British expat about to arrive in NYC (New York)

Hi all,
I am a British guy, single, aged 32, about to arrive in NYC as part of a relocation with my employer (a multinational bank). Having looked at various posts/articles on the various neighbourhoods of NY, I am still somewhat confused as to where is going to be the best for me to start apartment hunting.
I am fortunate enough to have a good salary (USD Protected content and whilst I do not have particularly expensive taste, I would like a nice spacious one-bed place with all the standard amenities (gym, laundry, concierge etc) located in a relatively pleasant part of town. As a (relatively) young and sociable guy, ideally i would also want somewhere that is going to be fairly lively (although not keeping me awake at 3am on a Tuesday night), a good community feel, no more than an hour commute each morning, reasonable transport links, and enough open space to not feel too contained. My workplace will be on 40th and Fifth Ave (so quite close to Grand Central and Times Square).
I appreciate I may be asking for a lot here, but I always think start with ideal scenario and then work backwards. Can anybody help me narrow down potential areas for my search please?? Any advice at all would be gratefully received.
Thanks.
Matt