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If anyone can recommend a reputable real estate broker/agent, I'd gratefully appreciate it.
EllieLA
Hi,
we´re a Danish family, both professionals, who found a decent place through a very sincere broker that we´d recommend, Astoria Apartments. We were able to hackle the broker fee doqn a bit and even the rent as well. They were very nice and throroughly serious, and the place we found (a 2br) is in a nice and safe area meeting all of our criteria (zoned to good public school, close to subway and park) except a tumbler/dryer in the apt.
Good luck
Hi, Helen here, Astoria is culturally mixed, curently I think that mix to be something like- hispanic, greek, italian, muslim. Lots of things to do.
20 years ago, I had 2 cousins from cyprus stay in Astoria for almost 8 years on student visas. Cheap apartments seem to be easier to find if you come across as a hard working and QUIET student.
Only problem, one of my cousins was mugged 1x, working @ a gas station. Pretty rough, (really not needed). He was a working student! My folks promised not to tell his familiy back in Cyprus.
Well my cousins finished school, got life experince and glad to be back home. They did enjoy their stay. I am sure many things are the same the cultural mix may have changed. But I would give it a try. Good Luck.
Rent is high there, but it's very close to the city if your live near the N train. It's a crowded, congested area. Very diverse in every way. Not a pretty place to live but the shopping & dining is great. (the parking is horrible, so if they have a car, it will be a hassle).
Have the hipsters begun to descend on Astoria yet?
IMO, Astoria has alot of potential. Due to its relative obscurity (not saying its weird or anything, but it hasn't taken off to the same degree many other Manhattan-adjacent locales have) and proximity to Manhattan, this nabe has tons of potential. All of the other goodies such as diversity, yummy ethnic foods, decent housing stock, etc are just icing on the cake
It's too hard to get to hipster-central in the Billyburg environs from Astoria, so that tends to keep the population down, relative to numbers in Brooklyn. And, with no W train on weekends or weekdays, after 11, it would have to be an early-to-bed hipster who could get to Brooklyn and back before the train cuts off and they have to take a circuitous route back to Astoria via public transit from Brooklyn.
The hipsters started invading Astoria about ten years ago and have been followed by entry level yuppies who can't afford the higher Manhattan prices. Because of its proximity to Manhattan, housing there began to skyrocket and there's been a wave of condo developments going on in the past five years.
Astoria gets prettier as one moves away from the overhead/elevated subway platforms to quieter, cleaner streets. The main thoroughfares are crowded and gritty but amenities, bars, restaurants, outdoor cafes, food markets, etc., are in plentiful supply. One can also live well there without owning a car.
And, with no W train on weekends or weekdays, after 11, it would have to be an early-to-bed hipster who could get to Brooklyn and back before the train cuts off and they have to take a circuitous route back to Astoria via public transit from Brooklyn.
and early-to-bed hipsters are a rare breed, it seems.
and early-to-bed hipsters are a rare breed, it seems.
Indeed, though it could also work if the hipsters in question stayed up all night and then took the train back to Astoria in the morning to sleep, at least during the week.
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