brookyln, queens, bronx neighborhoods (Union, Ridge: apartments, safe neighborhoods, salary)

[curiousgeorge1]

hello everyone, i have been considering a move to nyc. i would be living in a studio or 1 bedroom apartment and depend on public transportation to get around. just curious what you think are the cheapest neighborhoods. i already know that i will not be able to afford manhattan so i am asking for only brooklyn, queens, and the bronx. i do realize that the cheapest neighborhoods are the most dangerous and i would like a semi-safe neighborhood. so if you feel that a certain neighborhood is really dangerous i would appreciate it if you would give me the heads up so i can avoid it while searching for an apartment.

thanks in advance!

[mead]

You don't have to live in a dangerous neighborhood to be in a cheap neighborhood.

Cheap & Safe neighborhoods in the Bronx are places like Morris Park, Throggs Neck, Pelham Parkway, & Woodlawn. 1 br apartments in these neighborhoods usually go for about $900-$1,000 per month. More upscale places in the Bronx like Riverdale and Country Club will run you about $1,200-$1,300 per month for a 1 br.

Are you originally from this area? If not personally I don't know if I could reccomend the Bronx in good faith, as it might be a bit much for you. Brooklyn & Queens might be better options for cheap & safe neighborhoods for a person not from this area. The apartments usually cost a little bit more over there though.

For Brooklyn look mostly in Southern Brooklyn from Bay Ridge to the west to all of the neighborhoods to the north of the Belt Parkway ending at Gerritsen. I don't know if Bergen Beach is decent anymore. Someone else will have to fill you in on Brooklyn though as I don't live there. I think Bay Ridge is probably going to be the most expensive neighborhood for you in Brooklyn (save Dyker Heights I guess which is mostly residential anyways).

Lots of neighborhoods are nice in Queens too. Someone from there will have to fill you in.

Wait I just read some of your old posts. Are you thinking about being a NYPD? You're probably not going to find anywhere to live on your own at first on their starting salary (blame the UNION & the Mayor). You're probably going to have to look into sharing a place at least for the first 6th months / 1 year. Rooms in a shared apartment can usually be rented in the neighborhoods I mentioned for about $500-$700 a month.

There are at least a couple of current and former NYPD posting on this forum, they should be able to help you out.