NYC: Best Places to Live?
My 3 roommates and I are moving from a big state school in the midwest to NYC in July. We are all working in investment banking in midtown.
I've heard around a lot that each section of Manhattan has it's own personality (murray hill = fratty, young for instance). I'm generally really interested in an updated discussion on where the best places to live in the city are. I am also curious about how important things like area, nightlife, commute are in making that decision.
I've personally reached out to some people I know in the city, but I have gotten a wide range of responses, from Gramercy, East Village, Hell's Kitchen, and Murray Hill.
We are mostly optimizing for price, but also would like to be in a fun area where we can get the most out of the city. Murray hill also seems to be close to all of our offices, but I've heard that commute isn't as big of a deal as many think. Seems like we are all WFH part of the week as well, which just causes me to put more stress on the importance of getting a good place, seeing as I will actually be living there.
As you said, it’ll depend on what you are looking for (and your price range).
In general, I’m not a fan of midtown, mostly corporate and touristy.
I don’t like Murray hill, but it’s a popular spot for new grads. Lots of bars that remind you of college, easy commute to midtown.
I prefer gramercy, east village, Greenwich village (or even west village). Nice areas, easy access to a lot of nyc (especially if close to union square), quieter at night (feels more like a neighborhood), and more of a “nyc” feel. You can quickly head to many of the bars in east village or Murray hill, but can also have a great meal at the restaurants (or hang out in one of the parks). Downside is that these areas tend to be more expensive and the building are generally older and have fewer amenities.
A lot of state schoolers live in Murray Hill though, so OP could live closer to school friends if he moves there, which is a plus!
East village and gramercy aren't just "more expensive" than murray hill, they are much more expensive. I know a lot of people who live in murray hill and hells kitchen. They live there not because they want to live there.
I agree, but it also comes down to what tradeoffs you are willing to make. You can find decently priced units in those areas, but they won’t be as nice as spending the same amount in Murray hill (but getting harder to do as rents are increasing). When I was more junior and had to make the choice, I prioritized location over amenities/“niceness” of building. At the end of the day, with $3-4k (and that’s higher than what an A1 should be spending) you aren’t going to get everything you want in nyc, so you have to decide what’s important to you (everything from A/C, dishwasher, to things like location, amenities, transportation, etc).
LES or East Village
I’ve seen a lot of love for East Village. Personally really thinking on that area. Great comments and appreciate it.
Bump
Any good/safe areas near Columbia uni? Starting my masters there soon and not from nyc
The upper west side is really nice, although more family oriented and a bit “slower paced” (residential, not a night club scene if that is what you are looking for). Also, that whole area is close to Central Park which is great if you like biking, running, or just being outside
I wouldn’t live too close to the university, the area from 100-120th st isn’t the best. Not a terrible area, but definitely not as nice as Columbus circle up to mid 70s/80s. So if you have the budget and still want to be a short subway ride away (10-15mins) I would live around W65-80th st, probably closer to the park (broadway, Amsterdam, CPW). You will still have some bars and nice restaurants, but you won’t have the same “going out” scene as you will further downtown.
I live with my girlfriend in lower Manhattan (Tribeca/battery park) and we absolutely love it! We are past that stage of going out and drinking (occasionally do it for a birthday) so we absolutely love how quiet and clean the area is all year round. We take a lot of walks around the water and always catch a movie at regal/picnic at the park and we feel super safe walking at night. I can’t imagine living anywhere else especially around midtown. While going out seems fun it gets old real quick and living around night life isn’t fun and it’s dirty and loud.
Can I PM you
Beautiful area. It’s a shame the banks moved away
Have you considered Roosevelt Isle or LIC? Since you will be living with several roomies these locations offer larger (and often newer) places with plenty of access to fresh air/green space. They both are only a couple of stops from midtown so going to Happy Hour was not a problem. When I worked in the city, I lived further out so I could have a car. The downsides maybe when working after 12 AM in the office - trains are less frequent I think and the fact that you will not be living in the City. To be honest, the best food is located in the outer boroughs.
LIC is serious poor people shit...stop trying to make it a thing, it is not.
Give me all of the MS you can throw...LIC is a dump. Doesn't matter that you have a shinny building. You can have a shinny building in NYC.
West Village is the best area in the city outside of maybe Tribeca for the truly loaded. WV will probably be outside of the 1st year analyst's rent budget tho
Little bit of a moot point right now to be honest. If you are moving July 1 or 15, I would consider just above every area below the ~70s... pick a nice enough apartment, hopefully laundry in building or unit, that has a reasonable commute to your offices (under 30 minutes, no more than 1 transfer, under 10 min walk to subway from your house)
The current rental market is BRUTAL (bidding wars on almost every unit, things renting over listing price within hours of posting) and 4 bedrooms are hard to come by, you just don't have the luxury of picking and choosing neighborhoods right now if you have a tight move date, high # of beds needed, and are on a 1st year analyst budget. I would just make sure you're not super far from a subway, or giving yourself an impossible commute.
For me laundry in building at least is kind of non-negotiable, sending your laundry out on an IB schedule is brutal. Spend your first year in the city scoping out other neighborhoods and hope you have more choice next year if the market cools down a bit.
$2600 studio in UWS (btw I'm that guy), Chad tier location, Chad neighborhood (not noisy)
Is this Indiana?
Illinois.
Damnnn UIUC? I should've accepted my spot on the waitlist then
All 4 of you are from the same big state school, and you're all going into IBD? Damn, son
Never seen before
Live in the West Village and love it. Leaps and bounds nicer than the East Village or any neighborhood closer to Midtown.
What is your rent? WV is probably the nicest area in the city, but unless you locked down some long-term covid deal, is well out of the price range of just about any first year analyst
Approx. 6k for a 2 bed 2 bath in a nice section of the area... maybe bit tight for an A1 though prob worth it.
Posted this earlier, but cannot recommend LIC enough.
1) Food - while Manhattan is obviously the king of fine dining and salad restaurants, the normal restaurants in LIC are insanely better than Manhattan and decently cheaper. The Vietnamese place nearby is 10x better than any place I've tried in Manhattan for $11/bowl and the Korean place (shoutout Lim's Kitchen) is literally the best Korean food I've had in America. Just more ethnic diversity and lower rents = better food.
2) Price / commute - much cheaper even though commute is better. I used to live in FiDi and would commute 35 minutes to work with a transfer in the middle. I now am a 5 minute express train (E/M) away. I live about 7 minutes away from the train station so my commute is more like 15 minutes, but if I lived in the Court Square area I could probably do door-to-door to my firm in 8 minutes. Train is also reliable on weekdays and frequent. I also have a dope 2BR apartment that would probably be $6k+ in Manhattan for half the price.
3) Community / Environment - Manhattan is too large and transient to foster a real sense of community. Go outside in LIC and there's parks, families, community events (free comedy shows and music acts every night at Culture Lab), breweries - and if you want to get into Manhattan for degen nightlife you're 10 minutes away.
A lot more but these are probably the biggest reasons I prefer living here vs. Manhattan. Can't see myself ever living in Manhattan again.
My point exactly! Some people think the City is the best for everything. I say it is great for jobs and clubs. However, I have spent generations exploring the boroughs and know for sure that great things (especially food) can be found across the river. Best Greektown = Astoria, Best Chinatown = Flushing, Best Italian & Jewish Deli = The Bronx, Best Steakhouse = Brooklyn and Queens (Peter Lugers), etc... I do love the UWS (Riverside Park area) and Chelsea though.
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