The Price is High, But Manhattanites Are Buying It

IT IS BECAUSE OF IKEA

and because steve and amanda moved to brooklyn on satc

Posted by: guest at June 18, 2008 9:27 AM

The day that the price difference between Brooklyn and Manhattan "melts away" is the day that I move back to Manhattan!

Posted by: guest at June 18, 2008 10:30 AM

NYT endless articles on Brooklyn in the real estate section haven't hurt the trend either.

These figures are apparently referring to buyers only. I'm wondering how they could have been compiled accurately.

The number of renters coming from Manhattan has been the bulk of the migration, much larger than that of the buyers. The renters, in part, set the stage for positive buyer perception.

Apartments and houses being cheaper compared to Manhattan, the vibrancy and livability of our Brooklyn neighborhoods and the decent public transportation in much of so-called "Brownstone Brooklyn" has probably attracted many buyers from outside the borough.

FGG

Posted by: guest at June 18, 2008 10:35 AM

"The day that the price difference between Brooklyn and Manhattan "melts away" is the day that I move back to Manhattan!"

AMEN!

Posted by: guest at June 18, 2008 10:41 AM

I don't think article said #'s are smaller - just the percent mix changed.
But - are readers ignoring the graphs showing far MORE people move FROM Brooklyn to other boroughs than TO Brooklyn from other boroughs.

Posted by: guest at June 18, 2008 10:50 AM

If you gave me 10 million bucks today I wouldn't move back to Manhattan.

10:41 and 10:30 are losers that belong in Kansas City.

Posted by: guest at June 18, 2008 10:57 AM

10:57, sorry but prefering Brooklyn over Manhatttan shows that you are really an uneducated hick. I like it here, but please!!

Posted by: guest at June 18, 2008 11:04 AM

10:57, sorry but prefering Brooklyn over Manhatttan shows that you are really an uneducated hick. I like it here, but please!!

Posted by: guest at June 18, 2008 11:19 AM

i think not being able to post once shows you are more of an "uneducated hick"

Posted by: guest at June 18, 2008 11:26 AM

Preferring Brooklyn over Manhattan means you are the kind of person who likes vintage over H&M, Magic Mountain over Disney World, Gorilla over Starfuckers, Mom and Pops over the Mall of America, and Maggie Gyllenhall over Mary Kate Olsen.

I'll take Brooklyn.

Posted by: guest at June 18, 2008 11:28 AM

You know, people can have different preferences and it doesn't mean they are ignorant hicks. Our preferences also change as we get older... I lived in downtown Manhattan for 20 years, and now I've been in BK for 1.5 years. There are pros and cons to both boroughs. I think it is mostly folks who are newer to the city (or maybe just very young) who think Manhattan is the only place to be. That was me 10 and 20 years ago.

But as I got older, some things about living in Manhattan seemed more irritating to me than they had before. Some examples: coming home and finding some drunk yahoo taking a leak on my front door; throngs of tourists everywhere; and, of course, the ever-present marauding bands of NJ bachelorette parties, screeching into the night air as they whoop it up on their big night out in the big city. This doesn't at all mean that I hate Manhattan now. I still love it, but I love Brooklyn too.

Posted by: guest at June 18, 2008 11:32 AM

screw you guys, i'm with 10:57 and 11:28. i'm stayin' in brooklyn no matter how many times i get mugged.

Posted by: guest at June 18, 2008 11:32 AM

Hi, former Manhattanite 11:32 here again. BTG, I can emphatically and honestly say that I would most definitely stay in Park Slope over the Upper East Side. The UES is sooo not my taste!

Again, to each his or her own....

Posted by: guest at June 18, 2008 11:38 AM

The Upper East Side???

I think I'd rather live in Queens that on the Upper East Side.

Seriously, BTG, you aren't serious are you?

I find the UES the most boring, unfriendly neighborhood in Manhattan.

Just because you want to live the Gossip Girl life, does not mean we all do.

Posted by: guest at June 18, 2008 11:41 AM

This post really gives insight into the dichotomy of the former Manhattanites who moved to Brooklyn because they HAD to ($$) and those of us who moved here because we truly love it and actually prefer it over Manhattan.

I don't hate Manhattan...I realize that I'd probably not be living in Brooklyn if Manhattan didn't exist, but there is NO WAY I'm interested in living there again.

Park Slope is where I'll be for a long, long time.

Posted by: guest at June 18, 2008 11:44 AM

UES - are you kidding!! the blandest hood in the whole of manhattan - where people go to die.

