Hey guys, I'm going to start the hectic search for a new apartment in the NYC area and I was looking for some advice. I'm moving out of the East Village because I'm tired of living in a six story walk-up tenement building and being financially reamed to do so. I'm a college student so having access to places with decent nightlife and a younger crowd is somewhat important. So far the best bang for you buck places we've found are the financial district, parts of Brooklyn (Williamsburg, Fort Greene, Prospect Heights, Green Point), Mid-Town East, Murray Hill, Kips Bay, Roosavelt Island, Turtle Bay and Astoria. Anybody have strong feelings one way or the other for any of these places? Thanks for any info.
Are you going to live alone or with roomates? Astoria in queens is pretty good, alot of night life there and if you want you can take a train to downtown to Lower East Side. Brooklyn is pretty good too, that area where the Barclays is now is def a hot spot Best options is seeing if you can get something deep into the avenues, like Kips Bay area, Hells Kitchen or Chelsea. Or see if you can get a room in a apt building with a elevator in East Village.
Makes me wish I lived in New York City. I lived in North Jersey for two years and loved it. Couldn't imagine if I lived in the city....
Bayridge and park slope work for me in Brooklyn. Lived in bay ridge while in school back in the day. Tail all over the place.
My son is 25, so his experiences might help. From 12/2010 to 11/2011 he lived in Murray Hill (Lexington and 31st) with two other guys. It's pretty amazing there - it seems like when you turn 30 you're kicked out of the neighborhood. He actually found all of the bars in the neighborhood wearing after a while - the streets were always crowded, and especially on weekends it was always a chore to even go to dinner. From 12/2011 through tomorrow he has lived in Turtle Bay (2nd and 47th) with three other guys. He likes it a lot more there, as it is much quieter (all of the diplomatic cars make it impossible to park there lots of the time, but also result in much less busy streets), but still has loads of restaurants around. Tomorrow he's moving in with his girlfriend (so he's moving way up in class) to the Upper East Side (Lexington and 88th). They're very excited about being 1 1/2 (avenue) blocks from Central Park.
These are some great responses, thanks guys, I appreciate the feedback. It will be myself and three other guys ages 21 to 22 who attend NYU, so we're looking for a four bedroom place that won't put me in complete bankruptcy after college. Has anybody lived (or know somebody who has) lived in the financial district? It's really getting revamped and a lot of the buildings are newly renovated. I've heard great things about BK as well as select places in Midtown East so to hear your reinforcement of that sentiment is encouraging.
If you don't mind the commute Hoboken, NJ might also be a good option for you. My friend lived in Astoria and he loved it. Brooklyn has cool spots too.
That's quite the coincidence but when I lived in North Jersey my girlfriend lived on 88th and Lexington. It's an awesome area and I don't know if it's still there as this was some time ago but we used to go to this incredible coffee shop right on Lexington. They had smores, can't beat that. That beiong said it was a bitch getting there from Bayonne but easier when I lived in Newark. I either had to cab it or Lightrail it from Bayonne to Jersey City and take the PATH across to WTC and then walk to Cortland, get on the N and change to the 6 at 14th street. When I lived in Newark I could eliminate the cab least and take the bus to Newark Penn Station.
