What are some safe and affordable neighborhoods for female students in NYC area?

Question

I am going to NYC next week with my daughter and her roommate-to-be to look for an apartment. They will be attending classes beginning in October in midtown Manhattan. Looking for something safe and affordable ($1800. per month or less) with easy access to transit. What areas would fit this criteria? Thanks!

Answer 1

The best place will be Midtown. Upper West Side is also a nice neighborhood. It's quiet and there's reliable transportation. About 10 minutes away from midtown by subway.

Have you also checked with the school? Because they usually have recommendations or have residence halls. They may have arrangements with apartment buildings for their students.

Cheaper apartments can be found in Astoria, Queens. It's a few minutes away from midtown.

I heard Brooklyn is also nice and cheaper than Manhattan apartments.

This is where I got my first apartment:

http://www.studenthousing.org/

Check this out too:

http://www.nystudenthousing.com/home.htm...

Answer 2

I live in a nice, upscale part of the Bronx (riverdale--look it up) and pay $500 a month.  If cost is a main concern, just commute from the bronx.  Sure the commute is about 45 minutes, but when you're saving $1000 a month, and the area is VERY safe, how the h**l is that not worth it?

Answer 3

Safe and affordable are completely subjective terms when dealing with NYC. Usually its either affordable and not so safe, or safe and living in a shoe box for $2000 a month. Midtown is the easiest place to get to in NYC since its literally the heart of the city. However, its going to be difficult to find an affordable place anywhere since its INSANELY expensive to live in Manhattan. For around $1800, you may be able to find a really small studio they could share, but its going to be a lot of work to find one, and most brokers in Manhattan will charge an arm and a leg for a broker fee, and will require you to make 40x the monthly rent.

Basically, anywhere in Manhattan below 96th street should be a safe bet, but you are the best judge as to what you consider safe and unsafe. Go with your gut instinct. And even if you live in a place that you feel is safe, its still NYC and anything can happen anywhere. As long as you keep aware of your surroundings, use common sense, and don't walk down deserted streets by yourself late at night, you should be fine.

Answer 4

Here is a well written, narrated and organized guide to the best web resources for students looking for a NYC apartment.   The site that hosts it has lots of other good information for your daughter, including an enormous guide to NYC and several guides specific to college students.

http://www.findingdulcinea.com/guides/Ca...