"You're Priced Out. Now What?" is the headline on the front of this week's NY Times Real Estate section.   The Times, ever attuned to the needs of the average New Yorker, suggests some neighborhood alternatives for those of us who live on a bit of a tight income:

Upper West Side / Prospect Heights
"More affluent residents buy houses and commission half-million gut renovations in under a year."

Lower East Side/ Greenpoint
" ... now, wedged in among Polish businesses, the avenue also has an artisanal ice cream parlor that serves Earl Grey cones ..."

Hell's Kitchen/Long Island City
"Long Island City, Queens ... is growing its own forest of handsomely appointed residential towers.  Large condo projects are rising throughout the neighborhoods, overshadowing brick town houses, as well as garages and other businesses."

Carroll Gardens/Crown Heights North
The ever astute Times notes that "a number of the stores cater to West Indian & Panamanian residents," but, according to blogger Nick Juravich, "we have a sleek new wine-bar that would fit right in on Smith St."

Soho/Ladies Mile
"Some of the old department stores are being converted into condos, including ... the Cammayer, a former shoe emporium at 650 Fifth Avenue, where CORE is marketing a unit for $2.85 million."