Best neighborhoods to Bryant Park please! (Bedford, Stuyvesant: apartment, lease, co-op)
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I am relocating from the Northern VA area to the NYC area. I am transferring with my company and will be working at the BofA Tower near Bryant Park. I am all over the place in terms of where to live ..from Jersey to BK to the city itself and need a bit of input please
I have family currently living in Kearny NJ .. took the PATH train into the city and it was surprisingly an easy commute. So, that is an option.. but I would prefer living a bit closer. Can you all let me know what areas of the city and Brooklyn or Queens would be a easy/decent commute into Bryant Park?
- Budget for rent and utilities only, not including other expenses: 1400/month
- Im 29/f/single like to be social, have drinks, dinner, browse around etc.. so I would ideally like to be in an area where I share the same demographics, but this is not a must. Safety for someone like myself would be important as well.
- I will be getting rid of my car
Anything else needed for info please let me know.. thank you all in advance!
I am in a similar situation and used to live in the Baltimore-DC corridor, so am familiar with where you are coming from . Bryant Park is an easy area to get to and is commutable from many different parts of the city. Are you open to roommates or set on living alone? You could probably find a modest studio or small 1br at that price point in a more modest/less trendy but still safe area, but if you are open to a share it would greatly broaden your options, maybe into a small/walk up apartment share in some of the trendier areas. Have you been to NY? What areas do you like?
For Brooklyn, being near the B or D is a big plus, since they're express to Bryant Park, so eastern Boerum Hill, northern Park Slope or Prospect Heights, while from Queens I'd say that Long Island City is by far your best option, with a ridiculously easy commute on the 7.
The problem is cost, of course, as those areas aren't cheap, although you could probably find something if you're willing to get a roommate.
I am in a similar situation and used to live in the Baltimore-DC corridor, so am familiar with where you are coming from . Bryant Park is an easy area to get to and is commutable from many different parts of the city. Are you open to roommates or set on living alone? You could probably find a modest studio or small 1br at that price point in a more modest/less trendy but still safe area, but if you are open to a share it would greatly broaden your options, maybe into a small/walk up apartment share in some of the trendier areas. Have you been to NY? What areas do you like?
I've been to NY several times yes, and do love it. I would prefer my own place and dont mind small/studio living either since it is just me. I would be open to roommates if there was enough space.. I definitely do not want to be cramped with strangers even if it saves me some $. I don't know much about living in the city.. but I know that I like the Park Slope/Bayridge area of Brooklyn.. I've seen a little of Sunset Park that was pretty decent, and some of Williamsburg. My fear is that I will be far from work and stuck on a train that isnt running lol.. so I dont want to be TOO farlol
Dear VANY, Unless you're willing to have one or more roommates, $1400 won't go far in the Greater NY area. Forget Manhattan altogether, as anything found at that price is likely to be GU (geographically undesirable) and/or dilapidated and perhaps no bigger than 200 square feet. That said, if I had to pick the likeliest place you'd find an apartment, I'd have to say parts of Queens, like Astoria, Jackson Heights, or Sunnyside. Much of Brooklyn, especially the nabes you mentioned, are probably going to be outside your budget as they've become "hot." Young people have been flocking to Bedford-Stuyvesant and Bushwick in recent years, which are pretty far east, although the commute is not too bad.
Park Slope is wonderful but $$$$. I lived there for 19 years. My first apartment was a Brownstone parlor floor-through for $750 a month--that was 1987. In 2000, I purchased a one-bedroom co-op with a a private roof deck for 225K. I sold it in 2006 for 517K. 600 square ft.
I don't know about you, but by 29 I was pretty fed up with the roommate thing and was willing to make some sacrifices with location just so I could be king of my castle.
It's cool that you'll be working at Bryant Park. The park is a gem and filled with things to do all year 'round. Great happy hours at the Bryant Park Cafe and Southwest Porch.
I have a couple of single, 30-something female friends who live in Sunnyside, Queens. The apartment stock is nice and they can afford to live there without a roommate. It's not as cool as Williamsburg or Park Slope but it's convenient and affordable. It's about as close as you can get to Midtown while living alone on your budget.
