Astoria or Bay Ridge? (Whitehall: rentals, big home, transfer)

[aj2007]

Which neighborhood do you prefer? Why did you pick the one you did and why did you not pick the other one? Which is a safer area? Which is more convientient. I'm looking at rentals for studios around 1,000 a month.

[mae12]

I live in Astoria for 7 years and love it!
it is close to the city (10minutes to Manhattan),it is safe, diverse, lots of shops, restaurants, gyms, bakeries, etc.
A studio for $1000 yes but it is hard to find them.You will see many 1bed for around $1200.
Bayrigde is also a nice area.

[StrawberryOctober]

Both areas are safe, it really comes down to personal preference.
Also, your commute may make one more appealing over the other, depending where you work.
Go visit both areas and you will probably get a feel rather quickly of which place is more of a fit for you. I knew right away.

[roseba]

Astoria? What is Astoria? I see it defined as so many things, along Steinway (R train) and on the N line? Where exactly is Astoria?

Anyway, Bayridge is a very nice place to live.

[circa62]

Both areas are very nice but as someone else mentioned in this thread its up to your preference. Astoria is very very diverse where you have all types of restaurants, bars and people whereas Bayridge has a little more of a big home town feel to it that has lots of Bars/pubs and restaurants to hang out in. Bayridge is a bit further away from NYC but the subway will get you into the city in 15 minutes.

[mae12]

roseba, come to Astoria and educate yourself. You might just want to move here too.

[BornAndBredInNYC]

Originally Posted by aj2007

Which neighborhood do you prefer? Why did you pick the one you did and why did you not pick the other one? Which is a safer area? Which is more convientient. I'm looking at rentals for studios around 1,000 a month.

If I had to compare, I personally would pick Astoria, although parts of Bay Ridge are very nice. I can't comment on the safety question about Bay Ridge because I really don't know, but Astoria overall is pretty safe. The only area that I would consider not to be safe is the Ditmars Blvd area by Astoria Park. Very isolated. Astoria is also more convienient (sp?) the N train runs here from Queensborough Plaza up to Ditmars Blvd and 31st Street- and then you have the R/V/G trains that run up along the Northern Blvd area...you also have shopping, cafes, restaurants, bars, great food, and a good mix of different cultures of people. The area is mostly Greek, some Indian, Columbian, Mexican....a huge mix. If you're looking in this area, there are lots of older buildings that might be around that price range- but I think you'll probably have better luck in a prvate house, maybe a basement? Just so you know, I am familiar with Bay Ridge (I grew up in Brooklyn, although not in Bay Ridge) and my sister lives not far from there. Its a little bit far travel wise for me, but who knows...maybe you'll like it better there. My advice would be to come to Astoria...maybe go to Steinway Street and walk around...see if you like the area. Take the R/V train to the Steinway Street subway station which will leave you right on Broadway. If you work in Manhattan, its only about 20 minutes to the midtown area..and the mornings are very quick. If you need any other info, please post and let me know- I'll give you any info that you want. Take care and good luck in your search!!!!

[Marlin331]

They are both safe, diverse, relatively affordable areas with some notable differences:

Astoria is much closer to Midtown; the N takes you to 59th/Lex in a matter of minutes. For this good location, rents are higher than in Bay Ridge. There are lots of young people starting to move to the area and it has several bars/restaurants to reflect that. With that said, although there are no "bad" parts of Astoria, some areas coud be cleaner and better maintained. A $1000 studio in Astoria will be small, but probably in a decent building.

Bay Ridge is closer to Staten Island than it is to Midtown, and its prices are fairly low to reflect this distance. There are a lot of families and couples living in the area due to the good public and private schools. There are plenty of shops and restaurants, but not a huge nightlife scene. I would say that Bay Ridge is physically more well-kept and attractive than Astoria. You could definitely find a NICE studio for under $1000/month in Bay Ridge.

[holden125]

Originally Posted by crisp444

They are both safe, diverse, relatively affordable areas with some notable differences:

Astoria is much closer to Midtown; the N takes you to 59th/Lex in a matter of minutes. For this good location, rents are higher than in Bay Ridge. There are lots of young people starting to move to the area and it has several bars/restaurants to reflect that. With that said, although there are no "bad" parts of Astoria, some areas coud be cleaner and better maintained. A $1000 studio in Astoria will be small, but probably in a decent building.

Bay Ridge is closer to Staten Island than it is to Midtown, and its prices are fairly low to reflect this distance. There are a lot of families and couples living in the area due to the good public and private schools. There are plenty of shops and restaurants, but not a huge nightlife scene. I would say that Bay Ridge is physically more well-kept and attractive than Astoria. You could definitely find a NICE studio for under $1000/month in Bay Ridge.

I have lived on and off in Bay Ridge for a number of years and have a lot of family there. I generally agree with the post above and think the major differences are:

-Astoria is much closer to midtown (15 minutes vs 1 hour) but Bay Ridge is probably slightly closer to lower Manhattan (it took me 25-30 minutes to Whitehall St).
-I also think Bay Ridge is more attractive on the whole and has everything from brownstones to mansions mixed in there
-There are a lot of bars and some clubs in Bay Ridge, but you'd find that they're populated mostly with local people (meaning native people), while Astoria has a much larger 20-something transplant population and the nightlife reflects that
-There are no "bad parts" of Astoria except you could be VERY far from the trains along 31st St. and that would make an easy commute a real pain. The same is true in Bay Ridge to a slightly lesser extent.
-I have had a rough time getting back to Bay Ridge late at night because the cab ride is a bit pricy ($30+ from midtown) and the R runs only on a shuttle. So you have to take something else (generally the D or N) and then transfer. Sometimes it's quick, sometimes you wait 20 minutes for each train and the trip is 2 hours. The N also runs local through lower Manhattan instead of over the bridge when it's very late

[NooYowkur81]

I've barely been in either, but out of the two I would prefer Astoria. A little more diverse and also closer to midtown Manhattan.