Debbie1328

Yorkville is a lovely ‘upper’ Upper East Side neighborhood in Manhattan that runs north/south from East 79th Street to East 96th Street and east/west from Third Avenue to the East River, and includes the glorious Carl Schurz Park. In the 18th Century and for hundreds of years, it was a blue-collar community where most residents were German or Irish immigrants. Today, only a hint of Yorkville’s past identity remains, peeking out from tiny pockets of Old World culture such as specialty meat stores, neighborhood pubs, and Austro-Hungarian restaurants. Side streets are narrow and very residential in their feel, while the north-south avenues are dense with businesses.

The Yorkville of the 21st Century is far more diverse and upscale than it was two hundred years ago, but no less lovely. It lacks the cachet of its downtown neighbor, the Upper East Side (which ends at 79th Street), but that makes living in Yorkville more affordable. One-bedroom co-ops in pre-war buildings to the west of York Avenue range can be had for as low as $200,000 up to about $500,000. And condo prices are even better: units in brand new luxury buildings start at about $160,000 and go up to $300,000. These apartments are made for modern life, with excellent plumbing, up-to-date wiring, and conveniences related to Internet access and cable TV.

Like all East Side neighborhoods in Manhattan, Yorkville is close to only one subway line along Lexington Avenue. A new subway line along 2nd Avenue is under construction and that should help alleviate some of the crowding at rush hour. Buses run north and south on all avenues except Park and you can grab a cross town bus at 79th, 86th and 96th Streets. The area is served by taxis, but during prime times such as rush hour and weekend evenings, they are hard to come by.

Its proximity to the River and distance from the subway makes Yorkville remote, but also affordable. Currently, a one-bedroom rental on York Avenue is about $2,100, and a two-bedroom about $2,900. But it’s the large apartments that are a real steal in Yorkville: the median price for a 4-bedroom apartment in an older building is just $3,400. This makes Yorkville a perfect area for families of modest incomes. And if you’re looking to buy, you’re in for a shock. Studios are selling for over a million dollars, but the median sale price for one-bedrooms is just $420,000.

Gracie Mansion, the residence of NYC’s mayor, is located on East End Avenue at 88th Street. This provides a tremendous boost to Yorkville’s security and the area is notably safe.

Landmarked as an historic district, the West Village is one of Manhattan’s most desirable places to live. It’s a crazy quilt of streets and avenues that defy the typical grid-style layout of most neighborhoods, and that helps give the Village its quirky neighborhood appeal. And adding to that appeal is some recent waterfront renovation that gives West Village residents a fabulous park from which to enjoy the Hudson River and the ‘High Line’ an urban park that floats above West Village streets.

West Villagers include a mix of singles, couples, and families of differing ethnic backgrounds and financial means. You’ll find both settled, long-time residents, as well as transient residents who treat the West Village as their ‘starter neighborhood’ before moving to more upscale, but less unique neighborhoods on the Upper West and Upper East Sides.

The West Village is a commuter’s dream. Midtown is about a mile’s walk and many West Villagers eschew public transportation in favor of their feet. For those who do need train service, you can catch uptown and down trains at 7th and 8th Avenues. along West 14th Street, the community’s northern boundary. You can also grab the PATH train to New Jersey, and all the major avenues have buses. This makes getting to and from the West Village safe and easy most hours of the day and night.

On the weekends and on summer evenings, the West Village is practically over-run with outsiders and the atmosphere turns from sleepy to surly. There has been a rash of violent crime in the West Village recently most of it caused by non-residents and completely random in its nature. Community organizations are working with the police to address this problem. Another community problem is the closing of St. Vincent’s Hospital, leaving the West Village with no local health center.

Most of the buildings in the West Village are 19th Century townhouses, both multi-unit and one family. A recent wave of development has brought in more high rises, but they tend to be found along the avenues, rather than the side streets. You’ll find more co-ops than condos for sale, at a cost of up to $2,500 per square foot, depending on the size of the unit and the level of renovation it’s undergone.

For renters, there are few bargains to be had in the West Village. One-bedroom rentals typically cost $2,500 to $3,500 a month, but many are priced much higher, and the space and amenities you get for your money are minimal. And remember, this is an ‘old’ neighborhood, so that means you’re paying top dollar to live in walk-up buildings with small rooms, small windows, old-fashioned plumbing and out-of-date electrical wiring.

It you come to the West Village hoping to find the gay enclave it was in the 20th Century, prepare to be as disappointed as someone visiting Haight-Ashbury in San Francisco looking for the hippie movement. Most of the clubs, discos, antique stores, and sex shops are long gone, although a few remain. Today, the West Village is a magnet for all kinds of New Yorkers and tourists, regardless of their sexuality.

Washington Heights is the neighborhood that runs north/south from 155th street to Dyckman Street (the equivalent of 200th Street), and east-west from the Harlem River to the Hudson. Hop the A-train and you can zoom from midtown Manhattan to beautiful, livable Washington Heights in less than 30 minutes. (The #1 IRT line also serves the Heights, but the stations are located along some of the area’s more crime-ridden blocks).

Downtowners have Central Park, but in Washington Heights, everyone flocks to Fort Tryon Park and the Cloisters. In warm weather, the park is a wonderful melting pot where all sorts of people come together to enjoy the green walkways, landscaped gardens, and spectacular views of the Hudson and Harlem Rivers.

Washington Heights has some negatives attached to it, but there are many great reasons to live here...especially rent. Although monthly raises are steadily increasing, it is still possible to get a fabulously spacious one-bedroom apartment in a pre-war building for less than $2,000 per month...as much as $1,000-$2,000 less than you would pay further downtown. Condos are also ‘a steal’

If only it were safer! No longer as plagued as it once was by drugs and prostitution, Washington Heights is still riddled with violence, some of it gang related. The area west of Broadway tends to be safer and more residential, while the east side of the Heights is hardcore city living.

The Heights is known as an ‘immigrant community’ because so many newcomers are able to find affordable housing here; more than half of residents come from other countries. This makes the neighborhood a patchwork quilt of smaller neighborhoods with enclaves of newly arrived Spanish-speaking residents such as Cubans, Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, and Columbians. Students and recent college grads make up another large portion of Heights residents, also drawn to the cost of living in this affordable area.

The Heights is also home to a large Jewish population, many of them Eastern Europeans. There are also neighborhoods that are predominately Greek and others that are mostly Irish. In addition to making Washington Heights wonderfully diverse, this mix of neighborhoods also makes the Heights a great place to enjoy for all kinds of ethnic cuisine.

Fifth Avenue is the dividing line between the Upper West Side of Manhattan (UWS) and the Upper East Side (UES), and two neighborhoods that are as different as night and day. The neighborhood runs north/south from 60th to 86th Streets, and east/west from Fifth to Third Avenues. On its pristine streets, you will find stunning brownstones, luxury high rises, and stately pre-war buildings that are the ‘jewel in the crown’ of the UES. The pre-war buildings are prized for their large rooms and high ceilings, along with interior architectural details such as windowed kitchens and baths, massive walk-in closets, and working fireplaces.

Many of the homes on the UES include servants’ quarters, a nod to the truly affluent nature of residents. But not everyone who lives on the Upper East Side is rolling in dough. Some residents purchased their units before the real estate boom, so you will find families of more modest means, too. There are also a limited number of more affordable rent-stabilized apartments, but these units are rarely vacated and when they are, they are renovated and re-offered at market value...close to $4,000 for a one-bedroom.

Because the UES is home to so much wealth, local businesses reflect that income level. You’ll pay more for everything here, including groceries at the supermarket and meals at local restaurants. Shopping is extremely high-end with designer stores lining the streets of Madison. Third Avenue provides a more middle-class experience, but don’t expect to find bargains on the Upper East Side. The people who live here aren’t coupon clippers and can’t afford to pay more for everything. But you will find more affordable bars and restaurants along the Avenue than on Madison, for example.

Most Upper East Siders can afford to take cabs and it’s a good thing that they do. Currently only one subway line serves the Upper East Side and it is located on Lexington Avenue...a long walk from Fifth and Madison. North/south and cross town bus service is frequent and reliable, but grid-locked traffic can slow travel to a crawl. Particularly problematic is rush hour, when the streets are clogged with Long Island commuters heading to the 59th Street Bridge.

The UES is an amazing place to raise well-educated children. There are good public and private schools, the green of nearby Central Park, and a wealth of museums and libraries. You will also find an abundance of churches and synagogues where in addition to offering religious services to their congregations, also provide community-centric events and activities for a the broader community. Politically, residents tend to be financially conservative, but social progressives.

The bottom line is that the UES is all about your bottom line. If you can afford some of the priciest real estate in Manhattan, you’ll come home each night to one of the most magnificent areas in NYC.

