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I already know the neighborhoods, thanks. Maybe I should be more specific I'm thinking Midtown, Tribeca, Greenwich Village (both east and west), and Murray Hill. What I really wanna know is what each area is known for and what each has to offer.
Most college graduates cannot afford these areas as these are among our most expensive where some of the world's wealthiest people live. Unless the parents will be paying the bills or you're replacing Ashley Dupree at her old gig.
TriBeCa is trendy, with varied architecture and a downtown feel. Long since "discovered," TriBeCa is now one of the most expensive residential districts in the city, and its zip code, 10013, is one of the most expensive in the country. It's a great mix of shops, restaurants, commercial, and residential buildings in a district that had been overlooked for development until the 1960s-1970s. Today, there's not a huge difference in downtown enclaves, save for divisions by street, and TriBeCa, SoHo, NoHo, NoLita, etc. are all trendy and hip locales in the downtown scene. I saw in an earlier post the type of apartment you are seeking, and it's not realistic in TriBeCa, since you could easily pay upwards of $7000/mo for a 2BR.
The Village used to be a bohemian place, but now is very similar to other highly valued Manhattan real estate. It's a residential area, with small scale commercial development. There are arrays of experimental theatre, trendy restaurants, and botiques that, mixed with distinctive residential buildings, constitute the majority of today's Village. I am not sure what you meant by East Greenwich Village, since The Village begins at Broadway and heads west. The East Village is not affiliated with Greenwich Village, save for being a term coined in the 1960s to try to capture some of the cachet of Greenwich Village.
The East Village is Houston to 14th on the east side of Manhattan and includes a colorful history of the beat generation, punk rock scene, Alphabet City, an earlier arts scene (though that has declined dramatically as prices crept upward). The East Village is carved out of what was traditionally part of the Lower East Side.
Midtown is the central business district of Manhattan, using the traditional and broad definition of 31st to 59th as Midtown, which includes residential enclaves such as Murray Hill, Chelsea, Clinton (aka Hell's Kitchen or Midtown West), Tudor City, Kips and Turtle Bays, etc. It's a vast area known for everything from theatre to fashion to restaurants to shopping. It's a mix of everything. You mentioned Murray Hill, which is on the eastside of Midtown and is a residential neighborhood, which was a quiet enclave, but has changed a little bit to include restaurants and nightlife on 3rd; though this is not as vibrant as the club scene style nightlife in more trendy areas. Within the defined neighborhoods of Midtown, prices will vary greatly from other buildings that are mixed in with more of the commercial structures since many businesses that support the residential structures are not as prevalent in parts of the area.
Not to beat you with a wet noodle, but if you did NOT say at the outset that you wanted information about Manhattan neighborhoods and that price was not a primary consideration, you wouldn't have been barraged my a bunch of well-meaning New Yorkers - who recognize how recent pop culture perpetuates a myth that the average twentysomething can snag a livable Manhattan apartment - trying to reign you in with a reality check.
Kudos to anyone who recognized and brought to your attention how 90% of your building choices would be eliminated regardless of your financial wherewithal because you have a dog - that information does not occur to many suburban dog owners and is not as easily researchable as neighborhood information.
As to which neighborhood? I didn't reread this thread but I'm assuming you want what everyone wants in terms of a Manhattan neighborhod - safe, quiet but with an artistic and possibly academic bent with nightlife not across the street but around the corner, and an easy commute to work, particularly if you both work in different parts of Manhattan. For me if you have a liberal budget and/or helpful parents/inlaws, pick Lower Fifth Avenue (below 14th Street). Good luck with that!
Actually, I reread your initial post and see that you wanted to live in midtown. Here's some musings on the subject, with some fantasy addresses to boot.
POSSIBLY YOUR BEST BET - ALONG THE EAST RIVER
"Hospital Row" - York and First Avenues from 60th to 70th (which still puts you in or near midtown) will have good deals ($4K a month would give you a nice 1BR in a nice building, though there's the dog question). But it's a FANTASTIC neighborhood for dog owners - great walking along the river on the Esplanade (waterfront park), a new dog run being built on 63rd on the East River. Kind of tough having a dog in the city though, the only people worse than the joggers who can be vicious if they have to deviate a degree from their route to accomodate you are other dog owners at the runs suffering from "not MY kid!" syndrome.
