Any Manhattanites willing to offer feedback?

So we are currently unhappily living in Brooklyn. We are now considering relocating to another specific part of Brooklyn or Manhattan.

I was born and raised in Manhattan and I love it. Although I grew up affordably and middle class, my old neighborhood has gotten too out of control price wise.

For those that currently reside there, do you like it? For those that do love it, would you mind sharing where you are and why you love it there? Renting is our only option now.

I am honestly open to all neighborhoods within reason. The location is not an issue, I am trying to find where we would most be happy raising our child and getting the most bang for our buck. Also for those who have children, it would be great if you shared the desirable districts. I do know of a few but I was raised in Catholic school.

Thanks so much for any help!!

Re: Any Manhattanites willing to offer feedback?

I was a Manhattanite for 10 yrs until a year ago and would move back in a heartbeat if I could. We lived there until DS was 2 but moved out because we wanted to avoid the craziness of the preschool process, wanted more space for a second child, and wanted to buy something that we could grow in. We lived on the UES and thought it was great for kids. I've actually lived in the E 50s, the E 70s and the E 80s (twice actually ) so if you have neighborhood specific questions, I may be able to answer. I think you can get reasonable (for Manhattan) rental deals there especially now. The farther north, the cheaper you can get. We moved from the 70s to the 80s when we had DS because we could get more for the money - amazing what a difference 10 blocks make

We were in the St Joseph of Yorkville parish which has a grammar school including a preschool program but I dont know how many spots there are (I think the poster BigB could speak more to preschool programs as she just went through it).

I loved having DS there. Parks were great, loved having such easy access to museums, a zoo etc. There was always something interesting to do and it was just a stroll away.

Re: Any Manhattanites willing to offer feedback?

I would def say the UES as well... E60's to 80's, or the UWS, 60's to 90's.

Re: Any Manhattanites willing to offer feedback?

Have you thought about Inwood? DH and I were briefly flirting with coming back to the city- and I was in that area for a field trip and thought it was nice. It also seems more affordable than other parts of Manhattan.

Re: Any Manhattanites willing to offer feedback?

does it have to be manhattan? Astoria is a great neighborhood (especially near Ditmars Blvd) and is like 10 minutes from Manhattan. Lots of great restaurants and stores.

Re: Any Manhattanites willing to offer feedback?

We have an apartment on east 56th near Lexington but we don't live there fulltime. There are some pretty spacious units in our building & lots of families. I know there is a two bedroom that's pretty basic kitchen & bathroom wise in our building for rent for $3400 which I thought was really good. There is so much to do right there but the area is also really busy and noisy.

Re: Any Manhattanites willing to offer feedback?

Thanks everyone for the feedback!! I am actually actively looking and seeing some things I really like. Change may come sooner than I thought and it is scary but I am hoping everything will work out.