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Yes, this area is called "Manhattan Valley". I lived there for two years while studying CS at Columbia and loved it. We had 5 guys in a 4-bedroom (actually 3BR with a walk-through room with an office that we used as a small bedroom) apartment at 108th St and Broadway. $3k/mo in rent. The location was amazing: 10 minute walk to Columbia, 3 minutes to the 1 train stop at 110th St, 2 minutes to Thai Market (my favorite Thai place in Manhattan).

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Actually, Manhattan Valley is just to the south of Columbia. The area to the north where we are is called Manhattanville (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manhattanville), though most won't know that name.

Another tip for prospective New Yorkers: find out where filming permits are being issued. Film crews will stay away from the overly expensive (stuck-up-ish, NIMBY-ish) neighborhoods, but they also won't go anywhere overly risky. As a nice added bonus, typically the area will be picturesque (though not always).

For example: "Person of Interest" was filming in front of our building on Monday, episodes of "Blue Bloods" and "Gossip Girl" have filmed within a couple blocks, and the outdoor scenes at the end of Lady Gaga's video for "Marry the Night" were shot right by the Fairway 3 blocks away.

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