West 25th St, Chelsea

There are a lot of galleries right on 25th and 11th which is kind of nice considering that you get the Hudson, the Highline view and some art all in a one block radius. You can spend an entire afternoon without leaving this one block which is really convenient for people that live around here. The lovely aesthetic would continue through 10th because of the really pretty church on the north side of the street; but, the public housing buildings that share the block are somewhat of a killjoy if you ask me.
Once you cross 8th, the area becomes drastically more commercial but in a high end sort of way. There are luxury buildings all over the place as well as a Whole Foods, a nail salon and a graphic arts building. I prefer the quiet of the street west of 8th, but if you like a little bit of hustle and a big building, around 8th isn't a bad spot. There are a couple of old garment district buildings cum apartments right on the corner at 27th that have long been converted into apartments and some lovely little antique shops that share the block, but the block is largely lackluster. The block at 6th, however, has quite a bit going as most blocks around 6th are want to do. There are a slew of massive luxury buildings (the kind with doormen that are over 400 square feet). There's also a Comfort Inn which used to to be the Arlington Hotel, a Cathedral and Sam French (a massive shop for theatre books and plays). The southwest corner of the block has a building that is now an antique store and apartment building but used to be Hoffman House. It was a really elegant hotel that became famous for the bar's display of Satyrs and Nymphs. William Hearst lived at Hoffman when he first came to New York. It's a shame the old Hoffman isn't still around -- because we so needed another antique store.
25th isn't a bad street by any means, but it's getting dangerously close to midtown which is a place where dreams go to die in my opinion. And, the further east you go on this street, the more people, noise and traffic you will find. Some people like that, but I don't think there are any noteworthy spots on this street that warrant having to deal with so many people, so if I were going to live here, I wouldn't look east of 7th.