Turtle Bay residents LOVE their neighborhood...and I do, too. It’s filled with interesting people and things to do, not to mention some of the most stunning blocks of brownstones that you’ll find anywhere in Manhattan. There are also walkups, doorman mid rises and luxury high rise buildings. These are just some of the reasons why less than one-quarter of Turtle Bay housing units are vacated each year.

East 59th Street is Turtle Bay’s northern border; East 42nd Street is its southern border, and it goes from Lexington Avenue to the East River. Ultra-luxe and exclusive Sutton Place is a neighborhood-within-a-neighborhood; a beautiful cul-de-sac like area at 57th Street and the River.

In many ways, Turtle Bay is a typical eastside neighborhood. Residents are wealthy, but not super-rich (the median household income is $104,994), and rather conservative. Rents and purchase prices are typical of other upscale New York neighborhoods, although you may occasionally find a ‘deal’ if you rent directly from a co-op or condo owner.

This is a true community, with the 2,000-member Turtle Bay Association -- made up of made up of business people, property owners, and renters -- working actively to preserve the history of the area while simultaneously enhancing the quality of life in the neighborhood.

Demographically speaking, the average Turtle Bay-er is about 40 years old, well-educated, and financially secure. Area businesses cater to them and along 2nd Avenue, a wealth of restaurants and bars are crowded and lively each night after work and on the weekends. Neighborhood security is good, so the revelry doesn’t get out of hand, although many residents say the noise pollution from people spilling out of bars on the weekends is ‘criminal.’

The area is not defined by any tourist attractions, so the streets are filled almost exclusively with residents. This contributes to a quiet, friendly neighborhood feeling.

TriBeCa, the acronym for the Triangle Below Canal -- is an amazing place to live, if you’ve got the money for it. Once a sea of deserted warehouses, it is one of New York’s livliest and hippest neighborhoods.

Tribeca is bordered to the north by Canal Street, to the south by Chambers Street, to the east by Church Street, and the west by the Hudson River. It is within walking distance to Chinatown, Little Italy, and New York’s municipal area. In addition to residences, you’ll find a grid of factories and warehouse buildings, many of them quite old and ‘built to last.’ A wonderful feature of the area is that zoning laws have kept most buildings low, so you can see plenty of sky even though you’re in an urban setting.

Tribeca is not an area for renters; this is co-op country, most of them pre-renovated prior to sale. And they’re not cheap. Soaring real-estate values – thanks in part to its proximity to prime areas like SoHo -- have changed the face of Tribeca residents from struggling ‘urban pioneers’ and artists to high-income earners.

Children can get an excellent education in Tribeca, both secular and religious. The area is rich with houses of worship that have educational programs, and there are plenty of choices in both private and public schools, too.

Tribeca transportation options are good, but not great. The area is served by two major subway lines (the IRT and IND with stops at Canal and Chambers Streets, and several stations in between). This makes traveling north and south quick and easy, but heading cross town is an ordeal because Chambers and Canal are always traffick-y. The area is a warren of small streets and dead ends, and you can’t really take a ‘back route’ to avoid the congestion on the major thoroughfares.

Times Square is primarily thought of as a commercial area, but there is plenty of housing if you know where to look. The side streets are rich with small, old buildings with units for rent and for sale. There are studios, and one-bedrooms, but you can also find spacious floor-through lofts.

There are two major downsides to this lively area: tourists and dirt...and they’re related to some degree. Because so many people in Times Square are visitors – from other parts of Manhattan, from other boroughs, and from other countries -- they have no community pride and seem to be unconcerned about throwing their garbage on the streets. These visitors clog the streets on weeknights and weekends, turning Times Square into a sea of humanity that’s hard to navigate.

There are two major upsides to Times Square: food and entertainment. Times Square is home to dozens of movie houses and theatres, as well as jazz clubs, strip clubs, and comedy clubs. There are literally hundreds of restaurants in the area, ranging from chain eateries (like Red Lobster) and fast food (McDonalds) to upscale dining options. And on ‘Restaurant Row,’ a block of West 46th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues, you can rub elbows with Broadway stars and chorus kids at iconic theatre district restaurants such like Joe Allen’s

If you live right off of Times Square (east or west of Broadway and 7th Avenue from 42nd to 47th Street), you will enjoy an endless stream of free outdoor entertainment. The area is home to major broadcasting companies such as ABC and MTV, and every month they and other business enterprises turn Times Square into a performance space, with concerts, fashion shows, and product launches.

There’s great everyday shopping just a block away on 8th Avenue where you can find shoe repair shops, supermarkets, and pharmacies. The area is heavily patrolled, but it is also considered a terrorist target and several plots have been foiled there. And when the garbage cans are removed and the manholes sealed for New Year’s Eve, it is hard to think of Times Square as safe.

Stuyvesant Town, created after World War II to provide affordable housing for returning veterans and middle-class New Yorkers, has undergone tremendous changes over the past decade and is now home to people of wealth. Many New Yorkers consider the area the ‘poster child’ for ways in which the interest of profit-oriented property developers are putting the squeeze on everyday working people. Hundreds of once rent-stabilized apartments were warehoused and then renovated which allowed landlords to legally raise formerly stabilized rents. For example, one-bedroom apartments have skyrocketed from $900 per month to $3,000 per month, which is considered ‘market value’ in New York City.

If you move to the Stuyvesant Town area, your neighbors will not be as diverse as they would be in many Manhattan neighborhoods; nearly 75% of residents are white. Asian and Hispanic residents make up about 20% of the population, and only about 3% are black. Interestingly, mixed race couples and families are almost non-existent in S-Town. As for income, most households have two working residents with a combined income of approximately a quarter of a million dollars. So while residents are not ultra-rich, they do tend to be successful white collar professionals, many of them raising children.

Although Stuyvesant Town is now a seat of wealth, the area surrounding it retains much of its gritty, urbane personality. 14th Street – representing the southern border of S-Town – is a wild and wooly mix of college students, low-income families, kids, and recent immigrants. Everyone crowds onto the frequent, but packed, cross-town bus, making commuting a bit of a nightmare.

One plus about this area is that it retains the ‘essential services’ that residents need. Most people travel west to do food shopping, and the buses are always filled with people carry shopping bags from nearby stores like Trader Joes, or Whole Foods and Food Emporium, located near Union Square. Union Square is also home to a three-times weekly farmers market, and you’ll find S-Town residents browsing the stalls of the market early in the morning to get the best picks.

It is also the northern tip of the East Village, so you’ll never want for ethnic restaurants, movies, live theatre, or other things to do. And by the way...for people with concerns about health issues, Stuyvesant Town is a great place to live. It is located very close to a major medical center.

Originally an industrial area, today’s SoHo is ultra-chic, ultra-luxe, and ultra-expensive. Loft spaces are the de rigueur living quarters and the average selling price is upwards of $2.5 million. Prices may be high, but the lofts are often magnificent, with 15-foot ceilings, cast-iron columns, Corinthian capitals, and spectacular floor-to-ceiling windows

A few families call SoHo home, but most residents are singles and couples, high-earning professionals with a taste for the finer things in life. It comes as no surprise, then, that the commercial spaces that occupy the first floors of SoHo’s converted warehouses offer upscale products such as $38,000 sofas and $1,500 handmade jeans.

SoHo is a major tourist destination on the weekends, and sidewalks become impassably clogged with visitors and street vendors selling to them. For many SoHo has been a place to shop, but not buy, so there is a lot of gawking, pointing, and standing around. Low-end retailers such as Old Navy and H&M are moving into the neighborhood to fill the gap, a move that is not especially welcomed by residents. The arrival of big box stores simply means more transient visitors who treat the neighborhood badly, leaving the streets littered and the garbage cans overflowing.

SoHo restaurants are noted for their quality, but dining out on Saturday or Sunday requires making reservations well in advance and being prepared to wait...and wait...and wait. The weekend crowds can be so off-putting that many residents say they simply barricade themselves in their apartments and wait until Monday morning.

With all these negatives, you may wondering why SoHo is so popular. I’ve wondered that myself. Still, if you are a person of means who enjoys spending (not saving) your money, you may feel right at home here.

Many people dismiss Roosevelt Island as inaccessible, but this little island off the coast of Manhattan is actually very commutable. Less than 10,000 residents call the island home, so it is quiet, relaxed, and had a great neighborhood feel.

In addition to the iconic aerial tram that serves the community, there is also a subway service (the F train) and two bridges for auto-commuters. The island even has its own bus service – the red bus -- to make getting around even easier. Some considerate it an enviable alternative to ‘city life’ on Manhattan.

Roosevelt Island sits in the East River between Manhattan and Queens. The waterfront community is extremely diverse, both racially and financially. Nearly two-thirds of the residents are between the ages of 18 and 65, with an almost equal number of men and women. Although some of the residents are big earners, the median income on the Island is just under $50,000, and the housing here is affordably priced, with a two-bedroom rental apartment going for up to $1,500-per-month less than across the river in Manhattan.

