Hoboken's nice - very clean, safe, plenty of bars, and most important - plenty of the most banging chicks you'll find anywhere. But expect to pay well over 1000 for a small railroad apartment. Exchange Place (in Jersey City) also is similar to Hoboken. They call it Wall Street West cause a lot of Investment Banks have been relocating there. The rest of Jersey City seems gheeto but I have a feeling that in a few years it will be a somewhat decent place to live.
I'm not from NY, but just got back from a 6 week stint there. I agree with Bri22...I have family in Westchester County. The place is very scenic and is situated on the Hudson. You can take the train in, and maybe there will be a room-mate situation up there where you can get a place for $700/month? The train to grand central will land you very close to where you're working in mid-town. Try places like Irvington and Tarrytown. Much nicer than living in one of the grittier boroughs. I just stayed in Chinatown...check there too. You might be able to find some deals(?). You can ride the 4/5/6 up to work. It's actually not a bad location....I loved living there. Feels like you wake up in a different country every day. Now if I can get rid of this cough and flu like symptoms....hmm.
try this for roomates, etc... www.craigslist.org I have no idea how much it costs, but top regions of the upper east side (bordering on harlem) supposedly is relatively safer these days, and is still cheap (I think..) You will still proabably need a roomate.. Plus it is a straigh commute to your work destination..
As some here have mentioned, you may find some apartments within your price range outside of NYC. Here are some areas to consider: NJ: - Bayonne: this area is coming up, and they recently built a PATH train station that links directly to Grand Central. I'm not sure about the rents, but it's worth checking out. Crime in near nil, there are more police per capita than any other town in NJ. - Fort Lee / Englewood Cliffs: very nice areas, prices are high in most areas. NYC: In addition to Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx and Manhattan (NYC) Another borough worth looking into is Staten Island. It is the most surburban borough. I have spent alot of time in Seattle, Bellevue, Redmond and Kirkland, and Staten Island is somewhat like those towns and much calmer than the other boroughs. You can take express buses ($4 each way) or the ferry (free) into the city. Both modes will take you about an hour. The rents have stayed relatively flat, as real estate prices have risen by 30% in the last 2-years. Staten Island, is the safest area in NYC, mostly white-collar workers, median income is $88,000 per year, and people have much better attitudes than the other boroughs. Good luck.
i've never heard of those other places you mentioned, but i like margherita's a lot, which scores well in zagats. cafe michelina is prolly my favorite. for pizza and calzones, you have to try grimaldi's, which is ranked by zagats as the best pizza place in new york, though the calzones are what separate it from the rest (there are two, with the other one in brooklyn heights). as you can tell, i'm a big fan of consumer reports and zagats
Ever been to Lisa's on 9th and Park? Great Italian deli....probably the best fresh mozzarella in Hoboken. Volume
Look for an apt in Queens. You can rent out a basement for about 700-1000 high side from one of the many 2 family homes located in Queens. Pick up a copy of the New York Newsday if you can. Otherwise look online and look for rental listings in Whitestone, Forest Hills, Long Island City Etc. Easy commute by subway right to Grand Central Station less than 40 mins from anywhere in Queens. Good Luck
dafuggin - yup, grimaldi's moved in while i was there. i'm not a fan of the brick oven pizza (i know, im' the only one out there!) . i never tried the calzones, which is too late, since i love 'em and can easily see *those* being something i'd like cooked in brick oven. i love joe's pizza (in nyc), which i think is now gaining press... strongly suggest checking out chowhound; the people there have a great variance of food places... oh, of the other places - leo's is on 1st or 2nd, near monroe. it's 60+ years old, has sinatra stuff on the wall, and a real 'old' italian feel. my complaint was that the sauce tasted like poured out of a can and watered down. but like i said, there are people who swear by it...ricco's is 10th/washington. lisa's was the first 'off the beaten path' place i found in hoboken, back when there were 2 different ones. though i used to live a block away from it, i'd walk the extra distance to biancamano (12th/washington) for their heroes / mozz, which i thought blew everything else out of the water. but lisa's - which doesn't get press - is better than vito's, which gets all the ny press and such.
I don't know about people yet but traders from NYC are pretty nice ha. I am moving to the current capital of the world, the center of the universe and ... living in a basement . There's no way I am gonna live in a basement, the stuff can kill human's spirit. I rather live in a place that has a view and drive hours to work than living in a basement in downtown. I really appreciate you guy's info.