Posted by: guest at June 18, 2008 11:45 AM

UES -- probably not. But I'd live in Greenwich Village in a nanosecond.

Posted by: guest at June 18, 2008 11:46 AM

I used to think I might want to live in the West Village, but I was there last Friday night and was appalled by the way that neighborhood as changed. On Bleeker Street alone, there are like 6 Marc Jacobs stores and 3 Ralph Lauren stores. Everything cool has closed it seems, including Condomania and honestly...I'd say 1 out of every 3 people were early 20 something girls obviously from New Jersey wearing outfits that makes Julia Roberts walking into the Beverly Wilshire look like a socialite.

It's sad how that area has changed. The architecture is the only thing that really keeps it alive for me.

Posted by: guest at June 18, 2008 11:57 AM

BTG...your UES comment shows your true colors.
Yuck.

Posted by: guest at June 18, 2008 12:00 PM

It is more expensive to rent and own in Brooklyn Heights, Park Slope and areas of Ft. Greene than it is to live in parts of Manhattan.

All three of those neighborhoods are more expensive than above 96th, parts of the far Upper East Side, parts of Murray Hill, Lower East side, etc.

How do you explain that, the What?

I moved to Park Slope from the Upper West Side and my rent here in Brooklyn is $150 MORE than it was in my place on 76th and Columbus.

To bad you let a little thing called facts get in the way of most of your arguments.

Posted by: guest at June 18, 2008 12:26 PM

To 11:28,

Maggie Gylenhall is one ugly broad. She clearly got beat with the ugly stick as a child & her brother takes it in the pooper. She really looks like the red headed stepchild of Babe Ruth with that nose of hers. I feel bad for her 'cause she's so damn ugly.

Posted by: guest at June 18, 2008 12:29 PM

I think Maggie Gyllenhall is quite pretty (never seen Secretary, huh?) and she's a terrific actress.

Her brother is hotter than f*ck.

Posted by: guest at June 18, 2008 12:38 PM

"her brother takes it in the pooper."

Don't knock it till you've tried it. My gf loves it.

Posted by: guest at June 18, 2008 12:39 PM

I moved from York and 87th to Ft. Greene and my rent is more in Brooklyn. Happy to pay more for a neighborhood I really love.

Posted by: guest at June 18, 2008 12:46 PM

I've always lived in Brooklyn, but had a chance to live in manhattan when i moved to nyc in 1990. I chose brooklyn, because it was closer to my job,but also because I loved the down-to-earth feel. I still appreciate many of the entertainment benefits of being near Manhattan and believe that every borough has something to offer (e.g. queens has great food, staten island has hiking, the bronx has the yankees). I try to view nyc as a whole, rather than becoming involved in the interborough warfare so commonly seen amongst manhattanites and brooklynites(which i know can be tempting and difficult to avoid).

Posted by: guest at June 18, 2008 12:49 PM

"Preferring Brooklyn over Manhattan means you are the kind of person who likes vintage over H&M, Magic Mountain over Disney World, Gorilla over Starfuckers, Mom and Pops over the Mall of America, and Maggie Gyllenhall over Mary Kate Olsen."

Guess you've only ever been to Midtown. You should get out more.

There are neighborhoods and enclaves in Manhattan that are quiet and picturesque with small coffeeshops not big chains. And with houses older and more historic with larger rooms, higher ceilings, more airy and grand with huge windows. The Brooklyn brownstone is a certain aesthetic that is really great, we own one, love it and love Brooklyn. But if I had the money I'd totally take a house on the UES (boring is good -- quiet on weekends and fewer tourists) or Greenwich Village near Washington Square Park.

Posted by: guest at June 18, 2008 1:11 PM

1:11, I was actually not referring to midtown at all, unless you are speaking of Times Square. I was referring to the West Village, Meatpacking district, Upper West Side, East Village...all once pretty cool areas which are now overrun with chains, tourists and the Jersey girls.

Manhattan has become a very sanitized version of a city. Very white and wealthy. It suits some people, but some of us like NYC for its diversity for it's eccentricities and for it's off the beaten path culture and arts.

More and more, those things can be found in Brooklyn in ever increasing numbers over Manhattan.

As someone who works very closely in the arts community, I can tell you that very few news ideas are presented in Manhattan. It's the old guard orchestra crowd at the NY Phil, the opera diehards at the Met and the tourists at the Broadway shows.

You want to see what's happening with the young arts community, go to see something at the Brooklyn Philharmonic, BAM, the Mark Morris Dance Company, Bargemusic, Union Hall, Galapagos, Southpaw, St. Anne's, the Brooklyn Chamber Music Society, the art galleries filling up with Gowanus.

