Best Places to Live in New York City for the first time

Posted by Andy 
Happy Holidays everyone!

For someone, such as myself, who whats to move to New York City under a limited budget, what are some good areas to live? I've been looking at the following:


Bronx: almost anywhere south of aprrox. 190th st.

Manhattan: Harlem, Washington Heights

Queens: Corona, Jackson Heights, Elmhurst, Maspeth

Brooklyn: Bed Stuy, East New York, Bushwick


So what do you think of those areas? Based on what I know, they all sound wonderful in their own ways (especially the areas in Queens). Thanks.

-Andy



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/28/2010 07:16AM by askanewyorker.
Bronx: I know some people who live in Parkchester and quite like it.

Manhattan: As long as you stay west of Broadway, Washington Heights can be a lively and interesting neighborhood. Hope you speak Spanish, though, because everyone else will.

Queens: Jackson Heights is absolutely terrific; a United Nations of a neighborhood with great restaurants, great apartments and great subway access. That would be my first choice of any of these on this list. Elmhurst is a little bit of a poor man's Jackson Heights, but also OK. Corona is a little dangerous and all Mexican now. Maspeth is really nice - quiet and very Irish - but it's difficult to commute to/from there because there's no subway.

Brooklyn: Those are all dangerous slums. There are some small parts of Bed-Stuy that are getting nicer, but I wouldn't recommend them to people who don't know the lay of the land.
Re: Best Places to Live in New York City for the first time
December 16, 2005 09:23AM
Parkchester has too many shootings, robberies & car thefts. Wouldn't give 2 cents to live there. And in the Parkchester buildings allow too much renting to section 8. Why pay rent when the neighbor is sitting on their butt all day doing nothing?

If you want the Bronx, go to Morris Park, Pelham Bay, Throgs Neck. You will be able to rent a place in a private house, which is much quieter than living in a building. If you do want a building I would ONLY suggest Riverdale, but you will pay more in rent. My bf lives in a buidling in Kingsbridge. In the almost 6 years I've known him there have been 8 shootings w/in a few block area, his building is FILFTHY thanks to the tenants & expect to be awaken at 3am bc the banana next door feels the need to blast music (hey when you don't work there isn't much to do).

As for Washington Heights & Inwood, I grew up in Inwood, bf from the Hts. Its convenient to midtown but that's all I can say for that dump. Its dirty & noisy, whether you're on the east or west side of Bwy. The west side is WAY overpriced although the east is now catching up & I just don't get why. Granted its not as bad as it was 20 years ago, but I wouldn't even entertain that place.

I don't know about the other boros. Never lived there.

My suggestion....don't move here. I don't get what the attraction is. There's too many people, not enough room. Another suggestion...don't move here when its cold. You see the real light when June comes around & the entire world is hanging outside on the streets until 4am since they apparently don't have a job to go to the next day. Think I'm kidding? NOPE. Lived it myself for 18 years & would NEVER do it again.
New York is wonderful in June but i think there's always a good reason to move there all year around....i had to leave NYC cause my working visas expired but i guess everyBODY should live in NYC at least for a short period. it makes you grow fast, stimulated, although it is tough but it's definetely worthwhile....
Re: Best Places to Live in New York City for the first time
December 16, 2005 01:26PM
hi Andy:
you're from WI, right? Me too. I've lived in Brooklyn for about 8 years now.
I love it.
One more suggestion for a neighborhood in Queens: Sunnyside.
Good luck to you.
Thanks everyone for all your great suggestions and help!

Kelly- You are right, I am from Wisconsin. In fact I grew up about 10 miles from where you used to live.
Andy - How did you come up with this list? It looks like a list of place one should not live. There are plently of safe and yet affordable neighborhoods in New York City. Many of those require longer commute and/or don't have coolest restaurants and bars and therefore are available at a huge discount to other areas in the city. For example, there are lots of middle-class neighborhoods in Brooklyn that are very safe, yet quite cheap. Examples: Bay Ridge, Sheepshead Bay, Midwood, Bensonhurst, Kings Highway (around Ocean Avenue/Ocean Parkway), etc. You just want to make sure you live close to the subway station to make easy commute possible (don't ever deal with buses). In the past few years, people were buying apartments like crazy and many of them were bought was investment. So, there are quite a few affordable rentals available in Brooklyn right now. You can rent a studio for 800-1000 a month. Let me know if you need more information.

Re: Best Places to Live in New York City for the first time
December 17, 2005 02:43PM
I live in Sunnyside Queens and would reccomend it highly. It is closer to Manhattan than Elmhurst or Jackson Heights and Queens Blvd goes right through it. It is a cheap cab ride home from Manhattan if you need it and the 7 train runs every 4 minutes at rush hour. There is basically everything here you would want to eat or shop for and the Queens mall is 15 mins via bus. My apt is huge for NYC standards and is clean and for the most part quiet.
Thanks alot everyone, you guys rock!

Daveman- Sunnyside sounds like a fantastic location. My only question is co$t. Ideally I'd like to pay around $700 to $900 for a studio. Is that possible in Snnyside?
Hi

For a studio in Sunnyside, I think 900 should be enough. Although, further in, you will probably be able to find a 1-bedroom apartment. But it won't be close to the trains. These days, a 1-bedroom apartment will be much more expensive. But you might also consider finding a roomate to share the rent with. Also, consider living in Woodside. It is also served by the 7 train and and it's only a couple blocks from Sunnyside.
Re: Best Places to Live in New York City for the first time
December 23, 2005 08:13AM
You can get a great share in Sunnyside. $600 - $750 probably. I pay $675 for a huge share. Renting your own place is somewhat affordable, but the best bang for your buck is a share. I have not shopped for studios, but $850 - $900 sounds about right. I am 1 block from Queens Blvd 7 train and I love it there. Try Craigslist for a share, thats how I got this place.
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