Here are some factors I think everyone should consider when looking for neighborhoods in NYC. It is up to you to determine their prioritization or importance to you personally.

• Budget/Living Arrangements. There are some neighborhoods where $2000 will get you a shoebox. There are other neighborhoods where $2000 will get you a two bedroom apartment. Determine the type of home you want and whether you are willing to live with others.

• Proximity to work/school. The daily commute on public transportation can be a grind, especially if it's a long or transfer-ful one. If you know where you're taking classes, it may be helpful to start there and look at neighborhoods in the area. For example, if you're going to Columbia, it would be tough to commute daily from a neighborhood like Coney Island, easily a 90 minute ride each way.

• Proximity to friends/social life/bars/nightlife. Determine how important it is to live within close to places like restaurants, bars, and social activities. Some neighborhoods are full of hot spots and younger people. Other neighborhoods are much more residential and quieter/family-oriented. Similarly, if all your friends live in Manhattan and you live in the ass end of Queens, they will never come see you and vice versa.

• Gentrification/Personal comfort level. The demographics of many neighborhoods are changing rapidly, and transplants and new New Yorkers are moving into places that have typically been the enclaves of ethnic or religious communities for decades. Some of these neighborhoods also have reputations, rightly or wrongly, of being dangerous, crime-filled, or undesirable. Determine whether you are OK living in an "up and coming" neighborhood.