<p>S is moving to NYC for a new job. He is interested in a neighborhood that is quiet but within walking distance to a bookstore, coffee shop, cleaner, deli and places for takeout food. His office is in midtown and he prefers to have a place within a short walk to the 6 train station.</p>
<p>These are the neighborhoods that have been mentioned to me, Murray Hill, midtown east, upper east side. That’s a wide area. Do you have a favorite neighborhood?
In addition, if you have a recommendation for a rental broker who is very good (listen to criteria, does some homework before showing places) please PM me.</p>
<p>The beauty of NYC is that this describes almost every neighborhood. Quiet, however, is a block-by-block matter. My favorite neighborhood is the West Village, but where he lives will be a function of his budget. I hope it’s a very well-paying job!</p>
<p>[NYC</a> Rentals, Manhattan Apartments & Rentals In New York City, Brooklyn, Queens And The Bronx](<a href=“http://streeteasy.com/nyc/rentals]NYC”>NYC Apartments for Rent | StreetEasy) is the best place I know of to look for a rental apartment, and to see what’s available in different neighborhoods (often with no broker’s fee). (Try the advanced search option.) There are also discussion forums, in which people talk about neighborhoods, brokers, etc.</p>
<p>I grew up on the Upper East Side, but it isn’t quite as lively as the Upper West Side, although obviously the 6 train runs right through it. As you’ll see if you search for apartments there, they aren’t exactly inexpensive, unless perhaps your son would be happy with a walk up, or a really tiny apartment, and wouldn’t mind being all the way East, over on First or York. Which can be quite a trek to the subway on Lex!</p>
<p>Further down on the East Side, like in the 40’s and 50’s, is, I believe, generally less expensive.</p>
<p>There are coffee shops, cleaners, and delis everywhere in Manhattan! Bookstores, though, are way less common than they used to be. The nearest Barnes & Noble is often the only option.</p>
<p>I’m about to move to Washington Heights, which is the Upper Upper Upper West Side – but still only about a 40 minute commute to my office, which is near 5th Avenue in the 40’s.</p>
<p>I don’t know if your son is looking to live alone, or is amenable to Craigslist-type roommate situations. My son moved into an apartment share at 105th and Columbus in March and LOVES the neighborhood. He has 3 roommates whom he did not know beforehand and is very happy with his situation. The neighborhood has all your son is looking for (don’t know about the bookstore, though Columbia is only a few blocks north), but the commute will be a bit longer from the West Side, echoing DonnaL’s comment. My son works at 20th and Park and his commute takes about 25-30 minutes…</p>
<p>By the way, I meant to say that the 30’s and 40’s are less expensive on the East Side, not the 40’s and 50’s. The 50’s aren’t technically part of the Upper East Side (which begins on 59th), and are less residential unless you go pretty far to the east, but I think they’re closer to the Upper East Side in cost than the 30’s and 40’s are. At least, they were the last time I looked.</p>
<p>Thanks for the site Donna, I had forgotten to look there. I was getting a bit discouraged looking at craigslist and NY Times listings because there are so many realtors spamming the ads, although I’ve gotten good results in other cities. NYC is altogether a different animal. The pictures featured are often not the real thing, same pictures posted repeatedly for different listings.</p>
<p>Son’s office is 50th/Park so east side is better but east of 2nd Ave may be too far of a hike to the subway since he starts work at 7AM though I like the ambiance of plentiful neighborhood shops along First and Second Aves.</p>
<p>Though upper east side is more quiet, he may like the proximity (within a block) of neighborhood shops in other areas.</p>
