Lower East Side - Apartments and Culture

I'm starting FT in NYC in July and I've begun looking at 2 bedroom apartments for my future roommate and myself. Based on my office's location and my own budget LES along with HK seem to provide the best bang for my buck, when compared to Murray Hill, Chelsea, East Village, etc. Since I'm not familiar with NYC neighborhoods and apartments, I was wondering if someone could provide some commentary on the culture/lifestyle of LES.

Specifically, I'm hoping people could comment on the following:

  1. I'm aware LES is on the busier (and more fun) side, but how loud/noisy is the neighborhood? My role is hybrid, so I'll be WFH quite often and I've never lived in a city before, so how much do I need to worry about catching up on sleep during the weekends compared to other neighborhoods.
  2. How is accessible is transportation? I should be able to get to my office relatively quickly (20 -25 minutes) using public transport, but I'm curious if it will be a pain traveling throughout the city and not just downtown. Additionally, are there ample gyms/grocery stores/laundry mats/drycleaners/etc. throughout the neighborhood or will it be a pain to access common "amenities".
  3. In general, how is the building quality (specifically are most buildings rodent/insect infested)? I'm aware that most buildings are pre-war and lack elevators/laundry/etc., but I really don't want to deal with rodents/insects (had a probelm with one at school and was a huge pain/gross).

Thanks in advance for any guidance!

 

All apartments in LES will be shitholes, unless you pay for luxury. The area is loud, rat infested, and filled with cock-roaches.

HK - is great but it gets suspicious the closer you get to time square. The closer you are to Columbus circle, the safer and cleaner it is. Lots of restaurants = rodent problems.

Murray Hill - This used to be the best place to get an apartment if you were looking for a new apartment with top-notch amenities. Surprised to see you say that you aren't able to find apartments priced reasonably. Could be a change of times.

Chelsea - Boring area to live in, super overpriced. It's expensive because it's close to the cool parts of the city, but no one wants to go to Chelsea for anything (unless Marque is your thing).

East Village - Same as LES. Apartments might be even worse here. 

 
Most Helpful

LES is not a great area and will be quite loud. You should be looking at laundry/dry cleaners within radius of any specific units, not just within a neighborhood... but assuming you guys are spending ~$5k for a 2/1, you should be able to get laundry in building. With banking hours you are going to want to at least have that - super easy to do on WFH days, while taking your stuff to a laundromat is a huge pain in the ass. Also, the main subway lines in LES to get uptown (B/D/F/M) seem convenient on the map, but in reality are some of the worst in the city - not unusual to wait 45 minutes for a train on a weekend.

Hells Kitchen is pretty decent if you can stay close to Columbus Circle/the park. Forget about it if it's super west/near the water (very low transit access) or Times Square.

For a Tribeca office I'd look at Columbus Circle/Lincoln Center/Central Park South area, parts of Fidi close to the 1 or 2/3, Chelsea but again not too far west (staying close to the 8th ave L stop) and maybe EV close to the L (StuyTown is excellent bang for your buck btw). Also obviously Greenwich Village/West Village/Soho are great areas and convenient but likely out of your price range... but if you see anything pop up there, worth considering.

Murray Hill is going to be a very annoying commute so would cross that one out

IMO most efficient way to look on StreetEasy is to check 2 bedrooms, laundry in building, eliminate location filters and zoom in on the above areas. sometimes there will be something 1 block out of a defined StreetEasy location. I see ~20+ units in the areas I mentioned so that's a good starting point

Finally most things are listing and renting same day, some even with bidding wars well over asking price, so if you like a unit you need to apply ASAP

Array
 

Thanks so much for all the details and advice! I'm starting to focus the search on HK/LC/Central Park. While I'm going into banking, my roommate isn't in finance, and hence our budget is much smaller (~$3.5k) or if I live alone (don't want to do this) I'd be willing to spend up to $2.5k per month.

With the tighter than normal rental budget constraint, would this impact the above information at all? Additionally, would my social life struggle at all being so far removed from EV/LES (and to a lesser extent Murray Hill) as a straight male who is new to the city? From my understanding, the majority of the social scene fresh out of undergrad is concentrated on the east side. Thanks for all the help!

 

Woof, $3.5k in this market is tight. Assume you want to live with this person no matter what, but any chance you could find a third roommate, ideally in IB? A $3.5k 2 bedroom is honestly just not going to be something you want to live in... even if you're trying to be thrifty. If third roommate isn't possible, look for 1 bedrooms with a somewhat larger living space that would let you put up a flex wall (you have to ask about this). 2 bedroom flex with 3 people total would be even better.

I'd prioritize work commute over social scene - unless you're living right at the L or M21 bus stop, EV and LES can become a decently long commute. From any of the areas I mentioned it'll be a ~20 min subway or Uber, you're not going out more than twice a week in IB so I wouldn't consider that a huge detriment. You can move downtown when you have a bit more money to play with

Array
 

If you’re working on the west side of Manhattan, stay on the west side. At your budget you could find a 1BR in FiDi and then either flex it or have your friend sleep in the living room area (if it exists).

Array
 

TriBeCa, soho or noho will have doorman buildings (I used to live in noho) that also have a level of cleanliness.  When you look at buildings, check out the garbage room on the floor and look to see if they have bug pest strips in the corner.  That will tell you if the building has any bug issues

 

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