Chelsea

A sort of chic, northern cousin to the similarly low-rise West Village, Chelsea attracts many young professionals with its proximity to Midtown, all public transportation, movie theaters, bistros and family entertainment. The world-famous Chelsea Piers Sports and Entertainment Complex offers basketball courts, a golf driving range, live music, a microbrewery and even riding stables within its renovated waterfront stretch between 17th and 23rd Streets (where the Titanic was headed on its ill-fated voyage). Blocks away, the newly hip Meatpacking District, while not always "family friendly,” with its velvet rope club scene and notorious bars, like the original Hogs ‘n’ Heiffer (the inspiration for the movie, "Coyote Ugly") draws scores to its cobble-stoned streets each night.