Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with newyorkcity and neighborhoods

I don't want to cuddle my pepperspray all night.

Ms. Saint — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:46:45 -0800

I need to go to a professional conference in New York City at the end of December. I'll be going alone. Where can I find a cheap, safe hotel? I've never been to NYC, and, really, I know more about the city through episodes of Law & Order more than anything else. I really don't want to end up staying in a bad part of town, or a sketchy part of town, but I also really need to find a really cheap hotel. And even though I already know that nothing bad would probably happen to me in sketchy areas, what I want is to feel safe while there. I don't care about size of the room, I don't care about any amenities at all (except internet access would be nice), mostly I just want a place where I can sleep without freaking myself out about being alone in a hotel in a giant, unfamiliar city. So I have some questions that someone more familiar with the town might be able to help with:

1) The hostels (Chocolat Hotel and Hostel, Candy Hostel, etc) look like really good deals, but I don't know anything about them. Does anyone have experience with them, able to tell me if they're good environments?

2) What general areas should I be looking at? I mean, I know the names ("SoHo," "Upper West Side," etc), but I know nothing about what types of neighborhoods those are. Where can I find something cheap, and what areas should I avoid (as being too shady)?

3) What can I expect from a hotel room with a shared bathroom? This whole concept is completely unfamiliar to me -- I've never had a shared bathroom in a hotel. I'm not against it, in theory, but I'd just like to know what to expect. Will I likely have to interact with anyone? Is it the sort of thing that often leads to frustration (the bathroom constantly being used, no hot water when you need it, etc), or is it really not a big deal?

4) Is there anything else I should know?

Thanks for any help you can provide. I looked through all the previous Ask.Me threads about NYC hotels, but: A) only one of them addressed the safety aspect, and it's three years old; B) most of the hotels that answers claimed were available for less than $200 are showing up in Expedia for way more than that.

Also, there's a chance I'll have to cancel my trip, so please don't suggest any discount webpages or anything where cancellations aren't accepted.

Again, thanks!

NYC Neighborhoods

Mach5 — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 06:33:53 -0800

NYCFilter: What neighborhoods am I missing in my google earth mapping? I'm starting to make an NYC utimate KMZ super happy fun pack, which I will then post to the GE bbs and to MeFi Projects, but in the meantime I have to make it. Yesterday I was sick and off from work, so I mapped every single community district in the 5 boroughs down to street level (using this). I also added placemarks for every neighborhood that they and wiki had, and that I know, but I know I didn't get them all. Especially in Brooklyn. So now I'd like to probe the hive mind for what I missed. You can get my KMZ here. If your feeling adventurous you can email a KMZ of your adds to m4chfive AT yahoo.com, or just post what I missed or screwed up in this here thread.

As a side question, what would you like to see in this pack that GE doesn't currently provide? So far, I have complete subway and NJ Transit system maps, this map of neighborhoods and community districts, a map of where all the police precincts are, and local weather radar maps. What would you want to see?

Thanks for your help!

Advice on NYC neighborhoods, for Aussie in Tokyo, moving to New York

aussie_in_NY — Wed, 01 Mar 2006 05:58:38 -0800

I'm relocating to NYC from Tokyo next month and am looking for some advice on prospective neighborhoods After 7 years in a tiny Tokyo apartment I'd like something with a bit of space, which rules Manhattan out I think. I'm looking for a 2 bedroom for around $1300-1600. I've checked out a lot of earlier posts and heard good things about Astoria. A friend has recommended Prospect Heights too, and after a look on craigslist it seems there is plenty in my price range. Does anybody have any insights on the relative merits of these areas, or have another neighborhood to recommend? I will be working around Times Square and would like to keep the commute to 30 min if possible. And finally as a related question, I am a little confused about US taxes. After federal and state taxes and then social security, what percent of my salary should I expect to have left, assuming pay of something like 80k?

Moving to NYC.

spaghetti — Mon, 11 Apr 2005 09:19:22 -0800

What neighborhood should I move to in NYC? I'm starting my Master's at Pratt in the fall and my girlfriend is waiting to find out if she's been accepted to Columbia. We'll be moving over the summer to New York, but we just can't figure out what neighborhood to focus on. The most important thing is being someplace safe, but we don't have enough money to be too picky, basically around $1200/mo.

Everyone says that Brooklyn is where it's at, but most of the places we've seen listed are either too expensive or not anywhere we'd want to be. It looks like Inwood/Washington Heights and East Harlem are relatively affordable, but what are the neighborhoods like? Where else should we be looking? Is there a good resource for learning what all the neighborhoods are really like?

Moving to Brooklyn

atreyu — Mon, 28 Jun 2004 14:37:07 -0800

My Sig-O is making the big move to NYC this summer and needs to make a housing decision ASAP. Could any knowledgeable gothamefites comment on the safety/quality of this brooklyn neighborhood (with the red star)?