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About the 40k- not an issue for me right now...I'm covered.I enjoy going out 3x a week, not necessarily to club those times. Maybe one night a theatre production, the next a club, then out to eat. I suppose I could commute one night, maybe two?I also will not be having a car in the city. I am selling before I move.So pretty much what everyone is telling me is-- Have 3-4k available for rent each month is you want to live in a trendy neighborhood and good building. No one has yet told me about the "safest" neighborhood... SoHo, Downtown, UWS?And from what everyone is saying...UWS seems to be a truly diverse place that is good for almost everyone. I have visited the UWS many times and I never see anything special going on with the nightlife?Does anyone have anything particularly special to say about E & W Villages?
For safety, stick with Greenwich Village and the West Village as parts of the East Village are still a little gritty as the definitions of EV vs. LES are a little nebulous, and it's easy to run into some edgier neighborhoods in that area. Much of it has turned around, just look at Union Square and neighboring areas as evidence of that, but there are still some areas that require more caution.
SoHo and TriBeCa are perfectly safe as are Greenwich and the West Village areas. The UWS is pretty safe, generally speaking, though closer to transitional areas, one does have to exercise more caution. The UES is traditionally a benchmark insofar as safety is concerned, but you want to weigh the trendiness of the area vs. safety, since some more avant garde areas may not be the safest. This applies more to Brooklyn than Manhattan, but there are pockets about which one would be concerned if safety is the primary consideration.
But, with the areas you're mentioning, I doubt you would have any cause for concern, especially if you stick to the more prime areas of each neighborhood in which to focus your search.
I love the East & West Villages. East is edgier, West is trendier, IMO, but I like it there a bit more than EV. Tree-lined streets with walk-ups and brownstones, it feels very suburbian to me, very neighborhood-y, which I adore. Tons of great restaurants in the Village. I adore The Spotted Pig, truly a hole-in-the-wall with great drinks and a world-famous burger. One of the reasons I love the West Village is because it feels so intimate and like a suburb in the middle of a big city, the streets are maze-like and its very easy to get lost. The Village is GREAT for little cafes and boutiques, consignment shops and restaurants, for sitting on your stoop with a coffee and chatting with the neighbors, etc.
Amazing shopping in the West Village, Bleecker St. dotted with those boutiques and more well known shops, like Marc by Marc Jacobs, close to the Meatpacking District (tons of clubs) or SoHo, depending on where in the WV you are situated.
As for "safest" . . . there's really nothing to say. Pretty much all of Manhattan south of Harlem is ridiculously safe. Any neighborhood you choose should be fine in regards to that. I think the last major crime I heard of downtown was a random rape in SoHo, some poor women getting followed off the subway at like 4am. But that was the only thing I can think of and it WAS late at night. I don't know what kind of crime you are worried about but if you're thinking random murders/rapes/armed robbery, as long as you're not moving to Brownsville or East New York, Brooklyn or nabes in the South Bronx, you really don't have to worry too much about that. Just carry some pepper spray with you at all times and be alert and you'll be A-OK.
I would keep that option open to get a good, real, 1BR apartment in a well-managed building, since at $4k you're closer to that range than you are at $3k. It's easy to spend close to $1k for a montly garage space in Lower Manhattan, albeit for an oversized vehicle, but still a regular car can run $700 without too much fuss.
I love the city, but even if I could afford these prices, I doubt that I would dump that kind of money... With all the convenience and trendiness, I find it hard to understand why people that work hard for the money do that. I read somewhere (maybe just a rumor) that Paula Zahn rented a penthouse for $40K. It always makes me smile when I read those....
I love the East & West Villages. East is edgier, West is trendier, IMO, but I like it there a bit more than EV. Tree-lined streets with walk-ups and brownstones, it feels very suburbian to me, very neighborhood-y, which I adore. Tons of great restaurants in the Village. I adore The Spotted Pig, truly a hole-in-the-wall with great drinks and a world-famous burger. One of the reasons I love the West Village is because it feels so intimate and like a suburb in the middle of a big city, the streets are maze-like and its very easy to get lost. The Village is GREAT for little cafes and boutiques, consignment shops and restaurants, for sitting on your stoop with a coffee and chatting with the neighbors, etc.
Amazing shopping in the West Village, Bleecker St. dotted with those boutiques and more well known shops, like Marc by Marc Jacobs, close to the Meatpacking District (tons of clubs) or SoHo, depending on where in the WV you are situated.
As for "safest" . . . there's really nothing to say. Pretty much all of Manhattan south of Harlem is ridiculously safe. Any neighborhood you choose should be fine in regards to that. I think the last major crime I heard of downtown was a random rape in SoHo, some poor women getting followed off the subway at like 4am. But that was the only thing I can think of and it WAS late at night. I don't know what kind of crime you are worried about but if you're thinking random murders/rapes/armed robbery, as long as you're not moving to Brownsville or East New York, Brooklyn or nabes in the South Bronx, you really don't have to worry too much about that. Just carry some pepper spray with you at all times and be alert and you'll be A-OK.
Whenever I visit, I'm always drawn more to the Village because of the shops (my job revolves around buying clothes), and I agree with a user that said that some parts of the EV are resembling the Lower East Side (which is somewhere I don't want to be).
And by looking at apartments online all day yesterday, I have come to the conclusion it isn't worth living in SoHo. I mean, I can't find any decent apartments for a decent price and I just don't find living there worth it.
Yeah, you guessed it...haha random murders/rape/robberies. I guess since a lot of threads on here focus on crime, I though there was a great amount of it. But thank goodness not a lot in Manhattan. I've watched too much Law & Order.
I'll definitly check out The Spotted Pig!
So now I'm looking at: West Village, Tribeca, and maybe UWS. Three neighborhoods very very different.
I'm moving to Manhattan in March and I am still looking for a place to live. Commute to my future job will not matter to me. (but, my job is in Midtown) I want to find a place that fits my lifestyle. I've heard that the neighborhoods aren't as "unique" as they once were, and hopefully that isn't true.
I want a neighborhood that is safe (I've heard the Upper East Side is the "safest"...?). I know each neighborhood will have some sort of crime, but I would prefer a neighborhood that isn't KNOWN for it.
I wouldn't mind living in a "trendy" neighborhood such as SoHo.
I can have maximum rent up to 3000 a month.
I enjoy going to clubs up to three times a week
I mainly shop at nice stores such as Bendel's or Saks.
I love eating out as much as possible.
I'm an "artsy" person...I enjoy jazz clubs, painting, theatre.
I'm not really looking at an "influenced" area..such as Little Italy or Chinatown.
And, I do not want to live on the Lower East Side. Does that narrow it down? haha
Thanks everyone ahead of time and each person's input will be GREATLY appreciated!
Oh yeah, and I HAVE been to the city many, many times because my parents have an apartment they spend every winter in. So, I know the "feel" of the city and each neighborhood. When I'm there I never spend time in just on neighborhood...and I don't have a personal favorite.
I agree Chelsea is worth looking into but it is expensive, SoHo style. Good luck stephieo!
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