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I have just gotten back from visiting NY, this was my first time visiting the city and I was looking at properties as I had planned to move there. I am from a smaller town and it was quite a shock for me.
While I was looking at properties there I went to go observe the more cheaper apartments. I wanted to actually live in Manhattan but was open to the outer areas as well. I am sorry to say but most of these areas were so trashy and flithy, now I know why these areas are the cheapest in the city. At times I have actually felt for my safety here and NY is one of the safest cities in the country.
During my week, I visited the areas of:
Inwood - overall I did not feel safe there, day and night
Washington Heights- same as above
Melrose- unpleasant
Mott Haven- very ugly trashy neighborhood
Morriasiana- same as mott haven
Hunts Point- same as mott haven
Castle Hill- wasnt the best. Why are the areas in the Bronx so grimy? Why would anyone want to live there? I am sure there are nice parts, but a week wasn't enough time to visit the whole community.
Bushwick- would not live there
Fort Greene- an okay area
Brooklyn Heights- Very nice clean neighborhood but I cannot afford to live there.
Prospect Park-nice area overall
Sunset Park- an okay area, I would not want to live there personally for a variety fo reasons
Astoria- nice area close to manhattan which is a huge plus. Seriously considering this area
Maspeth- same as astoria
Williamsburg- a great artsy area as well
Bedford Stuyvesant- wasn't so keen on this area, would not live there.
Granted some of the other neighborhoods were quite nice but the majority of the cheaper apartments are in the trashy neighborhoods. I guess you get what you paid for and I had wanted to see it with my own eyes as you cannot believe everything you read on the internet.
With my job in NY I will be making around 45k and cannot afford some of the nicer neighborhoods. My question is what are the middle income neighborhoods that a person can live comfortably in that is near Manhattan? Is there such a thing? I am a recent college grad and my salary will become higher once I gain more experience. Those were the only neighborhoods that I visited, both day and night and going into the stores checking out the restaurants, and looking at the properties. I want to live in an area where I would feel safe raising kids in and for my parents to come visit on occasions. I also want an area where I would not have to worry about frequent break-ins, robberies, people openly selling illegal drugs, people blasting loud music, and other common social ills in an urban area and I have observed this in the majority of neighborhoods that I had visited. I want to be able to walk both day and night and not feel unsafe and uncomfortable. I don't think that is too much to ask for.
I really like Queens though, does anyone on here live in Ridgewood, Woodhaven, East Elmhurst, Forest Hills, Middle Village, or Rego Park? If so can you tell me more about those areas? I am hopiong to make my move in permanently in October.
Non-trashy/ghetto... New York is a trashy city in general, people litter all the time. The city is also made up of ghetto's, and there are large groups of people of the same race living together in communities.
And this: I would not have to worry about frequent break-ins, robberies, people openly selling illegal drugs, people blasting loud music, and other common social ills in an urban area and I have observed this in the majority of neighborhoods that I had visited.
This happens in every neighborhood in the city, of course less on the side of break-ins depending on the area and more in the side of loud music. I grew up on 78th and 3rd, but that does not mean that I was immune to high school kids selling drugs across the street, people blasting music and ....social ills. You are moving to an urban area but you are afraid of living a little. In the past year, three of my friends who live in the East Village have been robbed, one of them at gunpoint. Hell, I feel safer in Inwood then I do there.
In terms of Queens, you should check out Sunnyside and Woodside, both are very close to the city and offer less of the ... ills that you listed above. I am not sure where in the city you are working, but Ridgewood is good distance away and so is Woodhaven. I am surprised you had no complaints about the J train..... I have an Aunt in Middle Village. You will most likely want to have a car unless you don;t mind schlepping from bus to bus to train.
East Elmhurst, I have only been there twice. The only thing I remember is planes flying over my head coming in/out of Laguardia. And you will be taking a bus to a very crowded 7 train to get to work every morning.
If there is an area of the city (Manhattan) that you like, see if you can find a roommate. Going of your salary, you can only afford a place that is $1125 in Manhattan, as landlords look for 40x the rent. That won't get you anything in the areas that you actually want to live in. However, it could great apartment with a roommate. I also know of some studios out in Woodside, Queens that are going to $1100, and they have a patio, elevator, laundry in the bldg.
There's no such thing as "nice" and affordable. Once a neighborhood becomes nice, like SoHo, DUMBO, the East Village, Hell's Kitchen, Williamsburg or Chelsea, it's no longer affordable because people are willing to pay dearly to live there.
At risk is stirring up a huge controversy, you have two three options: (1) earn more money, (2) get a roommate or two, or (3) think long term and help gentrify another neighborhood. Neighborhoods like the East Village were beyond ghetto back in the day.
If I had to bet, I'd put my money on South Williamsburg off of the M Train.
Why did you choose all the wrong neighborhoods to look in ?
There are plenty of decent,affordable neighborhoods in Brooklyn,Queens and The Bronx but they are generally further away from midtown than you seem to want to be.That's your dilemma.
Why did you choose to look in Inwood,Washington Heights,Mott Haven,Melrose,Morrisania,Hunt's Point,Bed Stuy,Bushwick,etc? Everyone knows that those are generally among the least desirable areas of the city .It's very odd that out of 250 or 300 neighborhoods in NYC you chose to include some of the above neighborhoods in your search.Surprised you left out E Harlem,East NY and Brownsville.
Why do you want to move to NYC? Something about the tone of your post indicates that you might not be happy here.
I really like Queens though, does anyone on here live in Ridgewood, Woodhaven, East Elmhurst, Forest Hills, Middle Village, or Rego Park? If so can you tell me more about those areas? I am hopiong to make my move in permanently in October.
Middle Village, Forest Hills, and Rego Park are great neighborhoods. The Eastern portions of Ridgewood are decent too. I can't really recommend East Elmhurst or Woodhaven though. I only been to E.Elmhurst a few times but a lot of posters here say it's pretty bad, and I know Woodhaven sucks, so you don't wanna live there.
Woodhaven is a pit = super loud/dense/grimy/no parking ever/low quality goods and food/schools and health care- total bummer . I am moving TO the Bronx, if that gives you any idea how bad it is for me.
- J train is very reliable (unless they are doing track work whihc can last for MONTHS on end) - and will take you to the Wall street area in one direction - to the PArson Archer hub to connect with the E train. that station is in a very dense/grimy area.
I live in East Elmhurst. Based on your original post mentioning not wanting to be around people opening selling drugs/blasting loud music...this prob. wouldn't be the best choice for you. That's stuff I deal with daily, everyday when I leave for work there are empty 40 bottles on the stoop outside and empty dime bags/blunt wrappers scattered on the street. Cars driving up and down the block blasting music esp. on the weekends. You'll also have to deal with taking the bus to the train & airport noise...kinda curious why you even asked about this neighborhood as it's not really a top destination for people looking to move to NY.
You would prob. like Woodside and Sunnyside as another poster mentioned. Maybe check out those neighborhoods on your next visit.
The whole South Bronx still has that grimy look. I went to Inwood during the day and felt safe where were you?
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