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Hi,
I will be a grad student coming from GA to attend New School in NY this fall. I've been looking at studios in Manhattan, Queens, and Brooklyn around $1200-1400 and I've received some great advice from city-data.com.
Honestly, I haven't really looked into LI. Should I? If I wanted to stay within my rent range, where in LI should I consider? Commute-wise, what would be some towns that may be good for me (@40-45 minute commute)?
I would be considered a WASP, I suppose, but I don't mind living in a diverse community. And it doesn't have to have a kicking nightlife, either. I actually prefer somewhere quiet and safe.
Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!
If I were you, I would focus on Queens. There is a much better stock of rental housing, plus the commute is shorter and cheaper. Check out Forest Hills and Glendale.
Forget about Long Island... it's too far and too expensive a commute on a daily basis for a student. Forget Manhattan, too. A "cheap" studio in Manhattan is about $1650.
Check out Queens.... Forest Hills, Rego Park, Kew Gardens are all close to the subway.
Forget the Bronx.... at least an hour commute by subway. Staten Island... forget it. Very little public transportation. Brooklyn I'm not all that familiar with, but Greenpoint is an up and coming community. You may be able to get in there before rents soar (they're creeping up now).
Forget about Long Island... it's too far and too expensive a commute on a daily basis for a student. Forget Manhattan, too. A "cheap" studio in Manhattan is about $1650.
Check out Queens.... Forest Hills, Rego Park, Kew Gardens are all close to the subway.
Forget the Bronx.... at least an hour commute by subway. Staten Island... forget it. Very little public transportation. Brooklyn I'm not all that familiar with, but Greenpoint is an up and coming community. You may be able to get in there before rents soar (they're creeping up now).
Greenpoint and Williamsburg have already become insanely expensive, approaching Lower East Side levels. It's gotten so ridiculous that Bed-Stuy and Bushwick are becoming "the new LES" now...whether that will ever fully happen is hard to say, but I was at a party off Myrtle in Bushwick recently and there were nothing but well to do white college kids.....actually was a pretty nice block, maybe not a bad place to live?
ashlie89 - As others have said, the commute from LI to Greenwich Village is not the greatest on a daily basis. Even if you're on the furthest west Nassau LIRR stations it's at least 30 minutes into Penn Station, then you have to catch the 8th Ave line downtown, probably only another 10-15 minutes but kind of a pain in the butt. Queens and Brooklyn both have fantastic areas and some others that are still grimy, the vast majority are all very safe though. Quiet is another thing! Keep asking on the city-data.com NYC forums, on the occasion that I read those forums I notice the people who post there tend to be much more informed and level headed regarding their neighborhoods than the folks on the LI board.
If you still want to check out LI (which is a great place, btw!) I would suggest sticking to the Great Neck area as it has, by far, the quickest trains into Manhattan. Out of all of them, you may actually do best out in New Jersey however....have you looked into that at all? I believe PATH trains have multiple stops in the Village and it's definitely cheaper than NYC/LI although probably not by much.
Forget Long Island! Cosly commute,and most of the areas if they are close are too expensive. If you push to 45 minutes away that puts you into Brentwood,Central Islip which aren't the safest areas. Queens around Bayside might be your best bet.
I would look into queens- bayside, particularly. In your price range you could get a nice size one bedroom---THere are lots of buildings in the area that have lots of amenities---indoor/outdoor pools, gyms, restaurants, stores, salons, doormen, concierge, gated communities...I would contact Bay Benjamin realty in bayside---IN particular, the bay club is really nice---they even offer a shuttle bus to the train station during commuting hours...good luck. fyi the commute into penn station is like 20 minutes if even that..
I would look into queens- bayside, particularly. In your price range you could get a nice size one bedroom---THere are lots of buildings in the area that have lots of amenities---indoor/outdoor pools, gyms, restaurants, stores, salons, doormen, concierge, gated communities...I would contact Bay Benjamin realty in bayside---IN particular, the bay club is really nice---they even offer a shuttle bus to the train station during commuting hours...good luck. fyi the commute into penn station is like 20 minutes if even that..
Bayside is a good choice!! My cousin lives in the Bay Club and I like that area, good location for commuting to Manhattan, probably an easier area to assimilate coming from Georgia; has a good balance of housing options, restaurants, bars, diversity, etc.
Do you want to have a car? It's harder in the boroughs to find parking and you will have to pay extra for private parking. I graduated from a division of the New School (Parsons). You might like Valley Stream in Nassau County.
Contact [url=http://www.studenthousing.org/]New York City Student Housing | Educational Housing Services[/url] for reasonable housing for students in NYC. This would be your best choice. They offer housing in several pars of NYC and Brooklyn for students throughout the city. Living on LI and commuting is tough. The only area I would consider is PT. Washington. It has a young community. Another really nice suburb would be Tarryrown...Metro North and is only 20 min by train. However, I would try Clinton Hill, Bklyn or it's surrounding neighborhoods. Bklyn is the best area these days for college students. Check into the housing resourses at your school because there are many children seeking roommates to share larger apartments. Good Luck.
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