Roosevelt Island will never be confused with a New York ‘destination location.’ There is really no reason to make the crossing unless you are seeing friends or family. In fact, many tourists take the tram to Roosevelt Island just for the fun of a tram ride, and then turn right around and head back to Manhattan.

Residents, especially those with children, will find an abundance of baseball fields, basketball courts, playgrounds, and even a community swimming pool. There are lots of green spaces and many of the parks have public grills that allow neighbors to come together for spontaneous cookouts when the weather is warm.

Quiet, a little bit sleepy, but a great value for your money...and just a quick tram ride away from the Eastside.

New Yorkers just love coming up with shortened nicknames for their neighborhoods, and it was only a matter of time before SoHo (the hipster area South of Houston Street) spawned an uptown neighbor called NoHo (the hipster area North of Houston). It is a stylish, inviting area that runs north from Houston Street to East 9th Street, and west to east from Mercer Street to the Bowery.

NoHo is incredibly inviting and friendly. Unlike other neighborhoods in Manhattan, it has lots of welcoming benches and public spaces where residents and visitors can sit and enjoy their surroundings. There’s a lot to enjoy! Businesses include trendy clothing boutiques, home furnishing stores, antique shops, and (of course) an appropriate number of bars and eateries.

Nearby subways make NoHo extremely accessible. The N and R trains stop at Eighth Street and get you to midtown in about 15 minutes. You can catch the B, D, F and M trains at Broadway-Lafayette station and make a connection to the downtown No. 6 train. There is a cross-town bus on 8th Street.

NoHo was hit hard by the real estate meltdown and property values took quite a hit. The neighborhood remains pricey, however: the cost of a studio averages $299,000 while a floor-through in a post-war co-op with four fireplaces and a balcony is being sold for $19.5 million. Rental prices are comparable to other upscale Manhattan neighborhoods with studios renting at around $3,000 and one-bedrooms at about $4,000.

What makes NoHo truly special is what you don’t find here: no big box stores, chain restaurants, or multiplexes. NoHo has been designated a historic district by the Landmarks Preservation Society, so you can be sure that this neighborhood won’t be changing any time soon. And while there are plenty of high-rises in NoHo, most buildings are under 5 stories, and you can depend on area residents to fight to keep it that way.

Murray Hill is a wealthy, established neighborhood located on the east side of midtown Manhattan. It is bordered by East 34th Street to the south and East 40th to the north, with Madison Avenue and Third Avenue providing its western and eastern boundaries. The streets are filled with a variety of residential options while the avenues are lively commercial hubs. This gives the area a slightly schizophrenic personality, with stately 18th Century townhouses sitting next to white brick office buildings and commercial parking lots. And Murray Hill is still growing, with new office towers under construction.

Murray Hill residents are split about 50-50 between singles and couples, but only one of ten households has children. Schools are good in the area, but kids will probably be enjoying ‘play dates’ with friends in other neighborhoods. You’ll find ‘power couples’ and ‘power singles’ here, individuals with advanced degrees. They are hip, urbane, and with a fair amount of disposable income, and attracted by the moderate living expenses in Murray Hill – compared with ‘big money’ neighborhoods like the Flatiron district just a few blocks south or the ultra-luxe Sutton Place area a few blocks north.

Commuting to and from Murray Hill is simple with an abundance of buses running on all the north-south avenues, and reliable cross-town buses on 34th and 42nd Streets which connect to prime destinations including Times Square, Macy’s, the Port Authority Bus Terminal, and Pennsylvania Station. The Lexington Avenue subway provides fast service up and downtown and a 2nd Avenue subway is currently under construction that will create an additional commuting option.

Murray Hill is a ‘destination location’ due to the number of restaurants and bars that dot its streets. The energy is subdued, however, and unlike other Manhattan neighborhoods, the nightlife here is not accompanied by noise or crime problems. It’s a slice of the good life.

You won’t find a more diverse neighborhood in Manhattan than Morningside Heights. Some people consider it part of the Upper West Side while others think of it as part of Harlem, but it is really its own special place. Its northern and southern boundaries are 125th Street and West 110th Street; its eastern and western boundaries are Morningside Drive and Riverside Drive.

One of the most interesting things about Morningside Heights is that it is both an extremely settled and highly transient neighborhood. The area is filled with educational institutions including Columbia, Manhattan School of Music, and the Bank Street College of Education, among others, and many people refer to this neighborhood as New York City’s ‘college town.’ The vibe is decidedly student-y with lots of restaurants, clothing stores, bars, and other businesses catering to their needs. Since each new school year brings a new group of young men and women to the area, and in August and September residents should be prepared to help lost students find subway stations, bus roots, and to figure out uptown from downtown.

Beyond the changing student population, Morningside Heights is also filled with long-time residents, many of them families. And although much of the housing in the area is owned by Columbia, there are a variety of living options available, including rent-stabilized apartments in older buildings and luxurious co-ops and condos in new high rises. The white collar residents who live here are academics who are employed at area schools, Broadway hopefuls and professionals, classic musicians, and corporate executives. There are also blue-collar families who have called this area home for generations.

The Cathedral of St. John the Divine and Riverside Church are community gathering places, offering a wide range of secular events along with religious services. After services and events, many audience members stroll in Riverside Park running along the Hudson. But in-the-know residents read to Morningside Park, a magnificently landscaped area that runs from 110th Street to 123rd Street from Morningside Drive to Manhattan Avenue.

Living in Morningside Heights is affordable, but not cheap. Still, this is a neighborhood that is easy to call home because of the numerous supermarkets, dry cleaners, shoe stores, specialty markets, restaurants, and other things it has to offer.

Bright lights...taxicabs...skyscrapers...the hustle and bustle of millions of New Yorkers rushing here and there. Living in Midtown Manhattan is the stuff movies are made of – Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Wall Street, Sex & the City -- a one-of-a-kind experience that you’ll either love or hate.

Many of New York’s famed tourist attractions are found in the two square miles (approximately) known as midtown. Rockefeller Center, Broadway theatres, the Empire State Building, the United Nations, Fifth Avenue shopping, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Carnegie Hall, the Carnegie Deli, and Radio City Music Hall are just a few of the iconic spots in the area that runs from 31st Street to 59th Street between Third and Ninth Avenues. Areas of Midtown are usually referred to as Midtown West and Midtown East, and those neighborhoods are further sub-divided into smaller neighborhoods known as Hell’s Kitchen and Chelsea (Midtown West) and Turtle Bay, Murray Hill, Kips Bay, and Gramercy (Midtown East)

Each has its own unique charms and challenges. And different neighborhoods are more suitable to specific demographics: families (Kips Bay), hipsters (Hell’s Kitchen), LGBT people (Chelsea) and the ultra-wealthy (Gramercy). Everywhere in Midtown, however, you’ll find restaurants, movie theatres, and plenty of things to keep you busy.

Accommodations go from down-and-out to top-of-the-line. In Midtown West, you’ll find a gritty urban landscape despite the ‘Disney-fication’ of 42nd Street and the Times Square area. There are large areas of un-improved tenement buildings where hard-working blue collar families and individuals are forced to share the streets with drug dealers and gang members. The further west you go, however, the nicer things are getting, particularly along the newly developed waterfront area. Dozens of luxury high rises have sprung up along 11th and 12th Avenues.

Midtown East is the polar opposite. Block after block of high rise towers dominate the north and south avenues there. And on the side streets, you’ll find luxurious townhouses, many of them single family dwellings. Just like on the Westside, you will also find fabulous residences along the waterfront. But unlike the Westside, it is safe, serene, and extremely beautiful.

Although the extremes of Midtown have the most to offer in terms of spectacular apartments and extraordinary views, the cost of living there is high, both in terms of rent/mortgage and time. Cross-town commuting is slow going whether you take public transportation or a taxi. And late night, it may be difficult to find a cab in more obscure areas.

“To each his own,” said the lady when she kissed the cow, and that’s how I feel about the Meatpacking District. It is one of New York’s ‘scene’ neighborhoods, with hip restaurants, crowded bars, and upscale boutiques. Personally, I find it overly self-conscious and filled with people who are fashion followers rather than fashion trend-setters. But if you love being where the glitteratti meet to eat, drink, and party, you’ll be right in your element here.

Warm spring and summer weekends are when the neighborhood is in its glory. Restaurants and bars have seating that spills onto the sidewalks, lending to a party atmosphere. The energy can be frenetic, but noise can be a problem.

Meatpacking District kids have it made. In addition to A-rated schools in the area, they are near the Hudson River, can play hide-and-seek in the area’s twisty, turn-y stone-covered streets, and can easily grab buses and subways to visit their friends or take advantage of everything New York has to offer.

The latest and greatest addition to the Meatpacking District is the Highline. An extensive length of elevated train track, it has been reclaimed and provides residents and visitors to the Meatpacking District with access to nature year-round. It is extremely beautiful and a wonderful community meeting place where you’ll see hipsters walking along bohemians, slow-moving seniors sharing the path with racing toddlers.

