Brooklyn Advice

[noeld]

My girlfriend and I have lived in a tiny apartment in Soho for a few years. We are coming to our conclusion that we may love our location, but we need a larger apartment for our sanity. So we are thinking about moving to Brooklyn. While Park Slope, Brooklyn Heights, Dumbo, and Carroll Gardens are nice, they are also more expensive than Soho. So we are thinking more of Fort Green, Williamsburg, Greenpoint, or East Williamsburg/Bushwick. Needs to be within a couple of blocks of a subway. It looks like we will be able to move when we want, so we are looking at possibly doing this at the beginning of November in order to avoid the NYU rent hike.

Does anybody have any advice or warnings or brokers or anything?

 

[Lord Hatsumi]

I'd also check out Windsor Terrace. It still has a friendly feel to it like Park Slope, but at a cost of the price. It is also still within walking distance to Prospect Park.

 

[PatBaer]

You can still find some deals in Williamsburg, especially off the Graham/Grand L train stops.

 

[Masten]

Avoid Williamsburg like the plague. It looks like shit, and it's overpriced.

 

[MotorDolly]

whichever neighborhood you're interested in, you should take the train there and walk around in the morning, afternoon, early evening and night. you need to see the neighborhood 24/7.

w'burg has been a great place to live for the past 8yrs.

 

[HairballofDoom]

Ditmas Park is delightful.

 

[EthanK]

Avoid Williamsburg like the plague. It looks like shit, and it's overpriced.

And there are Jews there.

 

[Mo Nose]

bed-stuy is cheap. um. yeah.

 

[PatBaer]

Avoid Williamsburg like the plague. It looks like shit, and it's overpriced.

I don't want to get into a fight on a message board, but that hasn't been my experience at all. I'm paying about the same to live off the Graham Ave stop as I did to live in a crappy/scary neighborhood in Harlem. And my neighborhood is all two story houses that make me feel like I'm living in a town rather than New York City.

 

[MotorDolly]

I don't want to get into a fight on a message board, but that hasn't been my experience at all. I'm paying about the same to live off the Graham Ave stop as I did to live in a crappy/scary neighborhood in Harlem. And my neighborhood is all two story houses that make me feel like I'm living in a town rather than New York City.

i agree 100%. i too am off the graham stop and feel like i live in a true neighborhood.

 

[Scotty561]

My brother lives in Bay Ridge. Has for 4 years now. He seems to like it. I know he works, well used to, at NYU and owns no car so he's taking the train into lower Manhattan. From where, I don't know. I have no clue of prices or what the neighborhood is really like.

I'm no help at all. I'm sorry. But there is this website

 

[xxKewlGuyxx]

mmm, bay ridge is far too expensive and also way out of the way. also pretty much no young people.

I would second the recommendation that someone made earlier about Bed Stuy. Cheap and on its way back! I work for a CDC in Bed Stuy so I actually have a decent pulse on the real estate situation in Bed Stuy, so if you want some more details send me a message or something, I'd be glad to provide some information.

 

[ChrisCamp]

I'll put my two cents in and say that Williamsburg is in fact quite a nice place to live and it is still possible to find affordable living here.

There's a great neighborhood feel to it, lots of great bars and restaurants, a great escape from the city and yet still a very short L train ride in. I've quite enjoyed it and not to mention I'm noticing a slight decline in the hipster population. That's kinda nice too.

This all coming from a guy that lived on the Upper West Side for almost 2 yrs.

 

[Mikey]

If you are moving to Williamsburg be prepared to wear the uniform. Tight jeans, ratty tee, fedora, large sunglasses. Do not shave more than once and week and do not under any circumstances get a job.

Just kidding Williamsburg! You are great.

Prospect Heights is great, right next to my beloved Park Slope and. Check it out.

 

[noeld]

Does anybody know of good brokers for Williamsburg/Greenpoint?

Is it possible to get a decent space for a decent price in Carroll Gardens?

 

[alden]

I agree with both Masten and Baer. I currently live off the Bedford stop, but I've lived off the Lorimer, right between the Graham and Grand, and before that, between the Montrose and Morgan. I know Williamsburg pretty well. In the short year I've been living off Bedford, it's gotten louder, pricier and more crowded. I'll never again live off the Grand, Montrose or Morgan stops. That leaves Lorimer and Graham, which have always been quiet, laid back, safe and not too crowded. And you can still find a nice 1BR for under $2000.

If that's out of your price range or you want more space or less foot traffic, Fort Greene and Greenpoint are both awesome but more difficult to get to.

For brokers, it depends how much you want to spend. Williamsburg Realty is good for higher end rentals closer to Bedford, King David is good for cheaper places closer to Lorimer and Graham and the South Burg (they're a little crazy at King David, but generally helpful). There are a ton of tiny places near Bedford and Lorimer (and also in Greenpoint) that only represent small portions of the neighborhood, but they're good places to look if you know roughly where you want to live and you want an apartment that's in a brownstone or someplace not owned by a centralized corporation. My apartment on Berry is two doors down from the independent realtor that showed me the place.

 

[noeld]

We are in the midst of some wrangling between our landlord and the DHCR, so we may wait to see how that pans out before we make any moves. But I doubt I would move to Brooklyn to live in a 1 bedroom under $2000. We live in a 1 bedroom under $2000 in Soho already. If it's not bigger and cheaper it's not happening.

I actually really like Greenpoint and Fort Green. The only thing is unless you are in the right few blocks, the only train is the G.

 

[Mo Nose]

We are in the midst of some wrangling between our landlord and the DHCR, so we may wait to see how that pans out before we make any moves. But I doubt I would move to Brooklyn to live in a 1 bedroom under $2000. We live in a 1 bedroom under $2000 in Soho already. If it's not bigger and cheaper it's not happening.

I actually really like Greenpoint and Fort Green. The only thing is unless you are in the right few blocks, the only train is the G.

g train is great. seriously. it made me so scared moving there but i rarely have a problem with it ...

 

[MotorDolly]

g train is great. seriously. it made me so scared moving there but i rarely have a problem with it ...

are you saying that the "g" stands for "great" mo? cuz, i dunno, that sounds a bit simplistic to me...

 

[Mr. Kwako]

g train is great. seriously. it made me so scared moving there but i rarely have a problem with it ...

Is the rape still free? I had heard they were thinking of charging.