholesale lane; the same walk may involve heat, noise, broken paving and traffic that does not make room for pedestrians.
The grid and the river
The downtown plan still gives the area a useful logic. East–west streets run towards the river, while north–south movement follows the commercial grain of the old city. This makes it much easier to learn than Yangon can first appear. It also means that a few blocks make a material difference: the river side, the streets around Sule, the market lanes and the western edge each live at a different pace.
The river is an orientation point rather than an everyday promenade. Port roads, commercial premises and large infrastructure interrupt the romantic idea of a waterfront. The reward of a central address is instead the density of ordinary services: food, small shops, religious life and the ability to understand the city by stepping into it.
What to check
Choose the building, not the postcode. Older stock may have generous ceilings and remarkable details, but light, stairs, drainage, generator arrangements and the precise street noise are more useful questions than a handsome façade. The district is also much livelier in the working day than in the evening, so a second visit at a different hour is worthwhile.
Would I live here?
Yes, for a first period in Yangon if I wanted the city close at hand and accepted a smaller, more exposed domestic life. Downtown rewards curiosity and patience. It is a poor match for someone seeking quiet lanes, managed amenities or a home that can ignore the surrounding street.