The price to live in this tony neighborhood ranges from $450,000 for a studio to $20 million for a penthouse. For people interested in purchasing one of the Meatpacking Districts historic townhouses, expect to pay up to $2,000 per square foot if you want a ‘desirable’ location near the High Line...$1,200 per square foot elsewhere in the area.

Manhattan Valley is a neighborhood defined by a natural depression in the Upper West Side’s landscape...and for many years it was as depressed as the ground it sprang up from. The streets from West 100th Street to West 110th Street (also known as Cathedral Parkway) between Amsterdam Avenue and Central Park were heaped with garbage, overrun with rats and the domain of drug dealers.

Over the past ten years or so, however, the neighborhood has undergone a major transition. The ‘trash’ of Manhattan Valley is moving out and is slowly being replaced by young, educated professionals and academics from the area’s numerous colleges and universities. Although wealthy, these newcomers aren’t rich; they’re flocking to Manhattan Valley to find rentals and condominiums in rehabilitated buildings that can be had for significantly less than similar properties west of Amsterdam and south of 100th Street.

Manhattan Valley is an architectural smorgasbord where you can choose among 5-story townhouses from the early 20th Century, ultra-new deluxe high-rises, and historic buildings under the watchful eye of the Landmarks Preservation Society. It’s extremely neighborhood-y in its feel because it is not a ‘hot spot’ destination for tourists.

The area’s newcomers bring with them a sense of unity and have organized community groups and neighborhood watches to help Manhattan Valley achieve its full potential as a safe, livable area. According to the 24th Police Precinct that serves this once crime-ridden neighborhood, there has been a steady decline in major criminal activity over the last decade.

Everyone feels welcome here, from just-getting-by families living on government assistance to earnest Columbia University students and successful young professionals. There’s lots to do and see in nearby Central Park, and you’ll never go hungry with plenty of restaurants, grab-and-go food stores, supermarkets, and all-night bodegas on every corner. And when you’re ready to head out for a night on the town, mass transit is all around you and runs virtually around the clock: #1 train to 103rd or 110th Street and Broadway; C and B trains to 110th Street and Central Park West; buses on all major avenues going up and downtown.

This is a great place to live today...and a super investment for the future.

Ask a New York City resident how to get to the neighborhood known as ‘Madison Square,’ and the majority will promptly and politely tell you to head to 8th Avenue and West 34th Street. Unfortunate the response may be prompt and polite, but it’s dead wrong.

The well-meaning New Yorker is steering you towards Madison Square Garden, Manhattan’s popular music and sports arena in the area known as Midtown West. But Madison Square, the neighborhood, is across town entirely. It’s an area in midtown, but on the east side, upscale and wearing its wealth without embarrassment...often attired in clothing from the high-end boutiques along nearby Fifth Avenue.

Madison Square is formed by the intersection of a crazy mashup of streets located at 23rd Street, where Broadway and Fifth Avenue criss-cross. The heart of the area is Madison Square Park, a lovely swath of green that runs from 23rd Street to 26th Street, bounded on the East by Madison Avenue at the West by Fifth Avenue. It is surrounded by soaring high rises and elegant apartments in every configuration.

‘Madison Square’ is sometimes, but rarely used to describe the blocks immediately surrounding the park, however most New Yorkers simply think of Madison Square as the northern tip of the Flatiron District; more so today as the Flatiron has become a popular neighborhood in its own right. The rents in the area are comparable to what would be called Manhattan’s “better neighborhoods” with studios in the $3,000 range. A 3-bedroom/3-bath luxury condo (about 2,000 square feet) is currently being offered at just over $4 million dollars...with a $1,317 monthly maintenance fee and $243 monthly real estate tax.

Madison Square feels urban and bustling. You’ll find plenty of great takeout food spots and restaurants, but you’ll have to walk a couple of avenues to the east or west to find supermarkets. (Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods are in walking distance) There’s lots to do at night, with a vibrant atmosphere, particularly in the spring and summer months as locals and visitors share the streets and a scoop of gelato from a specialty cart.

This is as wonderful neighborhood for commuters. The frequent and reliable crosstown bus on 23rd Street can be slow during rush hour, but it connects with all the major subway lines from 5th Avenue to 8th Avenue, making it easy to get anywhere.

Increasingly, Manhattan neighborhoods have become homogenized, and every mile or so, you find a repeating pattern of merchants that includes Duane Reade pharmacies, Starbucks Coffee, Crumbs cupcake shops, and literally a half dozen banks. But in Little Italy and on the Lower East Side, you will find an area that has remained unchanged for decades, both for the better and for the worse. The streets are narrow and dirty, but the ambience is rich with history.

One of the biggest changes in Little Italy has been the demographics of residents. Once almost exclusively Italian (as the name suggests), today’s “Little Italians” are just as likely to be Korean as Italian. There is a large Asian population as Chinatown, Little Italy’s neighbor to the south, has begun to expand its boundaries north of Canal Street. In fact, the two formerly distinct ethnic areas have become so intertwined that the National Park Service has designated a combined “Chinatown and Little Italy Historic District” that draws no geographic distinction between the two neighborhoods.

Little Italy has long been prized for its cleanliness and low crime rates which many say are a holdover from the days when the area was home to organized crime families. But the same clean, safe streets that make Little Italy popular also make it pricey: a renovated 800-square-foot one-bedroom on Mulberry Street was recently listed at $4,200 a month, about $1,000 more than other areas of Manhattan.

Co-op prices are equally high, with a two-bedroom Grand Street co-op on the market for $1.5 million a good example.

Little Italy’s four- and five-story walk-ups are quaint and charming. There are studios, one-bedrooms, and larger units available; including expansive lofts, many renovated back in the 1980’s when the area was undergoing a wave of improvement. These building date back into the early 20th Century, so expect staircases that are steep and narrow, rooms that are small, and plumbing/electricity that may not be ultra up-to-date. The area is undergoing a wave of development and high rises are beginning to dot the skyline.

The streets of this lively neighborhood are filled with one-of-a-kind food stores where you can stock up on things like specialty cheeses flown in from Italy each Friday. On the negative side, the streets of Little Italy are crowded, noisy, and trafficky. The area attracts an endless stream of tourists, particularly during the world- famous Feast of San Gennaro celebration that has been held every September for 86 years. It is the great grand-daddy of street fairs, and a beloved NYC institution.

Lincoln Square gets its name from a tiny ‘pocket park’ located where Broadway and Columbus Avenue cross at 66th Street. The park is home to a weekly farmer’s market which is a perfect example of how this bustling business neighborhood is able to retain its residential personality.

Lincoln Square is a very small neighborhood that stretches only from West 62nd to West 65th Streets and from Amsterdam to Columbus Avenue. It has seen tremendous development in the past year, with block after block of luxury buildings replacing commercial real estate and crumbling pre-war propertiesLong-time residents and new residents (in the recently completed high rises) are frequently at odds regarding quality-of-life issues in the neighborhood.

The area is home to primarily singles and couples; families with children represent only about 16% of residents. Still, there are fine educational opportunities, both public and private, as well as specialty training in the performing arts.

Lincoln Square offers everything a wealthy resident might crave, including safety and security. Crime rates are lower than the national average in many instances. There is world-class entertainment at Lincoln Center and world-class dining along Broadway and at the nearby Time-Warner Center. You’ll also find two of the city’s premiere multiplexes, and (of course) there are acres and acres of beautifully landscaped grounds to explore in nearby Central Park.

Once notorious for the gang violence depicted in West Side Story, today’s Lincoln Square is notorious for its celebrity residents...and notoriously high prices that are still low by area standards. At 15 Central Park West, for example, just one block away from Lincoln Square, sellers command as much as $35,000,000 for a 3-bedroom/3-bathroom apartment while around the corner on West 64th Street, a similar until may be had for one-tenth the price at $3,295,000

Lenox Hill is a glorious New York neighborhood on the eastside of Manhattan. Barely half a mile from its southern tip at East 60th Street to its northern border at East 72nd Street, and just a mile from Fifth Avenue to the East River, this small area is home to BIG money and that’s what you’ll need to live here.

Rentals here are thousands of dollars more per month than in other Manhattan neighborhoods. Studios start at over $3,000 which is about the price of a one-bedroom on the west side. You are also more likely to find a space for rent from a co-op or condo owner, as many of the units in the area are investment properties for their owners. As a result, you will likely be limited to a one-year lease, with no protections regarding rent increases.

For those who dream of the life on the fashionable Eastside of New York and want to live in an area that is lively and urbane, not stodgy and mundane, Lenox Hill is a dream come true. Unlike entrenched neighborhoods to the north and south, this Eastside environ is home to a shifting parade of successful young yuppies and enterpreneurs, most of them single. This young demographic turns the neighborhood into a noisy, crowded party scene on weekends when residents and visitors fill the avenues on ‘pub crawls’ to the area’s many bars.

