The Village

Home to Off-Off-Broadway, NYU and The Village Voice, Greenwich Village looks like it’s a part of the city that is brimming with a different kind of energy. Even though the bohemian days in the Village are gone, it’s strong history remains, part of it in Washington Square Park, at the heart of the neighborhood.

I love watching and working in news, but its high paced, high-energy characteristics makes it so that you need some down time in there somewhere. The Village looks like a perfect place to go out and experience culture as it has some great music venues and comedy clubs. A lot of famous comedians and musicians got their starts, people like Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix and Barbara Streisand, and a modern news favourite, Anderson Cooper, lives there today.

I like that so much of this energy has not only flowed into creativity, but also into movements; the modern gay rights movement got its start there in 1969. With NYU so close, it would make sense that a lot of motivation and creativity today can come from the students. I’m interested to find out how much life they bring to the neighborhood.

While you can still find name brands and chains, many guides say that there are a lot of independently owned shops and restaurants too, and that is one of the things that makes The Village a little different than the rest of the city. It would also be acessable, because The West Village is right next to Chelsea, the part of New York that we’ll be living in this summer!

With so much fame, culture and history, Greenwich Village sounds like a fun place to learn about, and what better way than to walk the streets and find things yourself!