Area to rent in Queens/Brooklyn.. close to a train that can get me to Union Square! (Ridge: real estate, 2009)

[Misskika007]

Hello everyone,

I am contemplating a move to NYC due to grad school and am looking to find somewhere under $1500 for a 1 bedroom, in a neighborhood on a subway line that goes to Union Square (L, N, R.. are there more??) We're a couple in our mid-twenties with a dog (could present some problems I'm presuming) and want to be in a safe, clean neighborhood.. Any areas to concentrate our search in? Have been looking in Astoria/Long Island City so far, but haven't been finding too much in our price range.. anywhere else?

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help!

[dixiecupdrinking]

I would think that price range would be completely reasonable for Astoria. You might also consider Greenpoint in Brooklyn... it's cheaper than Williamsburg, and you can take the unfairly-maligned G to the L, or walk to it in 10-15 minutes.

[Henna]

The Q also goes to Union Square and is thought of to be a good reliable train line. For your price range I would either suggest Astoria in Queens or Ditmas Park in Brooklyn. Try somewhere near the Cortelyou Rd stop on the Q or near the Newkirk Stop. Should be 25-30 minutes once you are on the train to Union Square but you can doublecheck that on the MTA.info site with the trip planner feature.

Ditmas Park is a mix of Victorian homes and apartment buildings. Mod cut: no competing sitesAs far as Astoria goes, you might be able to find apartments on the neigbhorhood board "astorians" in the real estate section.

[Henna]

Just to follow up to my latest post, there's a nice article in today's NY Times City section that mentions Ditmas Park. You may want to check it out, or just do a google search on Ditmas Park and whatever other search terms you can think of where residents might have something to say about their neighborhood.

Here's the article in the NY Times today that mentions Ditmas Park in the first page
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/11/ny...ml?ref=thecity

[NJ Chutzpah]

You could try Ridgewood, middle village and Maspeth, and then take the M train to the L train to get to Union Square

Those nabes have nice one bedrooms under $1500 and the size are not bad for singles and young couples

There is a lot of great food in those nabes too, polish especially

And the nabes are clean and safe

when are you looking to move?

[Henna]

Some parts of Ridgewood are actually on the L train.

I personally would not want to have to commute from Middle Village or Maspeth to Union Square when there are other good options available. However, perhaps the OP would like those areas since they are more suburban-feeling and OP has a dog.

[Misskika007]

Thank you all for your help. We'll be in the city this weekend checking out the suggested neighborhoods- so far Ditmas Park looks like the front runner!! Checked mta.info and its only a few minutes further to live there than Astoria, and I like the idea of being so close to such a big park.

[Blackbeauty212]

Look at Prospect Heights - 4/5 trains will take you right to Union Square and they're express in Manhattan and Brooklyn.

[Coolhand68]

Greenpoint.

[dixiecupdrinking]

Be wary of Prospect Heights by the 4/5... Franklin Avenue is not really Prospect Heights. Real Prospect Heights is near the 2/3, which is an easy transfer to the 4/5 at Nevins Street, but is pricier than the other neighborhoods put forth so far.