Neigborhoods

The East Village, in its modern definition, means everything east of Lafayette / Fourth Avenue, south of 14th street and north of Houston Street. The distinction between the East Village and Alphabet City (Avenues A,B,C and D) has all but disappeared as these have merged thanks to the booming real estate market. East Villagers are on the whole younger than other New Yorkers - about half are in their 20's and 30's. Residents are students, artists, "creative professionals", musicians, actors, writers and so on. Many are without regular employment, although that's been changing (and the change has been lamented) toward being more inclusive of "normal" people with day jobs. The East Village is a neighborhood with active nightlife, so the avenues and many of the streets are filled with people long after midnight. Overall, the East Village is fun. It is fashionable. It's sort of chaotic and can turn quite loud. If you like all this and can afford living here, it’s highly recommended, at least for a year or two. Especially if you are a student. Subways: Take the L to 3rd or 1st Avenue or the 6 to Astor place. It is recommended that residents of the east village acquire a good working knowledge of the Manhattan bus lines.