In this poll, pick a major city and tell me what you like the best and worst part of that city are to live in. The area you pick must be incorporated in the major city and no suburbs or independent cities are allowed. For example, you can’t say Scottsdale is the best part of Phoenix to live in or Beverly Hills is the best part of Los Angeles.
Since New York City is so large, I think it would interesting if those who know the area well would be the best and worst part of each borough.
I’ll start with Dallas, TX. Uptown is the best part of Dallas to live in and South Dallas is the worst.
Too late to edit my typo, but it should read, “In this poll, pick a major city and tell what you think the best and worst parts of that city are to live in.”
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As for DC - well, Upper Northwest (Tenleytown, Spring Valley, AU Park, etc) is probably the safest part of the city, but it can be remarkably bland. Dupont Circle is almost as safe, but boasts a generous selection of bookstores, restaurants, and bars. Much more fun.
As for the worst place to live - hell, this is DC, you can take your pick. Anacostia is excitingly unsafe, to be sure. Trinidad is another place you wouldn’t want to live - our police department actually set up roadblocks there over the summer to stop a rash of drive-by shootings. (Though I will say, that neighborhood looks fantastic - nice houses, neat yards. Fun place to walk through on a summer evening - so long as you’re walking with about a dozen or so ACLU roadblock observers).
Anacostia is much worse. Trinidad for the most part is fairly quiet*, and has the advantage over Anacostia in that there is a lot more commerce near by. You can walk to coffee shops and decent restaurants and a supermarket. Anacostia has none of these things.
The southern edge of it is somewhat more gentrified and is at points a short walk from the development happening on H Street.
Having lived in only four parts of the city of Montreal, and only two of those for more than six months, it’s kind of hard to say for me.
Verdun, where I live now, is certainly nice – I like the businesses between where I live and the metro, and I like how close I am to the St. Lawrence and the bike paths in summer – but living so far from downtown (yes, it’s only a 15-minute metro ride) is starting to get on my nerves, as is trying to make my way home on the night bus whenever I have the temerity to spend the evening out.
That’s a little unfair. As far as most people are concerned, L.A. county is L.A. In Los Angeles proper there is really no good part to live in. They have been making some attempts to revitalize the downtown area with some ritzy high-rise apartments, but they still exist only blocks from Skid Row, the largest concentrated homeless colony in the States.
I used to live near the USC campus which is a few miles south of downtown and also located in L.A. proper. Although it’s a very expensive school, it’s a very crummy neighborhood. The university-owned apartments are nice, and the small campus itself is of course majestically manicured (although at night, boy do the rats come out to play). You go ~2 miles south and you are in what was formerly the notorious South Central Los Angeles.
I guess the nicest part of L.A. proper would still be one of those fancy downtown lofts, as long as you never stray too far away.
No way… it all depends on what you’re looking for. I wouldn’t live in Uptown these days unless you paid me. If I was 25 again, it would be the place to live, but at 36, I prefer having a house with a yard, etc…
I’d say that NE Dallas (Lake Highlands/Lakewood) is the best part of Dallas to live in. Older well kept homes, large trees, lots of retail opportunity, not far from Uptown, Greenville, and Addison if you like to go out, not far from Downtown if you work there, or patronize the arts. Depending on where you live, you can even be well served by the local freeway network.
As for the worst part… somewhere south of I-30 for sure. South Oak Cliff seems to get a lot of bad press.
Manhattan:
Best parts - assuming you can AFFORD it, the Upper West or Upper East side are where all the bigshots live. The East/Greenwich/West Village is a great place for those who can afford it (but you don’t have to be a millionaire to live there).
Worst parts - although Harlem’s reputation is SEVERELY exaggerated and outdated, there are still a couple sketchy parts of it, particularly if you’re under the FDR.
Queens:
Best parts - Rego Park, Forest Hills. Someday I’d really like to have a HOUSE there.
Worst parts - anywhere in southeast Queens or the Rockaways. Who wants to live over an hour away from Manhattan, in a subpar neighborhood with planes flying over your shead constantly?
