Close Neighborhoods to NYC

With an average commute time of 41 minutes, it does take some time to get to the midtown or downtown areas. This means choosing the right location to live in NYC takes a little research when it comes to your daily commute. Given just how large the city is, where you work will dictate where you should live if you want to keep the commute time down to a minimum.

Financial District

Red Hook, Brooklyn: You’ll have to catch a bus or train, but you can make it in 40 minutes. Red Hook is along the water and has become a fashionable place to live in the past few years.

St. George, Staten Island: This means traveling by ferry, but there’s plenty of restaurants and bars to have a meal or a quick drink on your way back from work. Most of what you find in St. George will be apartments, many of them newly constructed.

South Harlem: One of the growing areas of NYC, South Harlem has changed considerably over the past two decades, offering relatively moderately priced rentals and plenty of restaurants. Unfortunately, there are few no-frills rentals left in the area, so you are looking at an average of $2,800 for a two-bedroom, single bath per month.

Midtown East

Bushwick, Brooklyn: A creative scene with plenty of nightlife, this is one hip place to live. You can take the M or L-train depending on where you live. However, the price is a bit steep which comes with living in a hip neighborhood.

Pelham Parkway, Bronx: You’ll be near the Bronx Zoo, which is nice. But perhaps the best part is that the co-ops and rentals are rather cheap comparatively speaking. You can find a $125,000 single bedroom for sale or rent the same for $1,325 a month.

Ridgewood, Queens: The bad news is that you will have to switch trains from the M to 6, but that is still about 40 minutes for your commute. Another downside is that this is a popular place to live, so expect to pay a higher rent and find fewer good apartments.

Midtown West

Crown Heights, Brooklyn: The 2-train takes you to Midtown West, although you can switch to the 1-train. An older neighborhood, the prices are somewhat high, but still affordable thanks to the many brownstones in the area. With the rental for a two-bedroom, single bath around $2,300 on average, there are good selections here.

Inwood: You’ll take the A-train to work which takes roughly 40 minutes. The good news is that Inwood rental rates are lower than most other locations around the Big Apple. You can find a nice two-bedroom, single bath for about $2,350 on average.

Jackson Heights, Queens: Here, you take the 7-train to work and will enjoy the diverse, vibrant neighborhood during your stay. The rent is not bad and the price affordable for mid to upper middle income.

In addition to location, consider what each NYC neighborhood offers for you and your family before making your final selection.