Renting in Hell's Kitchen

What it's like

Hell's Kitchen is a working neighborhood that happens to sit next to the theater district. Ninth Avenue is one of the best eating streets in the city and the side streets in the forties and fifties are ordinary in a way that keeps them affordable relative to everything around them.

The further north and west you go, the calmer it gets. South of 42nd and east of Ninth you are absorbing Port Authority and Times Square foot traffic, which is a real and permanent condition rather than a weekend one.

Who it suits

Anyone who works in Midtown and wants to walk to it, and anyone who wants a Manhattan address without a Manhattan-core price.

The catch

Tour buses, sanitation, and the Lincoln Tunnel approach mean this is a genuinely loud part of town during the day. It is a different noise from bar noise: it starts at six in the morning instead of ending at four.

Getting around

A, C, E on Eighth, the 1 at 50th, the N, Q, R, W and 7 at Times Square, and the whole Midtown interchange within a few blocks. Almost nowhere in the city is hard to reach from here.

What to check at the viewing

• Ask which direction the unit faces and whether it looks at the tunnel approach.
• Check the windows for double glazing, which in this neighborhood is worth more than any amenity.
• If the building is over a restaurant, ask about the kitchen exhaust and when it runs.