Thoughts on Bayside, Queens? (New York, Westbury: apartment, rent, house)
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Hey, I'm thinking about moving to Bayside, Queens. I'm a 23 year old guy working in Westbury, LI. I chose Bayside because it's 20 minutes to work, and 20 minutes to Penn Station via the LIRR. Plus I hear Bell Blvd has lots of stores, bars, and restaurants. I'm deciding between an apartment on 36th and Bell or an apartment south of the LIRR near Northern Blvd. The prices are more than I expected ($1295 for a studio), but less than Manhattan. So is Bayside a fun, safe, convenient place to live? I know there's no subway, but I hear you can take a bus to Flushing-Main Street and catch the 7 train. I also hear the parks are large and nice. What do you think about living in Bayside? Does it have a NYC feel without the inner-city problems?
Hey, I'm thinking about moving to Bayside, Queens. I'm a 23 year old guy working in Westbury, LI. I chose Bayside because it's 20 minutes to work, and 20 minutes to Penn Station via the LIRR. Plus I hear Bell Blvd has lots of stores, bars, and restaurants. I'm deciding between an apartment on 36th and Bell or an apartment south of the LIRR near Northern Blvd. The prices are more than I expected ($1295 for a studio), but less than Manhattan. So is Bayside a fun, safe, convenient place to live? I know there's no subway, but I hear you can take a bus to Flushing-Main Street and catch the 7 train. I also hear the parks are large and nice. What do you think about living in Bayside? Does it have a NYC feel without the inner-city problems?
A lot of the questions are hard to answer in that it depends on perspective. Bayside is generally safe, it's nice and it's clean. Whether it has an NYC feel depends on if your idea of NYC feel is the lower east side or something. It certainly feels like outer-boro NYC to me rather than like Denver or something totally different.
Fun: There are bars, etc. along Bell Blvd. but it's mostly a local NE Queens scene. If you're cool with that, you'll probably like it. If you prefer hipster or trendy places in Manhattan or Williamsburg, maybe not so much.
Convenient: As you say it has the LIRR and that's a quick ride to Penn Station, but only runs on the schedule (not every 10 mins like a subway). You can take a bus to Flushing, but that will take a long time and then you've got a long 7 train ride ahead of you. I'd stick to the LIRR for getting to Manhattan.
Best way I can describe it as as a halfway house between living on LI and living in more urban parts of NYC.
Bayside feels like the suburbs until you actually go to the suburbs and realize there's a difference between "suburbs" and "low-density city neighborhoods." NYC is unique in that it's so big and has so many highly urbanized neighborhoods that you forget that Bayside, Maspeth, Whitestone, even Douglaston to a degree, actually resemble (at least original housing-stock-wise) the residential neighborhoods of many other cities in the country rather than their suburbs. Bay Terrace is one hell of a suburban-y shopping center, but it's surrounded by midrise apartment buildings. Go figure.
The McMansions are a little ridiculous, though that's an all-of-Queens problem, not limited to Bayside. I live in Oakland Gardens, which is one hood south of Bayside and looks like the results of Fresh Meadows and Bayside having an ugly child together, and one popped up on my block, despite the fact that every other house on the street is a) two family b) semi-detached or c) combination of both. It's an eyesore and stands out like a sore thumb.
Bayside is a nice area. Good for bars, restaurants, ect. Nice young singles scene (I remember going to those bars when I was 23). Enough to do. Rent is cheap. I think there are express buses that go to NYC. A bus to Main street is also a viable option...though this whole commute will take you longer than you think...Think about 1 hr to get into the area of NYC you want to be train...add 20 minutes for the bus, and add another 20 minutes waiting for the bus. The LIRR is a better option...though the schedule is limited.
However, Bayside is NOT anything like NYC and kinda far from it. I always thought about it as more of a young family scene.
Have you thought about Astoria? It's much more of a NYC feel, a LOT closer, and a LOT more to do. It may add a bit to your work commute...but it depends on what you are looking for.
Either way...it's an apartment. Give it a try & then you can always try something new.
However, Bayside is NOT anything like NYC and kinda far from it. I always thought about it as more of a young family scene.
This is kind of what I was getting at. It depends on what you mean by "like NYC." If your frame of reference is Manhattan, it is clearly very different. To me, my family in New York is in places like Bay Ridge, Maspeth, Whitestone, Rockaway Park, Marine Park. I have also lived in a number of other places and visited even more. In that context, Bayside feels like a lower-density outer borough neighborhood in NYC to me, which it is. But that is my first impression of NYC and Manhattan came later, so it feels "like NYC" to me. It feels a lot more like NYC than New Haven or Cleveland or Phoenix do. The people who live there are frequently NY natives, the stores and bars feel like NY, the street signs and little things like that are standard NYC issue. So: is it very similar to Manhattan? No. But will you feel like you've moved to Iowa and there's nothing New York about the place? Also no.
good neighborhood, i live near the area in glen oaks. and if you like getting exercise by walking/running, the 2.5 mile area along the water along the cross island parkway from northern blvd to fort totten is tremendous.
I used to live in Bayside. If you like Asian places (restaurants, bars) then you'll be in heaven with K-town to the east and Chinatown to the west (Flushing). But you're going to want to budget in a car to really fully enjoy the area. Otherwise make absolutely sure you're as close to Bell Blvd and Northern Blvd as possible.
BTW, $1195 is too expensive. I was renting for $525/month for a room in a gorgeous 3 bedroom house just 3 years ago.
We're looking to move to Bayside--but we're in our early 30s and have kids. I'm not sure it's what I'd pick if I were younger and single. I'd be looking more at Astoria or Forest Hills if I really wanted/needed to live in Queens, though I understand that if you're working in Westbury eastern Queens is a better choice (there ain't no non rush hour direction on the LIE!)
To me (LI native) Bayside is definitely NYC but not "the city". It's halfway between the city and the suburbs. Much more density than you'd see over the county line.
Good advice. Obviously I wish there was a subway in Bayside, but I probably could just drive to Flushing-Main Street and take the 7 from there, although I don't know about parking in Flushing. I went to Bayside yesterday and it seemed vibrant. I'm probably going to choose this studio apartment on 36th and Bell for $1295 - overpriced, but the location is great. It's on Bell, but not by the noisy part, and close to Crocheron Park, which is great for jogging/relaxing. The only thing is I'll have to find parking on a side street. Again, Bayside seems the best place for a young person in Eastern Queens.
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