Beyond the high rents and mortgages in Lenox Hill, there are other cost-of-living expenses related to life in a luxury neighborhood. There are few cheap restaurants and most retailers reflect the upscale nature of the residents.

For example, food costs are abnormally high with Lenox Hill and other eastside supermarkets charging as much as 30% for items. This is why many people jump on the M66 and M72 cross-town buses and head over to the west side to do their shopping at Fairway and Trader Joe’s. Cross-town buses run regularly to this neighborhood, so it is easy (if crowded and occasionally time-consuming) to make the run.

Kips Bay is a small Manhattan neighborhood. It runs from 23rd Street (north of the Flatiron District) to 34th Street (the southern tip of midtown Manhattan), with the East River and Park Avenue South providing its other boundaries. It is primarily a sea of modern, character-less high rise apartment towers, but some of the city's finest residential post-war buildings are also located here.

No-fee rental apartments are plentiful, with many condo and co-op owners hosting open houses each week. Rents are comparable to other New York neighborhoods (around $3,500 for a one-bedroom), but the quality is definitely higher. Renters can expect amenities such as half-bathrooms, dishwashers, and other ‘fine living’ extras. And the further east to head, the better the rents may be. On side streets, you may be able to find a studio for as little as $2,100 per month.

With so many residents, the area is awash in everything you need for day-to-day living. Unlike some neighborhoods, Kips Bay has lots of tailors, dry cleaners, shoe repair shops, and supermarkets, in addition to tons of bars and restaurants. There’s also a spiffy Kips Bay multiplex which helps made the area ‘self-sufficient.’

Have the need for speed when it comes to commuting? You’re in trouble in Kips Bay. Although construction of a subway along 2nd Avenue is underway, the neighborhood is accessible exclusively via bus or taxi. And whether you’re on a city bus or in your private car, the traffic is snarled during rush hour, as Long Island commuters travel through Kips Bay on their way to the Midtown Tunnel (34th Street) and Queensboro Bridge (59th Street).

Inwood is a community at the northern tip of Manhattan with so many plusses going for it that it is easy to overlook the negatives...or at least consider living there until things get better. And things in Inwood are getting better; it’s slowly shedding its identity as a tough, drug-ridden war zone and being seen more as the perfect place to live for singles and families who want more space for less money.

The Hudson River (to the west) and the Harlem River (to the north and east) are three of Inwood’s borderlines. The southern boundary is Dyckman Street (the equivalent of West 200th Street). Like many neighborhoods that go river to river, the vibe of Inwood’s streets changes drastically whether you are east or west of Broadway.

To the west of Broadway, you’ll find stately pre-war apartment buildings where the units have not been broken up into smaller spaces. Many have sunken living rooms and river views, as well as original architectural details such as wainscoting and ceiling molding. Residents are primarily white collar workers who own, rather than rent their units.

East of Broadway, life is much tougher and gang violence is a problem, along with drug trafficking. There are more apartments for rent than for sale east of Broadway, making this a good choice for urban pioneers and people who feel comfortable in less than luxury areas.

You can still snag major bargains in Inwood, compared with other parts of Manhattan. One-bedrooms with square footage up to 750 feet are available for less than $90,000, a far cry from the million-dollar plus units on the Upper West Side, just a few miles to the South.

Inwood residents can get to midtown in about 30 minutes via the A express train on the IND line. Unfortunately, ongoing track work at night and on weekends often throws the A out of commission, leaving travelers no alternative but to take slow, crowded shuttle buses. The #1 IRT line also serves the area, but it is a long hike from the station to most of Inwood’s residential buildings...and it’s a hike through some of the area’s seediest sections.

Harlem is many things to many people and that’s why the people who live there love it so. What do you think of when you hear the word ‘Harlem’? A vibrant community made up of diverse cultures from Africa, the Caribbean, and the U.S.? Home to the Apollo Theatre, Lennox Lounge, and other iconic New York nightspots? A shopping mecca where you can find big box stores like Target and Costco, as well as street vendors selling incense and handmade soap. A neighborhood that is home to some of New York’s wealthiest residents, as well its poorest?

It’s all that and more.

Harlem is an enormous area runs from river to river – from the Hudson River on the west to the East river on the East. It’s northern is 155th Street, and it’s southern border is 96th Street (east of Central Park) and 110th Street (west of Central Park). The general area of Harlem is further sub-divided into Central Harlem (from 110th Street, at the northern boundary of Central Park, to West 155th Street) and East Harlem/Spanish Harlem (East 155th Street to 96th Street).

Central Harlem is enjoying significant gentrification, while East Harlem continues to struggle. The average listing price of a home in Central Harlem is less than three-quarters of a million dollars ($698,000) which is significantly lower than the median price throughout Manhattan ($1.98 million). The wealth in the area is reflected in good private schools, but public schools continue to be rough and dangerous as Harlem struggles to achieve greater political clout.

An easy way to get a feel for Harlem is on a guided sight-seeing bus ride. There are both day and night tours that will let you experience what it means to live in one of New York City’s most up-and-coming neighborhoods.

Hamilton Heights has been ready for a make-over for decades, but has not seen the gentrification that neighborhoods to the north (Washington Heights) and South (Manhattanville) have enjoyed. It remains a bit of a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde area, bisected by the crime-ridden streets of Broadway, but perhaps better defined by the the elegant mansions of Sugar Hill, a neighborhood-within-a-neighborhood.

Hamilton Heights has gone from upscale neighborhood to no man’s land over the decades, but today it is home to a substantial number of white-collar professionals and their families, primarily black and Hispanic. The neighborhood is bordered by the Hudson River to the west and Edgecombe Avenue to the East. It runs for one mile from West 135th Street north to West 155th Street. The #1 and #9 IRT subway line runs along Broadway and takes you to midtown Manhattan in about 25 minutes.

Sugar Hill, a ‘sweet spot’ for the ultra-rich, is carved out at the center of Hamilton Heights. It starts at Edgecombe Avenue, but only goes to Amsterdam Avenue, and runs only from West 145th Street to West 155th Street. Sugar Hill offers splendid living. Hamilton Heights was built for the wealthy and Sugar Hill was the peak of luxury. That history is seen in upscale brownstones and row houses that are lined up along the streets east of Broadway.

Sugar Hill has received landmark status and that has helped preserve its magnificent single-family homes from the Beaux-Arts period. Luxury condos are available in the $500,000 to one million dollar range. What makes these apartments extra-special is that many retain their original spacious layouts.

Rentals are hard to come by, but if you can, the savings compared to other areas in Manhattan are enormous. Two-bedroom/two-bath apartments are available for as little as $2,100 and top out at about $3,500.

Greenwich Village -- or ‘The Village’ as it is known by resident -- remains one of Manhattan’s most quintessentially ‘New York’ neighborhoods. Once a bohemian capital, welcoming artists and individuals living alternative lifestyles, it is now home to a mix of families, singles, seniors, and professionals. Tight zoning laws have allowed the area to keep out developers and while there are plenty of high rises on the avenues, side streets are filled with quaint small buildings, most only 4-5 stories.

Greenwich Village is generally defined as the area in lower Manhattan that is bordered on the south by Houston Street (pronounced How-stun, not Hew-stun) and on the north by 14th Street. Broadway provides its eastern border and the Hudson River its western perimeter. Recent improvements along the Hudson have transformed this area into an urban playground with magnificent views. Don’t confuse Greenwich Village with ‘East Village’ (the neighborhood further east with a much edgier vibe) or the ‘West Village’ (the neighborhood further west known for its gay community).

On the weekends, especially during warm weather, ‘Village people’ share their neighborhood with an endless stream of tourists and curiosity seekers, dubbed ‘the bridge and tunnel crowd’ because they come from New Jersey and the outer boroughs of New York via these river crossings. These outsiders tend to bring a negative energy to the neighborhood which has recently been plagued by a spike in violent crime.

Living space is limited in this ultra-popular neighborhood and you’ll pay dearly to rent or buy. In most instances, you’ll get less for your money in Greenwich Village in terms of living space and building amenities. Rents have flat-lined in the neighborhood over the past year. One-bedroom apartments have hovered at around $4,300; studios near $2,600, and two-bedrooms at just under $6,000. Probably close to 85% of the buildings in Greenwich Village are cooperative, so you may be renting from an individual owner with no guarantees on rent increases. And don’t even think about buying in the Village if you don’t have well upwards of a million dollars to spend on a one-bedroom.

Despite the prices, you can’t find a better value when it comes to living in an area that is beautiful, friendly, accessible to transportation, and filled with people who are fiercely proud of their community. On every block, there are helpful neighbors, lots of trees and greener, handcrafted goods, family-run restaurants, and one-of-a-kind people and businesses that give Greenwich Village its one-of-a-kind appeal.

