I lived in Astoria, Queens, New York City from May 1998 until November 2000. Astoria is a true mixture of hundreds of nationalities. Probably the most people here are of Greek origin. That's what would people say about Astoria - it is a greek place. Walking on Broadway, you will pass countless greek restaurants and patisseries. But when walking down the Steinway you will hear many other languages as well - spanish, italian, russian, german, croatian and maybe even slovak.
Astoria used to be "cinematic capital of the world" before most of the studios moved to Hollywood. There are still American Museum of the Moving Image and Kaufman-Astoria Studios here. In fact, they were shooting some parts of the series "Sopranos" several times in nearby restaurants Punta Dura and Modernage Diner. Cars with actors' cabins were parked right on our street. The series is now a big hit on HBO. Also, Harrison Ford and Brad Pitt are on the picture in the nearby Thai restaurant - they were eating there while filming the Devil's Own movie.
We can be carless here. The subway is one minute walking distance from our apartment. And it would be really foolish to have a car. Who knows NYC traffic - understands. I don't want to threaten anybody from coming to visit us, but already two people (both from Slovakia) who were supposed to come and visit us, had car accidents, one in New York and another on her way from Phily to New York.
The house we live in has been built in the year 1928. It has wooden floors and wooden staircase. It has this "old times" feel. It is amazing to think about all those different people who lived there since it was built.