West Side Hwy, Chelsea

The West Side Highway actually becomes 11th Avenue once the Meatpacking turns into Chelsea (strangely, it turns into West End further uptown). It's pretty remote as far as people traffic goes over here unless it's nice out, but I kind of prefer that to the more clustered areas. 11th can have a lot of traffic because it is more of a highway than an Avenue, so I wouldn't recommend living on 11th if you have small children -- the cars can shoot through here. But, it's nice to live by because there are a lot of fun activities happening on 11th around here.
11th in Chelsea starts at Chelsea Piers. Chelsea Piers used to be an actual major pier but now it's more of a rec center with a few businesses like the Law and Order Casting office. There's bowling, rock climbing, trapeze, a driving range, a kid's gym . . all kinds of "outdoor" things to do at Chelsea Piers so it's great for the young and outdoorsy set. Right across from the pier are a few big time luxury condo buildings that are stupidly expensive and have quite the view of the Hudson . . . and a women's correctional facility as their neighbor. Interesting neighbor to have when you're shelling out that kind of dough.
As you get up into the 20's there are all kinds of things happening such as the Sanford Meisner Theatre, a really pretty Uhaul building, a strip club, more park and a creepy hostel. You will see every kind of person on 11th in this area which is pretty cool. But, it's maybe not so cool for the people who live in the brownstones on the surrounding streets.
There are two really cool, old apartment buildings right on the corner of 26th. The one of the west side is particularly noticeable because of the massive amounts of massive windows. It's what you would think of when you imagine a Manhattan loft kind of building. But, the building I think is the coolest (and creepiest) is the Terminal building at 27th. It looks like an old brick dungeon. They have used it in a number of movies and tv shows and it was a maze-like club for many years. Now, it's back to being a storage facility, I believe, and I think that's a shame.
Once you get up into the 30's, there's pretty much nothing going on here except the abandoned part of the Highline and a smattering of uneventful buildings. There aren't really any bars or restaurants over here; and, public transportation leaves much to be desired (the closest subway is at 8th Ave). But, it's a great mix of people and there are some really lovely places to live. I just wouldn't walk around here alone late at night. There's not enough going on after dark for you to feel safe.