Oh! And even though you may not choose to live in Greenwich Village to be close to made-famous-by-Sex-and-the-City Magnolia Bakery on Bleecker Street...you’ll be mighty glad it’s there. Their cakes and cookies are delicious.

Gramercy Park is typical of many of the neighborhoods on the east side of Manhattan.
The upscale neighborhood starts at 23rd Street to the north and continues down to 14th Street, with Park Avenue South and Third Avenue defining its west and east boundaries. The avenues are urban and bustling, filled with stores and restaurants, but the side streets and unquestionably residential with some of the most beautiful architecture in the city.

Over the past 10 years or so, rental prices in Gramercy Park have remained surprisingly stable, perhaps because there are other younger, hipper neighborhoods to the south (Flatiron District, Union Square area). Monthly rents range from $2800+ for studios, to $3800+ for one-bedrooms, and $6,500+ for two-bedrooms. The buildings here are luxurious and well-maintained, inside and out. Many have doormen, so there is a feeling of safety and security. There are high rises on the avenues, and historic brownstones and mansions on the streets, which draw tourists on the weekend to ooh and aah.

Residents tend to be formal and aloof, except, perhaps when walking their pedigree pooches. And although there are distinctions of wealth, politics, ethnicity or age in this diverse area, everyone agrees that pristine Gramercy Park itself is the jewel in the neighborhood’s crown. Don’t plan on sunning yourself, there, however. The park is private and keys are available only to residents in the 39 buildings facing the park who pay as much as $350 to rent a key for the year, with a $1,000 replacement fee. But keep your eyes and ears open, one day each year (usually the first Sunday in May), the park’s gates are flung open so that anyone can enter and imagine what it’s like to be rich and living in Gramercy Park.

If you want to get a really good feel for the Garment District, a noisy, crowded, and practically unlivable neighborhood in midtown Manhttan, rent the HBO document Schmatta: Rags to Riches to Rags. It talks about the area’s history as a center for clothing manufacturing and shows in stark detail the hard urban personality of the area.

The Garment District is a commercial, not a residential neighborhood, and the businesses here are industrial. That means lots of deliveries and lots of fume-spewing trucks making runs at all hours of the day and night. It’s a smallish area, running from 34th Street to 42nd Street (south to north) and Fifth Avenue to Ninth Avenue (east to west)

The area has seen some development, with a few luxury high-rises dotting the skyline. But for the most part, apartments are rundown...and surprisingly not more affordable than far more upscale neighborhoods. Studios run about $2,400 and one-bedrooms about $3,500.

Purchasing an apartment can be a wise investment as values are going up in this area. And the average price of an apartment is under $500,000, as compared with the multi-million dollar average price tag in areas such as the Upper West Side and Gramercy.

Perhaps in an effort to shake its association with the sweatshop history associated with the area, politicos and business development groups have begun referring to the Garment District as the Fashion District. But don’t be fooled. Although the designer creations that will be seen in red carpet runway shows in Paris and Milan, the manufacturers that produce the mass-market version of those fashions are threadbare and gritty, just like Garment District.

The Flatiron district, a really nifty area of Manhattan that gets better every year, gets its name from the Flatiron Building, an iconic piece of real estate where 23rd Street meets the crisscrossing paths of Fifth Avenue and Broadway.

‘Officially,’ in terms of real estate anyway, the relatively small neighborhood area known as the Flatiron District runs from the tip of Union Square (at 20th Street) north to just 25th Street, with Sixth Avenue (aka Avenue of the Americas) and Lexington Avenue providing the west and east boundaries, respectively. Despite its size, the Flatiron District packs more to enjoy in a few short blocks than most small cities!

The price of homes in the Flatiron has fluctuated dramatically since 2,000. From a low of just under $1 million in 2008, the average sale price rebounded to $2.64 million in the first quarter of 2010 before plummeting again to $1.5 million just a few months later. Fee and no-fee rental apartments are available through condo and coop owners as well as residential building owners. The prices are average for ‘good’ areas in New York...about $3,500 for a one-bedroom.

23rd Street is the heart of the Flatiron and you can spend warm weather enjoying Madison Square Park at 23rd Street and Madison Avenue. During the day office workers and nannies with the charges fill the park and enjoy burgers, fries, and ‘concretes’ (milkshakes) at Shake Shack in the center of the park.

Residents can find everything they need to make their apartments homey nearby. There’s a Home Depot on 23rd Street for do-it-yourself-ers. Eataly – the enormous shrine to all things from the Italian kitchen – sits across from Madison Square Park and can provide you with pantry items as well as prepared foods.

Sixth Avenue is a major shopping hub, and that means it’s crowded with tourists pretty much 24/7. The stores are mostly off-price retailers like TJ Maxx and Burlington Coat Factory. For upscale fashion, head over to Fifth Avenue.

The Flatiron District is a favorite with models, art directors, ‘Mad Men’ of advertising, and media moguls. The atmosphere is unself-consciously hip and self-involved. If you’re a young professional on the move, this is the place to move to.

The East Village is an amazing place to live. It’s a neighborhood that has undergone a lot of changes, not all of them good, but for the most part it remains a vibrant, interesting area unlike any other in Manhattan. It is accessible by nearly a dozen different subways. Take the F or V to the Second Avenue station, the L to First Avenue or Third Avenue, and the N, Q, R, W, to Union Square and the 4, 5, 6 to Astor Place.

The East Village’s north and south borders are East 14th Street and East Houston Street, respectively, with Fourth Avenue and the East River providing the other defining boundaries. It should not be confused with Greenwich Village/The West Village which extends west from Broadway to the Hudson River south of 14th Street and north of Houston. The East Village ‘vibe’ has more in common with Lower East Side tenements than with Greenwich Village Brownstones.

Like many of New York’s oldest neighborhoods, the East Village has been targeted by developers seeking to replace decaying buildings with luxury high rises. Long time residents are fighting this trend tooth and nail, working hard to maintain the distinctive characteristics – good and bad – of the area. Their efforts have resulted in new zoning laws that will limit future constructions to 8 stories and under and regulations about creating more affordable housing to ensure that gentrification does not force low- and middle income individuals and families to relocate.

To get a good feel for the zeigeist of the East Village, you should definitely head to Tompkins Square Park on Avenue A. It’s a meeting place for locals and you’ll share benches there with youthful street musicians, NYU students, and just-graduated professionals. There are concerts in the park, an annual Halloween doggie parade, and plenty of people spouting a wide range of political viewpoints.

Drinking is both a pleasure and a problem in the East Village. It packs more bars into its small area than any other neighborhood in Manhattan, so on weekends, popular blocks like St. Marks Place are deafening with the sound of music and party people. Despite the efforts of law enforcement, the East Village continues to be riddled with crime.

Old time New Yorkers remember days when the East Village was filled with squatters and under the ‘protection’ of biker gangs and rents were dirt cheap. Now rents are skyrocketing, and renting a two-bedroom apartment will run you about $3,500. And what you get for your money won’t be a luxury.

What you will get is proximity to some of the most interesting destinations that Manhattan has to offer. There are galleries, vintage clothing stores, multiplexes, and enough ethnic cuisines to let you eat your way around the world. Most notable is East 6th Street between 1st and 2nd Avenues, which is dotted with authentic Indian eateries, both high-priced and low.

East Harlem would be a great place to live...if greedy landlords would make more apartments available. Many are warehousing units in residential buildings, making money off of main floor commercial tenants. But if you look hard enough, you may find something fabulous.

As rents go, East Harlem is one of New York’s more affordable neighborhoods. In contrast to areas to the south and west, great deals can be had on studios and one-bedrooms. Another plus is that many of the buildings are rented by the owners themselves through their agents, so you won’t get hit with broker fees...which can equal a month’s rent or more.

New York apartments are notoriously small, and that’s true in East Harlem, too. Fortunately, a number of affordably priced storage facilities in the neighborhood make it possible for residents to give out-of-season gear and clothing a home of its own, without having to pay top dollar for the space.

East Harlem is considered a ‘middle income’ area, with incomes ranging from $35,000 to $60,000 per person...or $70,000 - $120,000 per household, since most East Harlem families are dual-income households. It is rapidly attracted young professionals, such as healthcare workers, as well as hipsters looking to pay a more reasonable rent.

East Harlem is quite different than West Harlem, which is primarily identified with the African American community. In East Harlem, the dominant ethnic group is Spanish-speaking which has led to the area being known as ‘Spanish Harlem.’ The lively nightlife and street life reflect the friendly, outdoor-orientation of Latin cultures. It is also home to a large Italian population. There are young professionals, including healthcare workers and financial analysts, as well as a growing number of waiters, waitresses, bartenders, and cooks who are kept busy in East Harlem’s plentiful restaurants and bars.

