Living in Flushing: rent, commute and grades

Queens · Updated October 2026

A crowded street under tall red and yellow shop signs in Chinese and English.

A red wooden Victorian house with a porch among flowering trees.

Red tulips and a pink flowering tree in a small park on Main Street with a monument.

A small yellow 1661 house under large green trees in a park-like yard.

A gray gabled farmhouse behind bare trees.

Photo credits

Photo: Chad Davis, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Epicgenius, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Tdorante10, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Photo: CaptJayRuffins, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Station1, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Rent in Flushing

$1,716 a month

Type of homeA room in a 2-bedroom, shared by two

Flushing is cheaper with roommates

Find people looking in Flushing

B+Overall

Flushing graded

Grades compare NYC neighborhoods with each other. How the grades work.

Everyday life

B+Walkability
The average home has 4.4 of 5 everyday needs within a 10-minute walk (grocery store, restaurant, cafe, subway station, park) and about 561 places to eat or shop.
Residents: Living off Main Street means walking through town to find new places to eat. Former resident, Feb 2026
City data alone would give B; what residents say in 5 Reddit threads moves it to B+.
AFood and shopping
Within a 10-minute walk of the average home: about 178 places to eat, 21 kinds of cuisine, 5.9 large grocery stores and 353 open storefronts.
Residents: Delicious restaurants are one of the main reasons to live there. Former resident, Mar 2025
City data and 12 resident threads on Reddit agree on this grade.
B-Parks and green space
100% of residents live within a 10-minute walk of a park of an acre or more, with about 590 acres of parkland within 1 km and about 306 street trees within 300 m of the average home.
Residents: People smoke in parks where others exercise and play, and litter fills parks and playgrounds. Resident of 20+ years, Jun 2025
City data alone would give B; what residents say in 4 Reddit threads moves it to B-.

People

BCommunity
20% of households moved in since 2018, 6% are roommates sharing a home, 15% of residents are 22 to 34, and there are about 79 cafes and bars within a 10-minute walk of the average home.
Residents: A favorite place to live, but Jackson Heights or Astoria suit a newcomer in their twenties better socially. Former resident, Mar 2025
B+Nightlife
About 50 bars, clubs and restaurants licensed to serve alcohol on site within a 10-minute walk of the average home.
Residents: Hard to find a plain bar with $5 or $6 beers between Main Street and 163rd Street; most charge $9 or $10. New resident, Jul 2025
City data alone would give A-; what residents say in 7 Reddit threads moves it to B+.

Home and safety

C-Safety
6.9 murders, robberies, felony assaults and burglaries were reported per 1,000 residents in 2025 (420 in all).
Residents: Package theft by porch pirates has been the only downside since moving in. New resident, Mar 2026
City data alone would give C; what residents say in 10 Reddit threads moves it to C-.
B-Quiet
33 noise complaints to 311 per 1,000 residents in 2025, not counting helicopter complaints, and counting each address at most 12 days a year. That measures how often people complain, not how loud it is.
Residents: It is noisy because so many people live and shop there, from supermarkets to street fruit sellers. Resident, Jun 2025
C+Building upkeep
18.1 serious housing code violations (class B or C) were issued in 2025 per 100 rented homes, and there were 5.4 heat or hot water complaints per 100 rented homes.
Residents: Infrastructure and older buildings are showing wear, unless they have been replaced by pricey condos. Former resident of 23 years, Jun 2025
City data alone would give B-; what residents say in 5 Reddit threads moves it to C+.

Who lives there

Older residents

What residents say

Residents like

SafetyNot a dangerous area: crime exists as in any city, but it has never felt unsafe. Grew up here, Jul 2025
Food and shoppingDelicious restaurants are one of the main reasons to live there. Former resident, Mar 2025
WalkabilityLiving off Main Street means walking through town to find new places to eat. Former resident, Feb 2026
Parks and green spaceIn warmer weather Flushing Meadows Corona Park is a walk or bike ride away. Resident, Mar 2025
SafetyMostly safe and fairly welcoming, though some back streets see muggings and car break-ins. Grew up here, Jul 2025
Food and shoppingThe food is one of the things that still make living there enjoyable. Grew up here, Jul 2025

