nyc: I am graduating from UCLA in the spring and want to move out to NYC. I've only visited so I don't know the break down of the neighborhoods that well. I've been reading the Brooklyn is a great place for cheap places and young people, is this my best bet? And since I live in LA, what would be the best way for me to search for places in NYC?|||It depends what type of lifestyle you want. Do you want to live right near or in Manhattan? Well then you'll either be living in a small apartment, in a crummy area, or paying a very high rent. If you can give us a budget, we can help you find a good area. The further from Manhattan you go, the more value you get for your money in terms of space and/or quality of life (safety). I hope this information was very helpful.|||Queens is generally very safe - I've never heard of anyone having any problems there. I know a lot of people that live in Sunnyside, Woodside, Astoria, and Long Island City. All are served by the 7 train, and are only a few stops from Midtown. Astoria is a big neighborhood for young people and families alike. The other neighborhoods are largely residential and family-oriented, so very safe. There's a large Chinese population as you move out towards Flushing, which makes for a great array of delicious restaurants. In Brooklyn, Greenpoint and East Williamsburg/Bushwick are relatively affordable yet still close to the action in Williamsburg. Lots of young people in those areas. If you can afford it, Clinton Hill is also nice. You might even find some affordable apartments in the East Village in Manhattan. Other affordable Manhattan neighborhoods are going to be way uptown: West Harlem, Morningside, East Harlem, Inwood.|||Brooklyn isn't a neighborhood, it's a borough FILLED with neighborhoods. The boroughs are each the size of a large U.S. city. Brooklyn is the size of Philadelphia. There are many neighborhoods in Brooklyn. While on the whole, they are cheaper than Manhattan, they are not cheap! Some can be very expensive indeed, almost as expensive as Manhattan. Brooklyn Heights and Park Slope cost almost as much as living in Manhattan these days. Williamsburg, once a great deal for young people, has become much more expensive. All the areas that young people used to move to are like that now. There are also a few areas to avoid, as they can be dangerous. And some areas that once were quite dangerous, like Bedford Stuyvesant and Bushwick, now have a lot of young people moving there. I just can't believe they are completely safe today, certainly not every block. And there are perfectly safe, cheaper neighborhoods that are so far out and/or so poorly served by mass transit that they are not desirable places for young people. The neighborhood I'd recommend is Sunset Park. It's close to hotter neighborhoods, like Park Slope. It's not far from Manhattan and it's well served by subways. The housing stock is nice. The area is interesting (it's an ethnic neighborhood, Chinese at one end and South American at the other.) And the housing costs are lower there. Good Luck.