MANHATTAN NEIGHBORHOODS

Nolita is a small but jam-packed Manhattan neighborhood filled with boutiques, restaurants, and galleries. Nolita stands for “North of Little Italy,” and the neighborhood was historically inhabited by Italian immigrants. Today, many elderly descendants of these immigrants still live in the neighborhood. They’re joined by young professionals and families who are attracted by how quiet the neighborhood is. Nolita, which is located East of SoHo, West of Lower East Side, South of NoHo, and north of Little Italy, is a beautiful enclave in Lower Manhattan that has a true community feel.

The vibrant Lower East Side neighborhood was once a hub for New York City’s newest residents. Many Europeans immigrated here in the 19th and early 20th centuries and set up shops and restaurants. Today, many of the businesses started by the Lower East Side’s first residents are still around, and they often sit next to modern, chic boutiques or tiny hole-in-the-wall bars.  As with many lower Manhattan neighborhoods, these contrasts give the Lower East Side its unique character.

NoHo, which stands for “North of Houston,” is a small but busy neighborhood that has stunning architecture, trendy shops, and chic restaurants right North of SoHo. In the late 1800s, NoHo was mostly a manufacturing district. But by the 1950s, most of the manufacturers had moved to other parts of the city, and they began renting their spaces to artists and theater groups. Today, many artists live in NoHo’s large lofts, and there are still many performing art spaces in the neighborhood. NoHo may only be six blocks wide, but every one of those blocks is filled with unique attractions that make this neighborhood one of the most sought after in Downtown Manhattan.

The trendy Meatpacking District is located on Manhattan’s far westside, next to Chelsea. Before the 1990s, the Meatpacking District was mostly home to the factories and meatpacking plants that gave the neighborhood its name. In the 1990s, though, boutiques that catered to young professionals moved in, and soon hip young residents followed. Now, when you walk down the neighborhood’s cobblestone streets, you’ll see plenty of co-ops, townhouses, and newly built high-rises. This chic NYC neighborhood is one of the most sought after in the city.

The bustling Chinatown neighborhood is located in Lower Manhattan, North of the Financial District, and it’s the largest Chinatown in the United States. Immigrants from China started moving into the area as early as the mid-1800s. In the 1900s, a new influx of immigrants from Hong Kong and the Fujian Province of China moved in, firmly establishing the neighborhood’s identity. Today, Chinatown is a vibrant, diverse neighborhood full of busy streets with shops selling items imported from China and restaurants that serve some of the freshest and most authentic cuisine around.