A good safe place to live if working at Columbia Medical Center? (New York: rent)

[tlg786]

Hi, my husband and I are relocating to New york till July as an assistant attending. Im really confused about neighborhoods and had the following questions:

1) How far and in which neighborhoods can we possibly live in if working at Columbia Medical? I'm thinking the commute shouldn't be more than 20 min.

2) We don't have any children so even a studio is fine.

Any recs on nice areas? Max rent 2000.

Thanks!!

[citylove101]

You can live in Hudson Heights, which is roughly W 181st St. to the Cloisters and west of Broadway. Further north you could try Riverdale, which is the part of the Bronx that borders the Hudson. It's semi suburban, while HH is dense, very urban (forget about a car here), and more ethnically diverse than Riverdale. Both are solid middle class areas. South of the hospital you can look at Morningside Heights, where the main Columbia campus is. You might be able to find a studio or one bedroom in yr range, especially if university housing helps

Do not automatically discount any housing that is offered through the school in the immediate area of the hospital. Washington Heights is far from the awful neighborhood some newcomers think. It is an immigrant neighborhood with limited middle class amenities, but the parts west of Broadway closest to Columbia are livable and on two major subway lines. And school housing for a year would give you a safe home base to check out where you might want to live later.

And consider Ft Lee, which is the other side of the George Washington bridge. Shuttles run across the bridge 24/7 and it's a 10 minute walk from the bus station to the hospital

[UpsonDowns]

As someone who lives in Hudson Heights, I agree with everything above. HH is great, but may be too sleepy for folks without kids. This place is kid central. The plus is the A express will get you to livelier neighborhoods pretty quickly.

[tlg786]

Hi thanks for responding. I will have to do some reserach. A co-worker lives on 210th st, what area would that be? Excuse my ignorance, I'm really bad at the streets right now. And if I'm not mistaken, alot of people online say to live west of the hospital?

[Kefir King]

The co-worker on "210th" could be in Manhattan or the Bronx...a lot of territory.

An assistant attending could probably swing more than $2000 a month and thus for quality of life I would recommend the Upper West Side. It's a really NICE place to live and will afford more of what the City has to offer. The commute shouldn't be much over 20 minutes if you are near one of the subway stations on Broadway or Central Park West. Below 100th (in Manhattan) is better than above.

Wherever you go, know well that proximity to a subways is a major perk, expecially in the dead of Winter.

[tlg786]

Below 100th is better in manhattan. I read on another thread that 'Within that area stay WEST of Broadway and preferably ABOVE 168th Street.‏

[tlg786]

Can you guide me with that?

[citylove101]

If you're south of 100th st on the upper west side it's good on either side of Broadway
If you're between 100th st and 125th st you're in the Columbia area and a block east of Broadway, which is Amsterdam Ave, to Riverside Drive, which is west of Broadway is also ok
If you're in Washington heights tho, definitely live west of broadway--and preferably n of 181st. The QOL in the rest of the Heights is not high.

The whole area along Broadway from 125th to Columbia Presbyterian is called Hamilton Heights. It's heavily Domincan and barely gentrified at all. It might prove something of a cultur shock, depending on where you've lived before. But then so may all of New York.

[UpsonDowns]

The neighborhoods and microneighborhoods are pretty complex up here. I agree that taking the hospital housing for a year is a great way to get to know where you want to live. You'll also have more local contacts and will have much better luck at finding a deal.