That is the next generation of NYC and really, don't the arts play a significant role in the energy that keeps NYC buzzing? These young people and what they represent are part of the reason many of us moved here in the first place.

Posted by: guest at June 18, 2008 1:25 PM

Take it from somone who grew up in Brooklyn and still lives here - Brooklyn should never be compared with Manhattan. Brooklyn is a pleasant and charming place to live when you WORK in Manhattan everyday and want to LIVE in a quieter area. Nowadays. there's even some nightlife and god restaurants. But Brooklyn still can't compare with Manhattan in terms of all-around entertainment, nightlife, glitz factor, celebrity, excitement, etc. In these areas, Manhattan is the number one. Period.

Nor should Brooklyn seek to rival Manhattan. All of that "Manhattan" stuff is available right across the river - in Manhattan. The sooner we get all of these "Brooklyn is the new Manhattan!" types straightened out, the better. But increasingly, I fear that won't ever happen, which is very unfortunate.

Posted by: guest at June 18, 2008 1:51 PM

Manhattan has lost it's soul.

Posted by: guest at June 18, 2008 1:55 PM

Well, sometimes the greatest art is made when there is something conservative and boring to rebel against, 1:25. I find the art in Brooklyn to be too youthful fashion-trendy and many people are too similar in what they're doing. Plus to reach a certain level and make money as an artist you need to sell to the very wealthy. Any Brooklyn artist who is rejecting Manhattan and Manhattan residents outright is not very smart.

Posted by: guest at June 18, 2008 2:03 PM

oh, enough already with the Manhattan/Brooklyn thing.
Sounds so tired and provincial.

Posted by: guest at June 18, 2008 2:14 PM

2:03....you need to go read the Adelphi HOTD thread to see what kinds of "artists" are choosing to live in Brooklyn these days. We are talking very successful ones...

Posted by: guest at June 18, 2008 2:23 PM

I'm so tired of this bullshit arguement. Comparing Manhattan and Brooklyn is like comparing apples and oranges period!!! We'd be better off if everyone stoking this borough war would just throw themselves under the next A train!

Posted by: guest at June 18, 2008 3:11 PM

the part about the exodus from brooklyn to queens or staten island is so true. all my extended family have moved to queens (12+ familes) and a good number of friends have moved to staten island. It had nothing to do with preference but simple economics. To a purchase a house (not condo/coop) in a good&safe neighborhood in brooklyn was out of reach for most. and they are all professionals. I purchased a fixer upper and did the DIY thing, I rent part of my home to artsy 20- something year olds. this is new brooklyn reality.

Posted by: guest at June 18, 2008 3:14 PM

"We'd be better off if everyone stoking this borough war would just throw themselves under the next A train!"

You first!

Posted by: guest at June 18, 2008 3:27 PM

lets face it most people who live in Brooklyn would live in Manhattan if they could afford it. Brooklyn is the land of ex manhattanites who could no longer afford it. I had to downgrade to Brooklyn from manhattan 2 years ago after being priced out

Posted by: guest at June 18, 2008 5:34 PM

http://www.1010wins.com/Tourist-Fights-Off-Attacker/2436510

This occurred on the "quiet" Upper East Side.

Posted by: guest at June 18, 2008 5:57 PM

Born and bred in Brooklyn, but after 30+ years there I moved to Manhattan last year. I can walk to work, I can walk to China Town, Soho, the Village(s), the LES, etc. I generally feel safer here than where I grew up. My rent is higher, but my building is ridiculous. My neighborhood has suits, tourists, locals, families, teenagers, every ethnicity under the sun, chain stores, mom & pop shops, historic architectural gems as well as brand new shimmering skyscrapers, Starbucks and a small local coffee shop next door to each other, great restaurants, great night life, parks, etc. etc. As an added plus, not a hipster in sight (although if for some reason I missed them I they are still in abundance in the East Village, Alphabet City and LES).

BK and Manhattan are different in many ways, but the simplistic descriptions of Manhattan in this thread are just defensive silliness, and the comparison to the suburbs is absolutely absurd. In fact I just read an article by a BK preservationist complaining that Brownstone BK had been intended as a "quiet suburb" and that that "suburban character" was being destroyed by the Manhattanization of the borough....

Posted by: guest at June 18, 2008 10:05 PM

OMG the world is coming to an end...

THE MANHATTANITES ARE TRYING TO CONVINCE THE BROOKLYNITES TO MOVE BACK!!!!!!

lolololol

Posted by: guest at June 18, 2008 10:19 PM