NYC people?

Hey guys have been away for a while, busy with work. Well sadly I am getting transferred to NYC(no offense to anyone). I am working between Chicago and DC right now, and have been to NY a lot.

So knowing there are some CPFers from NY, I hope you can answer some Qs.

I have been researching, but what are decent areas to live in? I have 2 cars(need/use them for work). I will be around Manhattan, but don't care to live in the city. I drive in everyday. Trying to keep rent as cheap as possible. Need a place for 1 person.

Thanks!

Brooklyn has some of the coolest areas. Somewhat cheaper than Manhattan, and a little more car friendly.
Parts of Queens are very nice, less expensive and even more friendly to cars.
After that, at least in the easterly direction is Long Island. Classic suburb.
Then there's north and west of Manhattan, which I don't know about.
Good luck.

Occasionally you'll find a good deal on rent by looking at the classified. Other than that, rents are pretty high here relative to the rest of the country but definitely much less in the outer boroughs as opposed to Manhattan.

I will be around Manhattan, but don't care to live in the city. I drive in everyday. Trying to keep rent as cheap as possible. Need a place for 1 person.

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If your job will take you into Manhattan every day then try to get a place within walking distance of a subway. Forget driving into Manhattan from one of the outer boroughs. Parking in Manhattan is very costly, and there's just no point driving in regardless. It takes longer to drive than to go by train most of the time (the exception being in the dead of night when there's not as much traffic).

Also, before you choose a place to live, get some rough idea of your commute time. It varies widely depending upon which lines you'll be taking, and is not necessarily dependent upon distance. For example, a 10 mile commute involving taking a bus to a subway line with all local stops could take well over an hour. The same distance commute if you're within walking distance of an express train might only take 25 to 30 minutes. Bottom line is that since commuting is something you'll be doing a lot, it pays to move somewhere to minimize your commute time.

As for decent places to live, most parts of Queens are OK. Brooklyn and the Bronx have gotten a bad rap in the past, but many parts are enjoying a resurgence. That being said, there are still "rough" areas in these boroughs. If you let us know where you'll be thinking of moving we can fill you in as to whether or not it's a desireable area.

Some of the northern parts of the Bronx are not too bad anymore. Plus in the more northern part parking would be easier. I would stay away from south bronx. If you are set on driving in then you can live in Yonkers or some place nearby.

I don't know what your job is or why you need to drive in 2 cars for work, but most people would suggest getting a place near to a subway line. Brooklyn is a good place to live with a lot of recent growth, but you have to check out the neighborhood first. Some places in Brooklyn are still pretty getto. Queens is OK.

I lived in Forest Hills, Queens for a few years before I moved into the upper east side of Manhattan and cant think of a better place - I still miss it at times.

It is gorgeous, charming, safe, great restaurants, inexpensive (relatively) and is on the E express subway line into the city AND has a long island railroad stop into penn station. Check out Parker Towers.

Definitely give it a serious look.

Advance welcome to the center of the universe!

Welcome to the Big Apple, IcantC!

It's all relative, I've lived in Queens, Manhattan and Westchester, all have nice parts and not so nice parts, depends on what you can afford.

With cars, perhpas you want Queens or maybe across the Hudson in Jersey. Take the subway or Path train into work.

If you have no school age kids, Yonkers is undergoing a renaissance, new apartments on the river, cool restaurants, 26 minutes from station to Grand Central.

cheers,
daloosh

bullfrog said:

I lived in Forest Hills, Queens for a few years before I moved into the upper east side of Manhattan and cant think of a better place - I still miss it at times.

It is gorgeous, charming, safe, great restaurants, inexpensive (relatively) and is on the E express subway line into the city AND has a long island railroad stop into penn station. Check out Parker Towers.

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I live in Forest Hills.

I've lived or spent a substantial amount of time all around Queens (Astoria, Jackson Heights, Flushing) as well as Brooklyn and Staten Island... and I lived for 5 years in Manhattan.

I can tell you that there is no better place to live in NYC than Forest Hills. It's a wonderful mix of some rather wealthy people, and middle class. Has good food, shopping areas, and is VERY VERY safe. As a matter of fact, the only thing that stopped it from being the safest area in NYC last year, was the fact that we had 1 (one) murder... where a woman had her husband killed.

I live pretty much across from Parker Towers, actually, and I love it. It's clean, safe (cops are less than 5 min away), and pretty... with the most parking space I've ever seen in NYC (due to a large number of private houses in addition to apartment buildings).

The rents are far from being the cheapest in NYC, but they are competitive, and the area makes up for it. If you're going to drive, there are a number of garages available, and there's sufficient street parking as well (might need to walk a few blocks). I haven't had trouble parking my car. If you're going to drive, Manhattan is as little as 16 minutes away (via Long Island Expressway and Midtown Tunnel) if there's no traffic. I normally take the express bus ($5 buys you a 20-25 minute comfortable seated ride into Manhattan)... and I only drive late at night or early in the morning (due to work emergencies), because of the difficulty and cost of parking in Manhattan.

If I had to choose, I wouldn't live in New York at all... but since I have to live here until I finish my degree, I can't think of a better place.

try the suburbs, i live in greenwich and love it here, 5 mins from the boarder of new york and and 20 mins to nyc with no traffic.

I agree with all the comments so far about Forest Hills. I see the area whenever I board the E/F trains. Never lived there (couldn't afford the rents) but I might consider it if I could. It has a certain old world charm combined with big city atmosphere. Regarding transportation, the LIRR does stop there but trains aren't very frequent. Running time to Penn Station is 15 minutes. However, the Forest Hills LIRR station is a great spot for railfanning if you're into that sort of thing (obviously I am). The E/F are really the best bet as both run frequently and get into Manhattan in about 18 minutes (add another 5 to 10 minutes if traveling to Manhattan between 8 and 9 AM or from Manhattan between 5 and 6 PM). This hands down beats the express bus and costs only $1.75 each way (base fare is $2 but you get 15% added if you buy $7 or more in rides at one time). You'll even have a fair chance of getting a seat if you're traveling off-peak

try out the Bensonhurst area in Brooklyn.
expect to spend $500/mo. for a room and lots of parking spaces.
The only gotcha to city living is the darn street cleaning rules!:shakehead
If you aren't mindful of the schedule, those tickets pile up fast!

If your budget permits, you could try the Bay Ridge area close by
and pay almost double for the same size room...or find a sane
hygiene minded person to split a $1400/mo. apt.

If I had a choice for NYC, Forest Hills would be in my top 3 choices
to live.

Sorry if this wasn't helpful, I'm busy concentrating on getting OUT
of NYC!!!:nana:

jtr1962 said:

I agree with all the comments so far about Forest Hills... It has a certain old world charm combined with big city atmosphere.

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Old world charm is a PERFECT way to describe Forest Hills.

Between the tennis center (that used to be the home of the US Open) the "gardens" (an area of FH with gorgeous brick homes with lawns) and the stores on Austin street, it has always seemed "magical" in a sense to me compared to the rest of NYC - it has an air of 1920s glamor to it... I know that sounds crazy but its the truth :tinfoil:

Maybe I missed it, but has he told us where he's working yet or when and how he's using these two cars for work? Is he just using them to get there and home, or does he need to drive around picking up medical waste or something? What price range are you looking for? How long will you be here?

Plenty of good advice already given.

Definitely check out Queens. Sad to say, but it has more safer neighborhoods than Brooklyn and the Bronx. And Queens is very car-friendly.

Forgot Manhattan entirely. Soho is basically a trendy ghetto with ridiculous prices. Insane prices for rent in Manhattan is as common as dirt.