Residents don’t like

SafetyPackage theft by porch pirates has been the only downside since moving in. New resident, Mar 2026
NightlifeHard to find a plain bar with $5 or $6 beers between Main Street and 163rd Street; most charge $9 or $10. New resident, Jul 2025
Parks and green spacePeople smoke in parks where others exercise and play, and litter fills parks and playgrounds. Resident of 20+ years, Jun 2025
CommunityA favorite place to live, but Jackson Heights or Astoria suit a newcomer in their twenties better socially. Former resident, Mar 2025
Building upkeepAn apartment that seemed a great deal had building wide cockroaches, a tiny water heater and an elevator out for a week. New resident, Jul 2024
Food and shoppingSome parts have no non-Asian supermarket within walking distance, which matters less for people with cars. Resident, Feb 2026

Show 22 moreShow less

Safety

Downtown around Main Street is overcrowded and crime there has risen noticeably over the past 20 years.
Resident since the 1970s, Aug 2025
Many elderly people walk the streets, a sign of how safe it is despite the crowds.
Not a resident, Feb 2026
Some downtown blocks bring constant solicitation from sex workers, so locals learn which blocks to avoid.
Nearby resident of many years, Jul 2025

Community

Many people in their twenties, but most already have their friend groups and few local groups welcome newcomers.
Not a resident, Mar 2025

Food and shopping

The number of restaurants has kept growing since the mid 2000s.
Resident since 2005, Jun 2025
The food and the busy community are the draw, after nearly a decade near Main Street.
Resident of nearly 10 years, Jul 2025
Amazing food around Main Street, enough to make residents feel lucky to live here.
Grew up here, Jul 2025

Nightlife

There is not much nightlife, and the area shuts down pretty early.
New resident, Jul 2024
The Attic bar is a good place to meet interesting people just by sitting at the bar.
Not a resident, May 2026
There is little to do besides eat and shop, which makes meeting new people hard.
Not a resident, Mar 2026

Walkability

Super walkable for daily errands and meals.
Resident, Mar 2025
Walking is faster than driving through Flushing.
Not a resident, Jul 2025
Having a car is a real plus, with highways and the airport close by.
Not a resident, Mar 2025

Quiet

It is noisy because so many people live and shop there, from supermarkets to street fruit sellers.
Resident, Jun 2025
Air pollution and noise have grown worse.
Resident of 20+ years, Jun 2025
Union Street and Northern Boulevard is heavily congested from 7am to 7pm, then calms down.
Long-time resident, May 2025

Parks and green space

Flushing Meadows Corona Park is cut through by highways, which spoils it.
Former resident, Mar 2025
A large, beautiful park is close by.
Former resident, Mar 2025
Flushing Meadows Park and the Botanical Garden are close by.
Not a resident, Nov 2024

Building upkeep

Infrastructure and older buildings are showing wear, unless they have been replaced by pricey condos.
Former resident of 23 years, Jun 2025
Single-family houses are rebuilt as three-family homes split into rooms, and absentee landlords dismiss mouse complaints.
Not a resident, Feb 2026
Cockroaches are a common problem.
Not a resident, Jul 2025

Getting around from Flushing

By subway or bus, arriving by 9:00 on a weekday:Under 30 min30 to 45 min45 to 60 minOver an hourFlushing

Flushing-Main St 7

Residents: Bus lines at Main Street and Roosevelt Avenue are long, a daily ordeal for anyone commuting by bus. Former resident, Feb 2026

Residents: The train is close and much is easy to reach. Resident of 20 years, Jul 2025

What to know about Flushing

Flushing holds Queens' Chinatown, which NYC Tourism says is by many accounts the city's largest. Its busy main blocks are lined with herbal shops, Asian bakeries and restaurants. Source
Main Street and Roosevelt Avenue form downtown Flushing's commercial crossroads, with a dense mix of Chinese small businesses, national retailers and banks. Source
Union Street has traditionally been a center of the Korean American community in Queens, a community that has spread east over time along Northern Boulevard. Source
Once a rural Dutch farming settlement, downtown Flushing is now a 24/7 district of mid-rise and new high-rise buildings holding Asian restaurants, offices, professional services and apartments. Source
Bowne House was built around 1661. The generations who lived there are known for championing liberty of conscience and religious freedom in early America, and later for abolition and the Underground Railroad. Source
Flushing Town Hall, an 1862 landmark owned by the city, was restored over nine years starting in 1990 into an arts center with a 308-seat theater, a gallery and a garden. Source
Queens Botanical Garden on Main Street grew out of the five-acre 'Gardens on Parade' exhibit at the 1939-1940 World's Fair and moved to its current site in 1961. Source
Besides the 7 subway, downtown Flushing is served by the Long Island Rail Road and Select Bus Service, and sits by the Whitestone, Van Wyck and Long Island expressways. Source