Brooklyn:
Best parts - I’m in Greenpoint (just north of Williamsburg), and it’s a pretty great place - close to Manhattan, reasonable (for NYC, anyway) rent, and every place you need to go is within walking distance. Of course, Park Slope and Brooklyn Heights still beat it, but again, the money factor…
Worst parts - East New York/Brownsville/New Lots. Biggest ghetto in all of NYC, and one of the few places where I wouldn’t even feel comfortable walking down the street at 2PM on a sunny summer day…
Bronx:
Best parts - Northern Bronx has a lot of cool little neighborhoods like Norwood, Woodlawn, Kings Bridge and Riverdale, which have a “am I still in NYC?” feel to them.
Worst parts - anywhere in the “south Bronx” … not as ghettoy as Brooklyn’s, but still not a place I’d be caught dead.
Staten Island:
c’mon…Staten ain’t NYC. Might as well go to Nassau county or New Jersey and avoid the city tax.
Worst part of the city: the near eastside of the city. It’s gone downhill as downtown has gentrified, and has become notorious for violent crime. (Biggest profile recent crime was an execution-style murder of a 7-member family). Very cheap housing, though; homes in the <$10,000 range.
Best part of the city: this would vary based on the type of household. For the childless, downtown would be my first pick, with young professionals in the heart of downtown and arty types in the Mass Ave. corridor; for parents, one has access to good schools (and very expensive homes) in the ritzier far-north/northwest suburbs of Geist, Fishers, and Carmel. There are a number of other areas worth looking at (Fall Creek, Broad Ripple, Fountain Square), and I’m pretty happy with the unpretentious far southside (Southport, Homecroft, and Greenwood).
Aren’t Brentwood and Bel Air part of the city of Los Angeles? Admittedly the crime rate went up a bit after O. J. hacked up a couple of folks in the neighborhood, but I think I could live there
In Philly, it depends who you ask. Society Hill and Rittenhouse Square are part of Center City and Chestnut Hill is up in the Northwest. Young professionals go more for Manayunk or Old City.
Worst neighborhood would be a close race between West Philly beyond University City and the better part of North Philly. I think West Philly probably wins it by a nose.
You know, based on some Googling it looks like you’re right, they’re “districts” but not officially separate cities like Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, and the majority of the “neighborhoods” here which are in fact cities unto themselves. I always assumed it was the case for these two neighborhoods as well.
I’ll go ahead and change my answer then: Bel Air is undoubtedly the nicest part of L.A.
Pacific Palisades, too. There’s also Baldwin Hills (one of the country’s wealthiest, predominantly African-American neighborhoods) but I forget if it’s part of L.A. city or unincorporated.
If you count the San Fernando Valley as a separate city (as it rightfully should be) I’d vote for Woodland Hills, Sherman Oaks, or Porter Ranch. Pacoima is definitely the worst.
Former USC student here - it’s in a bad area. I’d escort female classmates back to the car park after evening classes. There were many incidents of students getting mugged after evening classes.
I lived in downtown LA for 2 years, near Macarthur Park. LA is a fucking shithole. I met a woman from San Pedro who’s gonna buy a loft in downtown LA. She loves downtown LA. I think she’s insane. I lived in London for the best part of a decade, and LA doesn’t compare.
I live in Hermosa Beach (which is in LA County, but I don’t condier myself "in LA’) it’s a LOT nicer than downtown. Many of the people who live in the downtown lofts merely sleep in them, they go out in the west side (Hollywood, Santa Monica), or go up to Los Feliz, Silverlake, or even as far as Pasadena.
Koreatown (it’s not a nice area btw) has loads of bars within walking distance of each each other, it’s good for a piss up, but it’s not very diverse, the clientele at the bars are almost exclusively Korean.
However, if you include areas that are often confused for Pittsburgh (being a city directly adjacent to 'da Burgh), I would go for “We’ll-kill’yinz-burg”.
