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While not the most visual appealing street in the area (St. Felix lacks the cozy tree lined feel that many other Ridgewood streets have), there is a great local vibe on this street. It is primarily residential and there is a school close to Evergreen park, so I would stay away from housing in that immediate vicinity as it can get quite noisy from the kids and the bus drop off/pick up. A big downside is that you are pretty far from the closest subway stop (the L at Halsey).

Catalpa Ave is a standard street in this area. There are fairly average detached houses, row homes and small buildings. It is primarily residential and many people who live on the sreet own cars so parking is tough. If you liive near Cypress Hills st, you can walk to the Fresh Pond M train (warning, the M train is pretty bad) otherwise there are M stops on Forest and Seneca but it is a longer walk because Catalpa takes a big southern arc once it crosses fresh pond. There are a decent amount of trees and the people are friendly. It's a two way road though so unlike some of the one way roads surrounding it, it gets a lot of traffic from cars looking to cross into Brooklyn towards Myrtle avenue.

The most obvious way to describe Ridgewood Place is that it is short. And short it is - running the length of only three short Queens blocks, this tiny little street is part residential, part commercial and part parking garage. Two out of the three blocks are occupied on the north side of the street by the back of a giant supermarket parking lot and the delivery truck bay is right against the fence and it gets loud. During the delivery rush, truck after truck turn down Ridgewood Place and fly into the parking lot. Another 20% of the street is occupied by ugly single car garages - rows and rows of them. Many more garages than houses. Strange. The good news is that it is a short walk to the supermarket and the Subway at Myrtle. The surrounding are offers a ton of places to get sundries but nothing remotely upscale in terms of dining or shopping. Rent in the area is still a bargain in comparison to other areas of similar safety and access to transit.

Yellowstone Blvd is a strange thoroughfare. On the end towards the Woodhaven Blvd split, it has your typical gritty major intersection vibe, and on the north end by Austin Street/Queens Blvd, it is busy and bustling with cars and tons of apartment buildings. In the middle however, Yellowstone Blvd offers about 5 consecutive tree lined blocks of detached homes - a rare sight in the city, but very common in this part of Forest Hills, Queens. While Yellowstone does form the northwestern boundary of Forest Hills, the street as a whole is somewhat removed from the community and vibe of that neighborhood. The core of Forest Hills (along Austin Street) is certainly accessible by foot within 10-15 minutes depending on what end of Yellowstone you live on, but you still feel that you are on the perimeter of the area and not a part of the neighborhood. Train options can be very limited depending on what end of the street you live on. The south terminus by Woodhaven Blvd for example, is quite a haul from the nearest subway. If you live on the north end by Austin St., you are about 10 minutes from the 71st Ave EFRV stop or the LIRR Forest Hills stop. If you have a car, the semi urban remoteness of this street probably won't bother you that much, but if you don't, plan on getting fed up pretty quickly as the immediate area offers very little in terms of amenities.

First off, Roosevelt Ave is miles long. This review focuses on the stretch between 69th street and Elmhurst Avenue in the Jackson Heights/Elmhurst section. For those who don't know, Roosevelt is the major commercial (and vehicular route) stretch of the area. During the day, it is an extremely busy and crowded road. Elmhurst Hospital Center on the western end packs the area with commuters during the AM/PM rush, but at night, the area becomes very quiet and a bit seedy. There are your standard bodegas and fast food joints, along with some good Spanish food places, but the abundance of liquor stores, check cashing joints and array of bars makes the street a fairly unsafe place for non-locals late at night. There is a lot of crime related to fights at the bars, and a recent shooting around 80th street has caused a lot of concern for long time residents. I don't recommend you live along the avenue, instead look on the side streets on the north side closer to 37th avenue. Single men looking for affordable housing would probably fare well in the immediate area, but if you have a significant other or are a female, I wouldn't feel safe here.

37th Ave is one of the main commercial strips in the Queens neighborhood of Jackson Heights. The "core" of the stretch is concentrated between 72nd St and 79th St and offers everything from your typical Starbucks and Dunkin Doughnuts to some really amazing Indian, Italian and Argentinian fare. Armondo's is great for Italian, La Portena has some awesome Argentinian meats, and the Jackson Diner on the corner of 74th has incredible Indian food! Other than the restaurants, there are several mini-supermarkets offering fresh veggies and rare offerings from India and Asia. Worth a visit for city residents and tourists alike.