“If I wanted to see birds and trees, I’d move to Kansas,” is how a lot of people in Hell’s Kitchen describe their decision to reside in one of Manhattan’s most urban and gritty neighborhoods. And despite the lack of natural wonders, there is plenty to recommend this neighborhood that runs from

Hell’s Kitchen is also referred to as Clinton and ‘Midtown West’...the polar opposite to Midtown East. While Midtown East is almost exclusively inhabited by people of means, Midtown West is an eclectic mix of ethnic groups, Broadway stars and wannabes, and hard-working middle income families. Because of its urban, dirty exterior, you may be tempted to dismiss Hell’s Kitchen as a ‘poor neighborhood,’ but that would be a mistake.

Although many people who live here are blue collar people trying to get by, increasingly, residents are becoming more affluent. The Census Bureau reports that over the past 10 years, the average income of people who live in the neighborhood has grown from $48,000 to $66,000. As with most up-and-coming neighborhoods, Clinton’s rents are rising rapidly, but are still affordable. You can get a 900-square-foot apartment -- generous by New York standards -- for under $3,000.

The diverse tastes and financial status of residents are reflected in the area’s commercial profile which includes businesses catering to people on both ends of the wealth scale.

Major avenues cut through Hell’s Kitchen and traffic is often congested, wrapping the neighborhood in a blanket of noise and air pollution. Since it is west of New York’s iconic theatre district, it can get packed with sightseers who are Broadway-bound as audience members. That makes it tough to get a taxi or even a piece of sidewalk to stroll on at peak theatre hours.

On the other hand, it makes going out to dinner a lot of fun. There are an increasing number of trendy restaurants opening here, especially along 9th and 10th Avenues, once a no man’s land of crime and prostitution. And while there is still crime in the area, most of it centered around the beleaguered Port Authority Bus Terminal, the presence of the Midtown North Police Precinct on West 54th Street helps keep the rest of the neighborhood safe.

Civic Center is an interesting and somewhat unknown area of Manhattan. Like many of the neighborhoods in proximity to the site of the former World Trade Center, it is a closely knit community of people who were brought together after the September 11th attacks. A Civic Center Residents Coalition works tirelessly on behalf of the people who live here and can be a good resource if you are considering moving to the area.

The boundaries of Civic Center are well-defined. Its northern border is Chinatown; its southern is the Financial Center. The East River (appropriately) is its eastern border and Broadway, an exciting area for nightlife, is its west.

Civic Center was once a sleepy nabe that came alive during the day when the area was packed with people heading to City Hall and the court buildings, or to get to South Street Seaport and Wall Street area. At night, it was a ghost town, with the only people on the street being folks who parked in Civic Center because it was too hard to find a spot in Chinatown...as well as the occasional homeless person and/or drug dealer.

That’s changed over the last few years. There has been a fair amount of development and in response to the arrival of new residents, more businesses, restaurants, and nightspots are opening up. If you’ve ever dreamed of living in a converted office tower, you’ll love Civic Center. Most of the development has centered on renovations of existing properties, rather than construction of new buildings.

The vibe can be a little cold, so if you’re looking for warm and home-y digs, you may want to look elsewhere.

New York City’s Chinatown is located in downtown Manhattan. It is densely populated, with an almost exclusively Asian population...with more Asian residents than any other place in the Western world. As a result, people who live here may have difficulty communicating unless they can speak and read Chinese.

Signs are often written exclusively in Chinese with no English language translation and the products for sale in the ethnic markets may be unfamiliar and a bit daunting. This also makes it difficult to find housing in the area for non-Chinese speakers as most brokers in the area are Asian, too.

Chinatown is, sadly, one of New York’s dirtiest neighborhoods. Residents tend to be new immigrants, and not very wealthy, so they don’t have a lot of political clout. Another problem is the smell. Chinatown is known for its abundance of fresh fish stores, but in the summertime, the reek of seafood can be a bit overwhelming. But just because the neighborhood itself is dirty, don’t expect the stores to be, too.

Chinatown has pristinely clean establishments, including a growing number of bubble tea bars where you can buy unusual Asian drinks and snacks. Chinatown is packed (and I mean REALLY) packed with fabulous Asian restaurants, and not just Chinese ones. And there are hidden gems tucked away behind seemingly uninviting storefronts, including pork buns and fish cakes.

Because Chinatown is a tourist destination, it is always filled with outsiders. Be prepared to be jostled with every step. The streets are crowded with shoppers and street vendors selling fresh produce and Chinese specialties.

Rents in Chinatown don’t come cheap. Because the area is walking distance to other popular neighborhoods: Little Italy, the Lower East Side, Civic Center. You’ll pay as much here for a dilapidated one-bedroom on rundown street as you would for the same space in a more developed neighborhood.

People who live in Chinatown have access to excellent subway transportation with all major lines – eastside and westside – stopping on Canal Street. Bus service is much more limited and pretty much the only way to get crosstown is on food. Taxis? Fuhgettabouddit! The streets are so crowded and narrow that taxis tend to steer clear of this area and the traffic is nightmarish, especially at rush hour when commuters snag Canal Street to access the Holland Tunnel, the Brooklyn Bridge, and the Manhattan Bridge.

It’s much smarter to use the subways.

Chelsea is a fabulous place to live. It’s a very mixed neighborhood with people of different ages and different income levels living in harmony. Members of the LGBT community will find Chelsea especially welcoming.

Rental prices may surprise you in this lively area. Studio prices are climbing, and the average monthly rent is nearly $3,000...the price you would pay for a one-bedroom in other neighborhoods. On the other hand, one-bedroom apartments are now available for about 10% less of what they were a few years ago; $4,000 instead of $4,500. As with most areas, you’ll have to pony up quite a bit more money if you’re looking for a two-bedroom or larger: $6,200 in a doorman building and $5,100 in a non-doorman building.

The buildings in Chelsea are as diverse as its residents. On the east-west streets, you’ll find historic brownstones, lovingly maintained by their owners with stoops and steps where residents lounge on summer days. On the north-south avenues, there has been an explosion of luxury rentals and luxury condos.

You’ll never want for entertainment in Chelsea. More than 100 galleries mean that you can stay in touch with the art scene. The Joyce Theatre is home to an ongoing series of well-loved dance performances, and tickets there are extremely located. On 23rd Street, you’ll find movie theatres galore.

You won’t go hungry in Chelsea either. There’s a mix of American cuisine, ethnic restaurants, and even some fun food trucks to be found on 6th Avenue and 18th Street, where giant retailers Bed, Bath, & Beyond, TJ Maxx, and Marshall’s have storefronts.

Chelsea is made for living, and there are plenty of repair shops, tailors, medical services, and supermarkets (including Trader Joe’s) to make life easy.

For a lot of people moving to NYC, the cold cruel streets and urban environment can leave them longing for the green, green grass of home. But residents who live near Central Park get the best of both worlds. This expansive and brilliantly landscaped green haven provides year-round pleasures both natural (trees, ponds, flower gardens) and man made (theatre performances, musical events, art installations)

You’ll find some of Manhattan’s most desirable and famous properties on Central Park West, such as the Dakota at West 72nd Street. The Dakota is home to a wide range of A-list celebrities, and if you like star-gazing, this area is for you. Money isn’t enough at the Dakota, however. The board is notoriously persnickety and has refused prospective tenants including Billy Joel, Cher, and Antonio Bandaras.

Money IS enough a few blocks down the street and if you’ve got the big money to invest in living there, you should! At 15 Central Park West, for example, owners who originally paid about $2,500, can now command $4,500 per square foot. For park views, be prepared to pay closer to $6,000 per square foot.

If you want to live near the park and are willing to reside further uptown, the blocks above 96th Street are far more affordable, with studios available for as little as $1500. This uptown area isn’t as swanky, but it’s still close to the park and a great place to live.

One of the best things about living on Central Park West or on any of the more affordable side streets that run its length from 59th Street to 110th Street is the ease of commuting. The IND subway has local and express stops along full length of the park, and the ultra-reliable IRT subway is just a few blocks away on Broadway, so you always have options should one train line or another have a problem. You can zoom from CPW to midtown in about 10 minutes and reach the lower tip of Manhattan in about 20.

It’s also easy to get to the eastside. Crosstown buses can be found about every 10 blocks. Schedules vary depending on the time of day, but you seldom have to wait more than 10 minutes.

Despite what the name might suggest to you. Carnegie HILL is nowhere near Carnegie HALL. The famed concert hall is on Seventh Avenue and 57th Street, while Carnegie Hill is defined by 96th Street to the north, 86th Street to the south, Central Park to the west, and Third Avenue to the east.

Carnegie Hill once felt like an impoverished backwater, located just north of Manhattan’s prestigious and ultra-wealthy Upper East Side. Filled with pre-war buildings and tenements, it was quiet and stable, but not considered extremely desirable. In the past few years, however, aggressive development has brought many high-rise apartment buildings to the neighborhood and the area is now one of the most prestigious in Manhattan.

