Ditmars Blvd, Ditmars | Steinway

Thanks to the still-powerful Greek presence in the area, Ditmars has not fully lost its family-oriented charm, despite the moneyed onslaught of the hipsters and Manhattan yuppies who'd like to replace its working class, unpretentious streets with fancy cafes serving organic clap-trap and gilded boutiques. Because there are more houses than apartment buildings, this area still boasts a sense of community and serenity despite the more wild partying to be found along 30th avenue. I lived here for 15 years and was very happy, until a combination of high rents and other events led me to leave. But I miss it very, very much!

Cheap rents, but that's because you're at the very end of the subway line, and then some. There's a great park near the water that's super fun in the summer for family outings or impromptu soccer, plus there's a public pool for the kids to cool down. But you're way far away from anything remotely manhattan-y.

Ditmars Blvd has multiple personalities, ranging from totally-retail at one end - lots of small shops, a big box store or two, meat shops, post offices and phone card stores; to the other end, near La Guardia Airport, lined with long limousines awaiting passenger arrivals. In between are a number of hotels - many of them big-name chains like Marriott, Marriott Courtyard and Clarion.

Ditmars runs through a number of truly residential areas, with duplexes and triplexes abounding, anchored at either end of some blocks with a tiny local grocery store. It can be confusing to travel along Ditmars because of the weird manner in which the streets are numbered, but once you get the logic down - or the lack of logic - all is good.

Ditmars Blvd is just a twenty minute train ride away from all the cool parts of Manhattan. I like this block because of the good Greek food you can get in Astoria. West Queens is pretty much home to younger people who can't really afford to live in manhattan and immigrants. This street reflects that with the shops in the area. The apartments on this street are starting to get a little more expensive now that Astoria isn't as dangerous as it once was.