<p>If I were moving to Manhattan, I like the area around Greenwich Village or Soho. It has the charm of older buildings, trendy shops, etc. I am not sure where you get groceries besides 6th or 7th ave, but who eats at home in Manhattan? I like the lower rise of buildings in general, and more sunlight gets to the streets (for the times that you can be out and about.) I lived for years on the upper east side, and it has everything on your list, but it is a bit more staid than the Village or Soho or Upper West Side. People get to the offices on Park Ave. from all over Manhattan, so I wouldn’t recommend just limiting life to the #6 subway. You can walk from Upper East to Park Ave, which is a big plus in my book (no subway is the best commute). There are also lower rise buildings thrown in with the tall ones, so it is not just a canyon of big buildings. It is for that very reason that Murray Hill and Midtown are unappealing for residential purposes. There is little light at the street level due to big buildings much of the time. This is important to me, but not everyone feels this way. I think the 20’s on the East side are somewhat cheaper than 60’s and 70’s and have access to #6, and lower buildings too, and might be worth checking out.</p>
<p>Are there still all those singles bars on the Upper East Side, on 1st and 2d Avenues in the 60’s and 70’s – like there used to be in the 1960’s and 1970’s? Not that I know if your son has any interest in that kind of thing, cbreeze!</p>
<p>Besides places like that, the Upper East Side has always been pretty quiet.</p>
<p>Unless he anticipates that his renumeration from his job will be considerable, most of the hip neighborhoods in Manhattan for recent graduates will be unaffordable. Think about the Wall Street area where several office buildings have been converted to apartments in recent years. Even there, he’d likely need to share with roommates since last I heard, one BRs in the area go for at least 2K. Wall Street tends to be cheaper because there are few neighborhood amenities [BECAUSE NOBODY LIVES DOWN THERE, LOL!!!] But many young folks do share apartments in the Wall Street area. The just like to party further uptown. City officials have tried to ‘residentialize’ lower Manhattan in recent years. The pluses essentially add up to the fact that from lower Manhattan, you’re likely to have a commute no longer than 15 minutes on the subway to any location south of
59th Street</p>
<p>About the Upper East Side being quiet – my brother lives on 2nd Ave., and the noise and disruption from the subway construction is just too much; it’s so bad that he’s thinking of moving. So avoid 2nd Ave!</p>
<p>I would agree that almost every neighborhood in Manhattan meets your description. He might want to check out Stuyvesant Town, or anything near Union Square. I love the greenmarket there. Also consider the East Village or the Lower East Side. </p>
<p>If I could live anywhere, though, I would choose either Greenwich Village or the Upper West Side. I used to live on the Upper West Side and work on the Upper East Side. I commuted on a cross-town bus. It was actually much nicer than the subway.</p>
<p>He might also want to look at areas in Brooklyn, especially Brooklyn Heights. It’s a beautiful neighborhood, and the #6 train stops at one edge of it. The west side trains – the IRT #s 2 & 3 – stop at another part of Brooklyn Heights, so it is very, very easy to get to any part of Manhattan from Brooklyn Heights. I lived there when I first graduated from college, and it always felt to me like an extension of Manhattan. Really, check it out, it’s a wonderful neighborhood.</p>
<p>I second the vote for Brooklyn Heights, but have to correct SodiumFree-- the #6 train does not stop in Brooklyn at all. However, you can get the 4 or 5 (express trains) in be in midtown in 15 minutes.</p>
<p>Listen to someone who lives in Manhattan. He does not need to live west of 2nd Ave. First Avenue to the subway on Lexington is 7-8 minutes - 0.35 miles. He can handle that. </p>
<p>The 2nd Ave subway construction is only at the expected stations - 72nd St., 86th St., 96th St., +/- 2-3 blocks. </p>
<p>If living where there is a no-connection subway to work is important, he can live in </p>
<ul>
<li><p>the Upper East for a bigger apt for the money (there are plenty, plenty of bars on 2nd and 1st, especially as you go up past 72nd) (6 line);</p></li>
<li><p>East Village for a hipper part of town (6 line);</p></li>
<li><p>Murray Hill to be around his post-college comrades (6 line);</p></li>
<li><p>Hells’ Kitchen (and take the E to 53rd/Madison);</p></li>
<li><p>Greenwich Village or SoHo or Lower East (and take the V [turning into the M in June] to 53rd/Madison).</p></li>
</ul>
<p>If you want to save the ransom brokers charge (10-15% of annual rent or 1.5x monthly rent) and you’re ok with living in a modernish building, call the management companies directly- find their numbers on the web. Try nybits.com. Harder to do with walk-ups.</p>
