Safe areas to live, less than 1hr to Union Square? (door to door) (Victor: sublets)

[iro*iro]

I'm going to be in nyc this summer in school in the Union Square area. I'm from CA and am looking on craigslist for short term sublets. I've visited a few times but am freaked out about being here on my own. What are neighborhoods I should be considering? My wishlist is:

-- less than an hour door-to-door
-- safe for a woman to be walking alone after 9pm
-- $600-800 for two weeks
-- close proximity to the subway

I don't have requirements for size of the place since it's for such a short amount of time. Living outside manhattan would give me more options but would want to make sure there is accessible transportation late at night (and safe walking home!) Thanks!!

[LynnePatrice]

With $600 - $800 for two weeks, you could find places in many safe neighborhoods that are under an hour to union square. Rentals generally are paid monthly, and if size isn't an issue, you could even get a studio in manhattan for $1600 probably. If you are looking outside of Manhattan, Astoria is really safe. The N train and also the R train go to Union Square, you would be there in 1/2 hour.

[Henna]

If you are looking for your own apartment and not a share, there are reasonable prices in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn, near the Courtelyou station on the Q train. It's a neighborhood full of many Victorian houses with yards, plus several large brick coop and apartment buildings. It's a pretty quiet neighborhood but has a few nice amenities. The Q train should get you to Union Sq in 25 minutes once you are on the train.

Ditmas Park Blog

Ditmas Park at the Newkirk Q station might also be a possibility. I've been there but never lived there - it seemed safe enough, just a bit quieter and kind of boring!! That would be about 30 minutes to Union Sq.

If you're looking for a share you would have more choices in terms of neighborhoods.