Prospect Park adjacent to Park Slope.    (Photo: Jeff Chien-Hsing Liao)

1. Park Slope
15th St. to Flatbush Ave., Prospect Park West to Fourth Ave.

No neighborhood is the butt of more stroller jokes or the recipient of more anti-gentrification scorn. But any way you slice it, Park Slope is the very definition of a well-rounded neighborhood. Of the dozen categories we tallied, it falls just slightly below average in two: affordability (the average two-bedroom rental is $2,275) and diversity. In all other areas, it’s somewhere between above grade and superlative: It’s blessed with excellent public schools, low crime, vast stretches of green space, scores of restaurants and bars, a diverse retail sector, and a population of more artists and creatives than even its reputation for comfortable bohemianism might suggest (more, in fact, than younger, trendier Williamsburg). It might not be everyone’s idea of a perfect neighborhood, but statistically speaking (by a hair), there’s nowhere better.

2. Lower East Side
Canal St. to Houston St., East River to Bowery

Suppose we told you about a neighborhood with some of the city’s best nightlife, along with outstanding restaurants and shops. It’s conveniently located in Lower Manhattan. It’s vital and energetic, gentrifying but reasonably diverse. And a two-bedroom apartment costs around $2,300 a month. Sounds too good to be true, but the numbers tell the story. Yes, the Lower East Side has some prominent warts: Its housing stock is fairly run-down. It’s noisy. And not everyone wants to live where they go out. But few other neighborhoods offer such a complete New York City experience at this price point.