MIDTOWN 57TH STREET
Almost anywhere on 57th Street is good. The Parc Vendome is a fantastic prewar condo with easy non-restrictive subletting. Neighborhood still a tad sketchy (but SAFE) but it's on 57th Street.
MIDTOWN 42ND STREET
Tudor City. A bit east, apartments a bit small, but it's an oasis in the city.
MIDTOWN EAST
If money is no object and you want something with a really nice residential, neighborhood feel, shoot for Beekman Place or Sutton Place, preferably a townhouse rental. It's up to you to determine whether you want to deal with board interviews for a coop sublet. But then just because River House, the most exclusive building in Manhattan, turned down Kissinger doesn't mean they'll turn you down! What's bad about these areas is that they're in the UN area, far east in the high 40s low 50s (streets), a few blocks from the action. Better deals might be found a bit west of 2nd ave.
MIDTOWN WEST
On a budget? Midtown West (Hell's Kitchen) was traditionally a poor neighborhood filled with tenements where you might snag a deal, i.e. a 600sf "two bedroom" tenement walkup that was formerly $500 a month until the landlord slapped on some $12sf carerra marble and particle board kitchen cabinets, phonied up some bills to make it seem that he spent $12K on renovations instead of $2K and got the rent stabilization board to jack the rent to $1900 a month. (STANDARD practice with a lot of managing agents. I'd name names, but...) There are also lots of new luxury high rise rentals in that area, so perhaps there are deals to be had, i.e. 1BRs for $2,500/mo, a couple of free month's rent or other incentives (DISCLAIMER: I'm a few years out of date on rental rates). The big draw - proximity to great and cheap restaurants and theatre.
WHERE I'D LIVE IF MONEY WERE NO OBJECT
Not midtown, except perhaps for Central Park South, The Sherry Netherland, etc. (I know, I'm a sport.)
Central Park West, Fifth Ave, Park Ave & Madison avenues, Riverside Drive/West End Avenue.
Downtown? I'm old school. Stick me in a doorman building (1 or 2 Fifth Avenue?) between 9th and 12th street on Fifth Avenue or University Place anyday. Or a townhouse between 6th and Fifth - if I could afford the townhouse I could afford the staff. I always found Chelsea too dirty and Tribeca too remote (back in the bad old nineties), much prefer Soho. Oh yeah, I'd do the Friends apartment on Perry Street in the West Village even though it's a walkup - if it weren't what, $5K per month in rent?
Many people like me DO like apartment living. Do I want to rake leaves (or pay someone to do it), shovel sidewalks, worry about the roof or do (or even think about) gardening??? NO WAY!!!!
Gramercy, Greenwich, Chelsea, Upper East Side (54-72nd 2-3rd avenues), Anywhere between 18th St. and 29th Street (2nd thru 5th avenue or
5-7th Ave is usually fine in general. All very nice, very convenient to everything, but you will pay. But, for a woman or young couple, it's worth it for sure.
**Areas to avoid at late at night Lower East Side (Alphabet City (Avenues A-z, etc), and anything above 79th street (but, with NYC, it's subjective to the person--so a guy might be able to find a nice deal with a bit of grit and character and do well in LES or upper ManH)
Many people like me DO like apartment living. Do I want to rake leaves (or pay someone to do it), shovel sidewalks, worry about the roof or do (or even think about) gardening??? NO WAY!!!!
I agree! A friend of mine just bought a house down south- great size, huge backyard. I was waking around it wondering if maybe I would want to have something like that in the future. Then I walked into the 2 car garage and saw bags of insect killer/pesticide with all kind of funky looking critters. Her grass goes all the way to the house (some people at least have concrete in between the house and the yard). That's when I knew I'd prefer to live somewhere without those kinds of headaches.
How bout Inwood? Yeah, a little out of the way in the boonies... but it's the best of both worlds... you have the tough gritty feel on one side, and semi-suburban on the other. Look into places on Indian Road, Isham St to 218th St, Seaman Ave... those are prime locations. If you're gutsy, you can get more bang for your buck in grittier east of Broadway.
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I know I don't! if I have to I do but if not I would get a house i a heartbeat!
