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I am writing a novel that takes place in the mid-60's. My female protagonist has been in (then) Tanganyika for some time before moving back to the states. She lacks money, is white, and has two black children (it's a long story how that came about!). She has a job as a French-English translator for a fictional publishing house. Where might she plausibly live? She needs a pretty cheap place either close to the publisher (were they mostly in Manhattan?) or easily reached by bus or subway. Remember, it's 1965. Thanks for your input.
Most of the publishing industry was, indeed, centered in Manhattan for a long time. In 1965, let me see...your protagonist might well have been living in the East Village. Perhaps even Chelsea. Neither of those neighborhoods had much of a reputation in the 60s (or perhaps I should put it this way: their reputations weren't all that good!) and they would've been fairly cheap. Now that I think about it, you could also add the Lower East Side to that list.
I am writing a novel that takes place in the mid-60's. My female protagonist has been in (then) Tanganyika for some time before moving back to the states. She lacks money, is white, and has two black children (it's a long story how that came about!). She has a job as a French-English translator for a fictional publishing house. Where might she plausibly live? She needs a pretty cheap place either close to the publisher (were they mostly in Manhattan?) or easily reached by bus or subway. Remember, it's 1965. Thanks for your input.
Chelsea was a very Hispanic area back then. I think the East Village would have been better suited. Cheaper than the West Village, a little more run down back then, but this was the era of the hippies and the East Village was more avant garde back then. It was a diverse place, in very many ways, and your protagonist would have been at home there.
Now that I think about it, the Upper West Side would've been a good choice, too. It wasn't nearly as fancy 40 years ago as it is today. In fact, it was even slightly undesirable! Difficult to imagine these days, but perfectly true.
Now that I think about it, the Upper West Side would've been a good choice, too. It wasn't nearly as fancy 40 years ago as it is today. In fact, it was even slightly undesirable! Difficult to imagine these days, but perfectly true.
HMMM...I grew up there, 40 years ago I would have been a 9-year-old. I wouldn't say it was slightly undesirable unless you are talking about very specific blocks, like where the notorious SRO (Single Room Occupancy) hotels were, or the projects, or some not-so-great tenements. Central Park West was very desirable and upscale, and Riverside Drive and West End Ave were mostly very nice. It was a lot cheaper than today, even taking inflation into consideration. I think the Upper West Side would fit the bill, except the upscale part like CPW.
Too late to edit my post so I'll add: The truth is despite having grown up here, I really can't answer the question, as I would have been 6 years old in 1965, and not in a position to understand where your fictional family would have lived. I'll tell you this: when my parents moved here in the mid-to-late 1950's, they had no money, and lived on the Lower East Side. Then they got a bit of a better place in Yorkville, but nothing fancy at all. As my dad started to make better money we moved first to a decent place on Riverside Drive, then in 1967 to a nice pre-war on West End Avenue.
Also, since you used the word "plausible" and didn't make it a condition that your protagonist live in Manhattan...much of The Bronx would've fit the bill in 1965. Especially since both the East and West Sides of Manhattan are directly accessible via subway from The Bronx.
Gee. You guys make New York circa 1965 sound downright affordable.
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I lived in Chelsea in the 60s
