Best places to live in Lower or Midtown Manhattan?

I'm considering a move to NYC to attend New York Law School (at Church and Worth Sts.,) if accepted. Any studio for under $2000/mo. below 59th Street would be great. I'm not worried about safety; while street smarts must obviously be executed by all who live there, I know I'm much safer in NYC, statistically speaking, than in most midwestern cities. My preferred neighborhoods are closer to the law school, for distance sake: West Village, SoHo, Little Italy, Tribeca or Battery Park in Manhattan, as well as Brooklyn Heights. For a young twenty-something from the midwest, where's a good neighborhood to go? Do you have any other suggestions for places in and around NYC I haven't thought of? Thank you!

Public Comments

1. A younger person would usually love the hype of New York, especially if you would like to be a lawyer. I would recomment SoHo or Midtown Manhattan, those are the most fun-filled areas. Also homes around there are usually built purposely with insulated walls to make sure no sound disturbs your sleep, so that wouldn't be an issue.
2. Forget midtown Manhattan unless you decide to have a roommate or two to share the expenses. The commute from Brooklyn to lower Manhattan is an easy and fast one. Brooklyn Heights might be pricey...again, look for a roommate, perhaps from the school you wish to attend. Other nice areas in Brooklyn are Bensonhurst, Bay Ridge, and Sheepshead Bay. Contact some Real Estate Agencies as well as the school, for people who might be looking for roommates.
3. Cobble Hill/Boerum Hill, Brooklyn. Don't run up extra debt just to say you live in Manhattan when you can have a more spacious apartment, tons of restaurants and bars at your fingertips, and a 20-minute train ride to school, from brownstone brooklyn.