If you are young and hip, the Village, or some part of it, is likely where you aspire to live. The location of NYU, Cooper Union, Yeshiva University’s School of Law and the New School; Greenwich Village continues to be a part of New York City’s young and happening scene despite the high rental costs in the Village that long ago drove the struggling artists to other neighborhoods of the city such as Williamsburg and Long Island City. Many notable artists began their careers in the Village, and this area has become synonymous with such names as Bob Dylan, Madonna, the Ramones, and Talking Heads, Henry James, Edgar Allen Poe and Jackson Pollack and Norman Rockwell. Although you will have to venture to the outer boroughs to find struggling artists today, Greenwich Village is still a highly desirable location for liberal artist types, as many celebrities maintain residence in the many brownstone and townhouse buildings of the West Village such as novelist A.M. Homes. Alphabet City, Alpahbet City is known as Loisaida, a Spanglish adaptation of 'Lower East Side'. Its name comes from Avenues A, B, C, and D, the only avenues in Manhattan to have single-letter names.

The West Village is also one of the more notoriously gay friendly neighborhoods in the city, centered on Christopher Street the location of an important landmark in the gay movement, where a group of men, tired of watching members of their community be arrested fought back. Still the center of the gay and lesbian movement in the city, Greenwich Village is a haven of liberalism.

Historically, the area of Greenwich Village was flanked by the Hudson River on the West, Broadway on the East and 14th and Houston streets to the North and South. In recent years, however, part of what was once considered the Bowery or the North Lower East Side has become known as the East Village. Still south of 14th street and north of Houston, this neighborhood extends to the East River.

This historically “grittier” section of the Village, this area is now just as desirable as the West Village and is home to notable venues such as CBGB the Fillmore East, the Village Vanguard, and Joseph Papp’s Public Theatre. The East Village rental is typically in tenement buildings and tend to be small, however, with everything the village has to offer, giving up a little space for location is a given.

Several parks are located in the area that comprises the East and West Village, including Stuyvesant Park, Tompkins Square Park, and Washington Square Park, which is flanked on all sides by buildings owned by New York University. Inside Washington Square Park, you will find comedians trying out their new acts, the ubiquitous NYU student, park chess players and all the charm you expect from the Village.