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I would recommend Astoria, by Ditmars if you insist on keeping the car. Parking won't be easy, but it will be doable. Especially if you find a place East of 31st St and close to 20 Ave. I think people over exaggerate the Alternate Side parking. Each side of the street isn't cleaned more than twice a week. You won't be moving your car everyday. Or maybe because I grew up here, I don't find it the nightmare people make it out to be.
It's definitely far from a nightmare. More like a mild inconvenience that maybe, on a particularly bad day, can be frustrating. You just need to find a metered spot for a few hours or wake up early/move the car before work twice a week basically. I'm in Astoria weekly for work reasons and parking is manageable. Same situation where I live (Bay ridge), which is also often called a parking nightmare...I never have real issues.
Ditch the car. I keep a car in the city, and pay just over $300 for a garage (which is astoundingly cheap) I need it and like having it. But unless you REALLY need it for work, get rid of it. It's going to blow your budget.
Once over that hump, the Upper East Side of Manhattan would work. My GF rents a studio for $1700-ish. And you can be to the Union Square subway station in 15-20 minutes. It's not the trendiest neighborhood, but there's still a lot to do. If you want more nightlife, it's the same 15-20 minute subway ride way. It's not a bad thing to NOT live in a roaring nightlife neighborhood. Ask Lower East side Residents how the nightlife effects their ability to sleep. And it's also very residentially functional. Lots of normal shopping, everyday restaurants, parks and such.
I definitely don't need to live in a roaring nightlife neighborhood. If I have decent access to nightlife without living where the nightlife is, that would be perfect!
You mentioned you posted in the NJ forum, so I assume you are considering Jersey City, etc. The PATH train to 14th Street would be quite convenient, and pricing/parking perhaps more to your liking.
Jersey City, Union City, Weehawken, North Bergen, and West New York are all in play. Outside possibilities include Montclair, Bloomfield, Verona, & South Orange.
This is how things look right now in terms of neighborhoods in play:
Brooklyn (if I decide to look there): Sunset Park, Bushwick, and East Williamsburg Queens (definitely in the running): Ridgewood, Glendale, Astoria, Ditmars Steinway, Sunnyside, Woodside, Elmhurst, and Forest Hills Queens (on the outside looking in): Middle Village, Maspeth, Woodhaven, Kew Gardens, Jackson Heights, and Long Island City
UPDATE: A job offer will be made once the references check out. It's either gonna be Queens or New Jersey at this point. Finalist neighborhoods go like this as of now:
Queens: Ridgewood, Glendale, Middle Village, Maspeth, Elmhurst, Woodside, Sunnyside, and Astoria
New Jersey: Jersey City, Union City, Weehawken, North Bergen, West New York, Montclair, Bloomfield, and Glen Ridge
Thank you to everybody that threw in their $.02 that helped.
Good luck! Just re-read this thread. I'm a female, late 30's, single, and enjoy living in Astoria. I no longer want roaring nightlife, but I enjoy having restaurants and bars to walk to, even if I rarely take advantage of that. My commute to work is very manageable...if you're working in Union Square, it'd be about 35 minutes from the last stop on the N/W to Union Square station.
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