<p>momoschki, you are of course correct about it being the 4 or 5, not the 6. (My excuses: it’s been a long day and I am tired, plus it has been many years since I lived in Brooklyn Heights!) </p>
<p>But that is not a problem, actually, because as momoschki pointed out, the 4 and 5 express trains do stop in Brooklyn Heights, and are much quicker than a local train. The 6, which is the local, starts (or stops, depending on which direction you’re heading) at the Brooklyn Bridge stop in Manhattan. So if your S’s workplace is near a #6 train stop, and he does not want to walk from the nearest 4 or 5 express stop, he would just switch to the #6 train at Brooklyn Bridge (or later). He will not have any commuting problems from living in Brooklyn Heights as opposed to Manhattan. </p>
<p>I commuted from Brooklyn Heights to Manhattan for three years, and it was fine.</p>
<p>I just want to throw this out there. I love the Upper West side and the Lincoln Center area. I work very close to where your son works (a little further west but still on the East side) and, after living on the Upper West Side for almost two years, I made a conscious choice to stay there when I moved, even though more and slightly cheaper options were available on the Upper East Side. I think you can easily take the 1 and then take a cross-town bus or walk to Park. I really don’t think it would be more than a 15-minute walk.</p>
<p>I like that the Upper West Side is more lively. It’s hard to describe, but it has a different vibe. To me, it’s worth it. Also, I feel that everything else is easier to get to from the West Side (everything from Times Square to Port Authority/Penn Station and other destinations). The East Side only has the 4,5,6, while the West Side has 1,2,3 and A,B,C.</p>
<p>Sodium, I grew up taking the 86th St. xtown bus to school every day. The subway is faster when you’re going up or downtown, but I always took buses whenever I had the time. You get to see the city as you ride, and it’s generally a much more pleasant experience.</p>
<p>Your S shouldn’t limit his options to the east side just because his office is 50/Park. Even from the furthest west subway, it will be at most a 10 minute walk to Park (I know, I walk from 50th/7th to 1st ave sometimes and it takes me 15-20 minutes but I walk fast). Walking is actually one of the fastest ways to get around in Manhattan. Often, I will not bother to transfer in the subway and will walk the extra blocks, which saves me time and is much more predictable. </p>
<p>Someone mentioned Brooklyn Heights. It is indeed a beautiful neighborhood but very expensive now. You can actually find cheaper places in Manhattan. If price is a big consideration, I would suggest Long Island City, just over the East River in Queens. The train ride from LIC to Grand Central is something like 5 minutes! It may not be to his liking but he should at least check it out. There are a lot of young people living there now.</p>
<p>There are reasonably priced apartments in the Columbia U. neighborhood too, which is in Morningside Heights. North of 96th St on the west side will get you the best deals. It’s a lively area, lots of restaurants, bars, food shopping, book stores. One of the best bookstores in the city is on 112th off Broadway (next to a post office), Book Culture.</p>
<p>A lot of great suggestions, thanks. I will branch out a bit more to include the west side too. What is the neighborhood around Hell’s Kitchen like? It seems convenient just to take a cross town bus there. He prefers to stay in Manhattan as most of his friends are there.</p>
<p>He is in his mid 20’s , not quite starting out and can handle a reasonable 1BR on his own. I’ve looked at the internet sites some of you suggested and am a bit overwhelmed. I suggested that a doorman building will be convenient to receive deliveries. His employer will pay for a broker as part of his moving package so if you know of a good one, please PM me.</p>
<p>Hell’s Kitchen is great – there is probably a wider variety of people living there than on the east side. Mix of ages, professions (artists, actors, musicians, professionals,), gay men (moving up from Chelsea), and lots of restaurants. He can walk across town. Personally, I would avoid any bus that cuts across midtown (it will crawl). Depending on where in Hell’s Kitchen, it will be a 10-20 minute walk to 50/Park. (There is also a train, the E, that cuts across midtown from Hell’s Kitchen.)</p>