How do people view various NYC neighborhoods?

I can't say enough good things about "Bloomingdale" -- my little sub-pocket of the UWS. Great park access, great train access, diverse neighborhood with lots of 19th-century housing stock, decent supermarkets, and close enough to Fairway..

I work downtown and I put clients in the Village all the time (and lived there for two year) -- but to play devil's advocate, it's expensive, it's crowded, and you're either near the trains (in which case you feel like you live at NYU) or in a leafy corner of the world -- in which case the trains are kind of a shlep.

Also, I'm sure the arrival of TJ's (and the renovation of Jeff Market) have helped, but grocery shopping in the Village is a chore and a half. Chelsea Market is good for a lot of things, but I believe there hasn't been a butcher there for a year ..

ali r.
{downtown broker}

Depends on where you are in your life. Young, single, enjoy night life? Probably better off below 14th. Married, 1 kid, 1 one on the way, school zones important? Probably better off uptown, most likely UWS. Somewhere in between? Probably will enjoy Chelsea or Murray Hill near Park Ave. Where you work is also a consideration.

Chelsea used to be so nice during its pre-breeder era.

You're right about that, Matt. Chelsea was great until the 1980s, when The Gays started moving in, to pave the way (as they're genetically programmed to do, like worker ants) for breeders.

I think Chelsea's modern "heyday" was the late 1980s through 1990s when it experienced transformation. When I moved there in mid-late 1980s is was off-beat warehouse district full of clubs and cool outpost eateries and home to those who establish trends. Despite desolate stretches at night, it was still relatively safe even in those awful crime-ridden times. GV was decimated by AIDS and straight families swarmed into the apartments vacated by the dead and RE values soared. Gay people starting out in NYC couldn't afford to live there anymore. Thus began the great migration north to Chelsea.

As more and more gay people settled in Chelsea, it established itself as the "new GV" and place to be for the gay scene. Restaurants and shops and bars and clubs sprang up. RE values crept steadily upward throughout the 1990s as the area became one of Manhattan's go-to spots. Negatives existed: Chelsea lacked a good park, no one cared about schools although there were some decent ones (the gay adoption thing was still a decade away), and the gritty-ness appealed to residents.

But as it became more popular and gentrified, RE values priced out the very people who colonized Chelsea and the slow migration continued north to Hell's Kitchen. Everything that was special became more mundane in Chelsea, the restaurants less remarkable, the bars tired, the shops more banal. Strollers started clogging sidewalks where they'd never been wheeled before and by the turn-of-the-century Chelsea had lost much of its cache for many who had sang its praised for the prior two decades.

I think the High Line will do a lot to revitalize Chelsea's western boundry just as the galleries started to do. But while I like the convenience of the mall-of-America 6th Avenue, I find little that draws me anywhere between those big-box stores and the High Line anymore.

For me, the central Village holds much more allure with its proximity to the gorgeious new Wash Sq Park, vibrancy and dynamicism of the East Village, SoHo shopping an easy walk but no need to suffer the throngs of SoHo, and the romance of the West Village (at least select favorite spots).

This topic has been much discussed on Streeteasy. Search the discussion threads for specific discussions on this topic.

I find the UWS the most boring part of town. I like some of the old mansion on the UES. You take it for granted sometimes, but walking the park blocks, wow.

I also just like "the middle". Lets say between park and 6th, maybe 23 down to 5th. You're talking about a bunch of neighborhoods... but within a few blocks, you have about as concentrated cool stuff - shopping, food, culture - as you can possibly get in NYC.

I also think that high-line is going to be amazing for chelsea. Already a clear positive effect, but long term, this is going to really expand the great parts of the neighborhood.

Are you saying UWS people with kids are boring? How dare you! Why just two weeks ago my wife and I BOTH stayed up past 10 and considered putting the speakerphone on the cell in the kids bedroom and heading for Cleopatras. In the end we just watched Dave on the DVR - but don't think for a moment we aren't capable of some pretty wild shit up here.

spinnaker, LOL.

I hear that the movie theater shows boobies from time to time, too.

Obviously you've never had kids. Boobies boobies everywhere.

spin, funny. and here i am, up after 10.

oh god. ain't it the truth. too funny!

I once had a coworker who lived in Harlem w/ his family. When I told him we lived on the UWS, his response was "pssh....you live in the burbs".

he was right

if you are a dickhead you live on the UWS

petrfitz, if by UWS you mean Pitt St, then yes, that sounds plausible.

Thanks everyone. I was hoping to hear from people who live in other parts of NYC like Brooklyn or Queens. We're always looking to explore new neighborhoods on the weekends. Thanks again.

lobster, if you're looking to explore Brooklyn, there's obviously tons of choice. I'd start with the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, walk through some of the brownstone and tree-lined streets nearby, then head down Smith St through Cobble Hill and Carroll Gardens. I think that's a pretty lovely intro. Prospect Park and much of Park Slope and Boerum Hill are also beautiful. Williamsburg and Greenpoint are more apropos if you're looking for a night out on the town.

Thanks for your suggestions, bjw2103. I worked in Brooklyn Heights for three years many years ago and I love the Promenade. I'm not very familiar with the rest of Brooklyn, but have heard many good things about the Smith Street area. Hope that you enjoy your Thanksgiving holiday.

"I find the UWS the most boring part of town."

Yes, compared to the blue hair walker racing circuit on the UES, the UWS doesn't have a chance.

For Brooklyn, try Bath Beach, Flatlands, and Gravesend. They have really funny names.

Thanks lobster, hope you have a great one as well.