It's a lot quicker to get into Manhattan than Sunset Park.
Dear VANY, Unless you're willing to have one or more roommates, $1400 won't go far in the Greater NY area. Forget Manhattan altogether, as anything found at that price is likely to be GU (geographically undesirable) and/or dilapidated and perhaps no bigger than 200 square feet. That said, if I had to pick the likeliest place you'd find an apartment, I'd have to say parts of Queens, like Astoria, Jackson Heights, or Sunnyside. Much of Brooklyn, especially the nabes you mentioned, are probably going to be outside your budget as they've become "hot." Young people have been flocking to Bedford-Stuyvesant and Bushwick in recent years, which are pretty far east, although the commute is not too bad.
Park Slope is wonderful but $$$$. I lived there for 19 years. My first apartment was a Brownstone parlor floor-through for $750 a month--that was 1987. In 2000, I purchased a one-bedroom co-op with a a private roof deck for 225K. I sold it in 2006 for 517K. 600 square ft.
I don't know about you, but by 29 I was pretty fed up with the roommate thing and was willing to make some sacrifices with location just so I could be king of my castle.
It's cool that you'll be working at Bryant Park. The park is a gem and filled with things to do all year 'round. Great happy hours at the Bryant Park Cafe and Southwest Porch.
Good luck and welcome to Gotham!
Is Craigslist still the best resource for finding a spot with roommates and/or my own place? I have looked thru some ads over the last few days and most looks sketchy and leave me wondering.
I agree, at 29 I do not particularly want roommates.. so if i were to make sacrifices with location in order to be queen of my castle lol .. where should I look?
I am ok with a lil longer of a commute to work, but really do not want to have to change trains left and right, that is what I am trying to avoid.
I have a couple of single, 30-something female friends who live in Sunnyside, Queens. The apartment stock is nice and they can afford to live there without a roommate. It's not as cool as Williamsburg or Park Slope but it's convenient and affordable. It's about as close as you can get to Midtown while living alone on your budget.
It's a lot quicker to get into Manhattan than Sunset Park.
I am relocating from the Northern VA area to the NYC area. I am transferring with my company and will be working at the BofA Tower near Bryant Park. I am all over the place in terms of where to live ..from Jersey to BK to the city itself and need a bit of input please
I have family currently living in Kearny NJ .. took the PATH train into the city and it was surprisingly an easy commute. So, that is an option.. but I would prefer living a bit closer. Can you all let me know what areas of the city and Brooklyn or Queens would be a easy/decent commute into Bryant Park?
- Budget for rent and utilities only, not including other expenses: 1400/month
- Im 29/f/single like to be social, have drinks, dinner, browse around etc.. so I would ideally like to be in an area where I share the same demographics, but this is not a must. Safety for someone like myself would be important as well.
- I will be getting rid of my car
Anything else needed for info please let me know.. thank you all in advance!
I live on 38th St & Park Avenue. Are you jealous I'm less than 5 mins away from Bryant Park?!?! Lol!
Tons of places around Bryant park. You could get a roommate and possibly pay that much for a 1 bed converted into 2. It'll be small but you can find something around your job.
I think Sunnyside and Astoria are good bets for you. You'd likely have a one-year lease, and that's a good period of time to become acclimated to NYC and then you can decide if you'd prefer to live in a different neighborhood. Astoria is quickly becoming more cool, with restaurants and cafes (but they could use more bookstores). There's also Astoria Park (56 acres). If you can live near the last stop of the N/Q train (Ditmars Blvd), you'll always get a seat to work in the morning. You can ride it to Times Square and then walk a short block east to your office. The Astoria waterfront along the East River is slated for some major improvements.
Sunnyside lacks parks (as do many NYC hoods). The train there would be the 7 line, which would be a straight shot to the Bryant Park stop on 42nd St. Forget about getting a seat. And the cars on the older "IRT" line are shorter and narrower than the newer "BMT" or "IND" lines. Any train with a number is part of the old IRT system. I know, this is "TMI!"
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