I spent a lot of time on 35th Avenue between 73rd and 80th streets looking for an apartment. While I eventually moved elsewhere, I absolutely love this stretch of Jackson heights. 35th and the surrounding blocks are wide, tree lined streets and have a very "Brooklyn" feel to them except substitute pretty brick faced apartment buildings for the the brownstones. It is peaceful and parking is easy to find. 35th is also close enough to the stores and action on 37th ave and the Roosevelt/Broadway area, but you would never know it because once you cross over to 35th, the neighborhood has a completely different feel. For those who don't know, Jackson Heights is primarily an Indian, Pakistani and Asian neighborhood with the former dominating the 37th ave business stretch in the 70s. It offers AMAZING food, a greenmarket on weekends and an overall very family friendly environment. The commuting options are abundant as the E,F,R,V and 7 trains are all within walking distance from this strecth of 35th.

24th Avenue, Astoria Queens. How I love thee. Seriously, this is a great street with some serious benefits and equally as serious pitfalls. Let's get the bad out of the way. First, unless you are a serious summer alcoholic (or an aspiring one), you don't want to live anywhere near the Beer Garden between 29th and 31st streets. It is noisey, there are cabs everywhere, and did I mention noisey. Next issue is the subway. Once you are out of Manhattan, the N/W express becomes very un expresslike and as much as Asotria and the surrounding Steinway areas have to offer in terms of bars and nightlife, it gets old quick and you WILL find yourself travelling into Manhattan and Brooklyn several times a month for entertainment. Also n that note, the N connects to Manhattan in midtown - yucky yuck for weekend plans. That means you'll wind up riding it all the way down to at least Union Sq, which can take an ENTERNITY! OK, enough complaints. The positives: It's a very friendly and clean street. People know each other by name on their immediate block. You are a close walk to Ditmars which offers a lot of food and shopping (think: sundries, not botiques - although a few have started to pop up). On 24th specifically, you can walk straight down to Astoria Park, which is an awesome place to hang out and play ball in the summer. The end towards the park is more residential, while the closer you get to Astoria Blvd, there a few corner shops, etc. Very safe and quiet at night. One of the greatest nabes in all of Queens.

It's important to note that Liberty Ave runs through a good portion of Queens, thus this review will focus on the "Richmond Hill" portion of Liberty Avenue where it intersects with Lefferts Blvd. The first thing you notice when looking at a map is that this place is pretty far out into queens. Have no fear, while the J/E trains aren't fantastic, you can be in midtown within 40 minutes on a good day. With that being said, the distance makes weekend travel to anywhere a nightmare, unless like many Richmond Hill residents, you have a car. The neighborhood has a very ethnic feel to it. West Indian, Guyanese and Indian merchants dominate the blocks surrounding the intersection of Liberty Avenue and Lefforts. The neighborhood offers some great cuisine but closes up fairly early. On the weekends, the streets are packed with people walking from market to market buying food. If you don't share a similar background with the residents, you will stand out, but they are by no means hostile towards outsiders. If you do have a car, parking is a bit tedious as there are many houses with driveways, thus tons of curb cuts and little street parking. You will, however, be close to the LIE, Van Wyck, Jackie Robinson Parkway and the Belt, which can pretty much take you anywhere in Queens or Brooklyn within 30 minutes on the weekends (traffic permitting). Not a good place for singles, as the social and night life options are limited and the bar scence is very local. It would be prefectly adequate for a couple or a family if you are looking for a bit more space and an interesting cultural vibe.

Located on the border of Bushwick and Ridgewood, this Queens portion of Jefferson avenue is farily quiet and safe. While the immediate neighborhood has little to offer in terms of culture, nightlife and dining, the street is a quick walk to the L train at either Halsey or Myrtle Ave. The catering hall at the end of Jefferson (by Cypress) can complicate parking on the block, but most events are over by 11PM at which point the street becomes extremely quiet. The homes are not much to look at, but the low housing and rental prices offer a value that can't be found in other locations in the immediate surroundings. In terms of safety, crime is relatively low and there is sufficient foot traffic late at night on both Cypress and Wyckoff avenues to make a late walk home from the subway relatively safe. I would recommend this area for young singles or couples looking for an affordable place to live. If you have kids, I would look elsewhere.