Buying in Carnegie Hill is price-y by nationwide standards, but right in line with costs in most fashionable NYC neighborhoods. Studios run about $525,000 while four-bedroom residences average at about $2,275,000. Depending on your income and your definition of ‘affordable,’ rentals are relatively modest: studios may be found for under $1500.

There are nearly 2 dozen medical facilities in the area, serving both human and pet needs. Shopping and services are very convenient, and you never have to walk more than a few steps to find wonderful restaurants, specialty food shops, and some of NYC’s best museums including the Museum of the City of New York, the Jewish Museum and the Guggenheim.

The Bowery is an iconic Manhattan neighborhood that most people associate with ‘bowery bums,’ high crime, and urban decay. And while this area continues to have a feel of ‘urban blight,’ it is also one of the city’s most vibrant and interesting places to live.

Living on the Bowery puts you in easy walking distance to other great neighborhoods like Little Italy and Chinatown (to the south) and the Lower East Side (to the north). It’s also extremely commutable, with frequent bus service running on all the avenues and subways conveniently located at nearby Astor Place and Broadway. Another great feature is the crosstown bus on 8th Street. Though it runs only every 15 minutes or so, it is very reliable and gets you to the Westside of Manhattan in a jiffy.

On weekend nights, popular hotspots like the Bowery Ballroom mean the neighborhood is filled with limousines, partygoers, and a fair amount of street violence unfortunately. But during the week when the streets are filled with residents and college students, it feels relaxed and friendly.

You’ll pay less for rents on the Bowery, but beware. Condo owners are charging about $1750 for one-bedrooms, but there is no guarantee that your rent will remain stable and most leases are for just one year. And don’t think that just because the Bowery is old and dirty that it’s cheap. New high-rises are popping up constantly, changing the face of the neighborhood and bringing in residents who can pay upwards of $3 million dollars to own an apartment.

The arrival of wealthy high rise dwellers is reflected in distinctive mom and pop shops being replaced by high-end retail stores. For example, t-shirts go for $200 at the John Varvatos boutique located at 315 Bowery. The battle between wealthy newcomers and less privileged long time residents will continue to rage.

At the southeastern tip of Manhattan lies a wealthy community that is very much ‘the future’ of New York City. Created atop a landfill, it was thriving until the September 11th terrorist attacks on the nearby World Trade Center made it feel like a target and residents began to desert the area in fear and home values plummeted.

Now, 10 years later, BCP is booming again and filled with deep-pocketed individuals and families who have the money to purchase six-figure homes (The median sales price is currently $1,303,998.)

Apartments are high-end, too.

Studios in doormen building average about $2,900, while one-bedrooms in luxury towers can be had for $3,200. This is pretty much in line with most areas of Manhattan. But, if you want more space, prepare to pay a lot more money.

The rent for a 2-bedroom is close to $6,000!

One of great things about this neighborhood is how close it makes you feel to nature. Although the high-rise buildings are extremely urban, there is a magnificent esplanade that allows you to stroll and bicycle along the Hudson River. There are also nearly two dozen tiny ‘pocket parks’ in BPC that mean you don’t have to stay in your ‘ivory tower,’ but can come down to earth to enjoy greenery and frequently changing art installations.

On the downside, this is definitely a tourist destination area. That means that on weekends and during the summer, it is crowded with visitors (including international tourists) and BPC goes from feeling home-y to feeling hyper.

Commuting can be a nightmare, especially in inclement weather. Buses serve the area, but they are slow, particularly at rush hour. You’ll need to walk at least 10 minutes to reach one of the subway lines that serve the area.

Many residents simply take taxis, and that ain’t cheap.

The Upper West Side (UWS) of Manhattan isn’t one neighborhood...it’s dozens of constantly evolving communities. One such community is known as Morningside Heights. Morningside Heights is defined by residents as the area south of 125th Street, north of 110th Street, east of Riverside Drive, and West of Morningside Drive. But businesses moving into the area have taken to calling it SoHa – the area south (So) of Harlem (Ha).

Columbia University is located at 116th Street, and its students and faculty are the backbone of SoHa. And although there’s plenty to see and do on Broadway, Amsterdam Avenue is the real heart of SoHa’s youth-centric community...especially when they want to grab a bite to eat.

The friendly bar/restaurant Hakkon’s Hall at 1187 Amsterdam (at 119th Street) has a collegiate vibe, daily specials, “TV dinners” (served on specially designed retro plates) and a nightly happy hour. Despite its casual appearance, the restaurant actually features fine dining thanks to chef James Francis Lenzi, a teaching fellow at the Culinary Institute of America.

Max SoHa, the uptown branch of a popular downtown eatery, is located at 123rd Street and Amsterdam. The atmosphere is relaxed and casual; the food, the cuisine satisfying and affordable. It has outdoor seating, so it’s a great place for people watching.

Students with a sweet tooth head to Kitchenette, another SoHa outpost of a downtown business, located at Amsterdam and 122nd Street. Kitchenette is famous for its straight-from-mom’s kitchen baked goods including towering cake slices, tender crust pies, along with cookies, brownies, and tarts.

How do you get to SoHa? The possibilities are endless. The #1 subway line has stops at 110th Street, 116th Street, and 125th Street. Bus enthusiasts can ride the M104 and M60 on Broadway or the M11 on Columbus Avenue.

SoHa is waiting. Come on up!

On the east side of Manhattan, Bloomingdale’s is an iconic department store. On the west side, Bloomingdale is the area between 96th and 110th Streets, west of Amsterdam Avenue...so named because Broadway was once called Bloomingdale Road. Bloomingdale is also referred to as ‘The Upper-Upper Westside, to define its special place in the broader term ‘Westside,’ that refers to the streets and neighborhoods between Central Park and the Hudson River and between West 59th Street and West 125th Street.

Over the past decade, its family life is has boomed in Bloomingdale. Why? An important reason is nearby educational opportunities for young people. Public and private options for pre-kindergarten through 12th grade exist throughout the Upper West Side and are easily commutable from Bloomingdale via buses on Riverside Drive (M5), Broadway (M104), and Amsterdam Avenue (M7 and M11), by local subway (#1 train stations at 110th, 103rd, and 96th) and express trains (#2 and #3 and 96th Street)

In Bloomingdale, learning is fundamental...and fun! One of the most respected learning institutions for youngsters is the renowned Bank Street School on 112th Street. Nearly 100 years old, the school is renowned for its interdisciplinary approach to education. In addition to intellectual development, the school also addresses the social, emotional, and physical development of its students.

Bloomingdale brings together a diverse mix of New Yorkers. Household incomes are varied, too. Some residents are wealthy while others are receiving public assistance. The area is home to long time residents who have watched the neighborhood transform from a no man’s land of drug dealers to a haven of safe, friendly streets. There is also a tremendous transient community of students who are here to attend Columbia University, Barnard, Manhattan School of Music, and other institutions of higher learning.

The bottom line: parents care about their kids in Bloomingdale and it is common to watch strangers become friends as they discuss raising and educating their brood here. You’ll love it here!

Welcome to SoCo, the Manhattan neighborhood I’ve called home for more than a decade. SoCo is the area immediately South of Columbia University, New York’s premier learning institution located at 116th Street. It is north of what most folks think of as the Upper West Side (or UWS), and south of the area known as Morningside Heights.

Here, residents know their neighbors and have a strong sense of belonging. Once a dangerous, drug-ridden area, it has evolved over the past decade into a haven for families, singles, young folks and old from all over the world.

Our diverse community is reflected in the diversity of ethnic eateries, many of them located along Broadway a short stretch of Broadway. You can unleash your inner Francophile at French bistro Le Monde (Broadway at 112th), ‘go Greek’ at Symposium (on 113th Street, just east of Broadway), feast on Turkish delights at Amir’s Falafel (Broadway at 113th Street).

Looking for healthy fare? We’ve got you covered! Check out vegan eatery Zen Palate (on 105th Street, just east of Broadway) and locavore-centric Community Food and Juice ((Broadway at 113th Street). Or treat yourself to an All-American brunch at moderately priced Metro Diner (Broadway at 100th Street), upscale Deluxe Diner (Broadway at 113th Street), or Tom’s Diner (Broadway at 112th Street).

Walk off your meal with a stroll in nearby Central Park, Riverside Park, or SoCo’s hidden jewel: Morningside Park. It’s a gorgeous 30-acre park that goes from 110th to 123rd Streets from Morningside Avenue to Morningside Drive with baseball fields, a peaceful pond, and gorgeous rock formations.

Getting here is half the fun! There are more transportation options than you can shake a stick at. There are two subway lines to choose from, one on Central Park West and one on Broadway. So you always have a good commuting alternative if train service is interrupted on one line or the other. And buses! Boy-oh-boy do we have buses! Every street has a bus of its own – there are 2 on Amsterdam Avenue (M11 and M7) – and you can catch a bus (M60) to LaGuardia Airport at convenient stops between 106th Street and 125th Streets.

Of course, with so much to do in SoCo, you really never need to go anywhere else!