# United States & Canada Vacations Forums > New York City Travel Forum >  >  New York / Manhattan districts

## Petri

As you may know, we are currently in Sydney until late February and eventually we will be in New York late April.  We originally planned to rent a place for three months, but with friends and relatives coming to the city, plus interest to fly back to Finland for the summer, not really sure how the visit will go around the summertime.  Perhaps we'll be there until June and come back in August.

In Sydney a friend's friend recommended a neighbourhood and it turned out to be great -- Potts Point.  We can walk to the Opera house and CBD through the Royal Botanical garden, enjoy the afternoon/evening sun on our balcony, watch the cityscape, harbour bridge and Opera all day.  We have great supermarket, farmer's market, bottle shops, cafe's, restaurants etc within a block.  Public transport works easily, small parks around, many tree-lined small streets.  Our building has a pool and a small gym, plus we have a membership at a nearby fitness club.  The nice thing is that there's so much to do simply by walking somewhere.  Potts Point is also next to Kings Cross, the local party & red light district.  Not that we need the services but adds character to the area :)   (*


Now we need to find a similar area(s) in New York.  Considering that a view of NYC cityscape would be interesting as well, it could also be in Brooklyn or New Jersey riverside.  Not really sure where the best city views could be.

We've walked around some blocks in Upper West Side and it looked quite charming.  Last June we stayed in midtown hotel but I think we spent most of the evenings somewhere around Meatpacking District, Greenwich Village, TriBeCa etc. We also walked from the High Line through West village, Greenwich, SoHo to Bowery and it looked very promising.

I leave finding a place to another challenge but first it would be interesting to know what the NYC-residents/gurus on the forum would recommend, especially for the NJ/Brooklyn option.  Many people say Brooklyn is the "real New York" and we could consider giving it a try.  We don't want suburbs or very quiet, sleepy areas.


*) I've lived in the red light district in Amsterdam so hard to shock..

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## JEK

I'll start!
We are very partial to Chelsea with easy access to the Hudson River Park http://www.hudsonriverpark.org, many art galleries, tons of restaurants and the High Line. You know you and your visitors will be going into Manhattan as a destination, why not stay there?

Some views --

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## Grey

We live on the Upper West Side near Lincoln Center, which has many cultural events if that is your thing.  It is situated between both Riverside Park and Central Park and has a farmers market on Thursdays and a Whole Foods nearby at the Time Warner Center.  I like your idea of Brooklyn, though.  Maybe consider Williamsburg?

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## NYCFred

DUMBO

It's an acronym for "Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass"....sits on the East River between the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges. Trendy, artsy web oriented community...

http://dumbonyc.com/

Not a lot of services/restos there, but it's growning. Ferry and subway service to Manhattan. My kids were there for 5-6 years until they outgrew their apartment. 
We rented there for a couple of years, also...Easy access to downtown Brooklyn, Brooklyn Heights too.

I would also second either Chelsea...or Tribeca...or Brooklyn Heights.

If you want to get a feel for the various nabes, sign up with Curbed.com for New York.

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## Petri

For fancier food, events, arts and stuff like that we can always take a taxi or subway from further away.

I think "normal" restaurants and especially good cafes are something we need almost on a daily basis, also a good gym somewhere within a walking distance is a big plus.  Our place in Sydney has been a jackpot so I don't expect it to happen every time :)

I looked a bit around airbnb but didn't really find anything yet.  I guess the rental market in New York is quite difficult?

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## NYCFred

The rental vacancy rate in Manhattan is minimal. 

Remind me closer to your visit. My daughter has a friend in the 'short stay/furnished apt" business ....I believe primarily in the West (Greenwich) Village...

Can also look for a furnished sublet on Craigslist...lotta people take off for the summer and sublet their apts. 

Happy to help.

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## Rahena

Perti! New York is my most favorite city in the United States, In fact in the whole world. I'm in love with the city, and I always love to explore the beautiful city. It always makes me feel so good while visiting New York. Let me share some of the famous attractions of New York:
Central Park
Empire State Building
Statue of Liberty
Rockefeller Center
Times Square
Metropolitan Museum of Art
GE Building
Museum of Modern Art

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