From the West Village to Fort Greene, With Few Regrets
This weekend’s real estate section in the Times has a story that’s likely to resonate with many ex-Manhattanites who’ve moved to Brooklyn and find the living across the East River a whole lot easier. The article is about Hali Lee and Peter von Ziegesar, a couple with three kids who uprooted from the West Village,…
This weekend’s real estate section in the Times has a story that’s likely to resonate with many ex-Manhattanites who’ve moved to Brooklyn and find the living across the East River a whole lot easier. The article is about Hali Lee and Peter von Ziegesar, a couple with three kids who uprooted from the West Village, where they’d lived for 15 years, to Fort Greene. The pair bought a house (a former crack den, actually) on South Portland Avenue in late ’05 and say that while they miss a few things about the city (chief among them their old proximity to the Village Community School on West 10th Street, which their kids still attend), Brooklyn has presented a number of quality-of-life advantages. The perks, according to Ms. Lee, include an environment that doesn’t feel like a high-end mall, as the Village did; a space where their brood’s noise doesn’t disturb the neighbors; their new borough’s down-to-earth population (There are mixed-race couples, and black people here who aren’t nannies); and the fact that their kids can now go play on the sidewalk and in the backyard.
In a House, You Can Make All the Noise You Want [NY Times]
Photo by lunalaguna.
2:24 – then you are destined to be a renter your whole life.
Also – the money not being worth it? I have made $4 million over the past 7 years living in transitional neighborhoods.
Also I find transitional neighborhoods much more enjoyable to live in than established ones like Chelsea, Upper West Side, Brooklyn Hieghts.
It seems you need perspective and to get your head out of your ass.
2:23,
Actually, we payed less than that, but we don’t live in a grand 4-story brownstone. We had some money from selling an apartment, both my wife and I are pretty good savers, we had to borrow some money from our 401k’s. We didn’t always work in non-profit.
2:30 is the best comment!
love you.
Agree with 1:49.
1:18, your “Brooklyn Heights vs. Park Slope/Cobble Hill” schools theory might have held water 5 years ago, but today, even putting aside the subjective argument of whether PS 8 is on par with “trophy” schools like PS 321 or PS 29, there is an undeniable demand in the neighborhood for spots. In today’s Brooklyn, “expensive neighborhood” doesn’t necessarily translate to “neglected public school.”
2:17 — the point is that the discussion was about whether brownstone Brooklyn was affordable to people making middle class incomes. I’m glad you got help from your family, but if that is the case you have nothing to add to the conversation. I agree 100% with your point that someone making a middle class income whose family gives them lots of money can afford any home they want. I’m pretty sure no one will argue with you on that. So what?
Perhaps you, too should keep your well-paying day job and forget debating.
BEST COMMENTS SO FAR:
12:25
12:40
1:37
THANK YOU FOR YOUR WISDOM AND FOR SHARING YOUR *ACTUAL* EXPERIENCES WITH US, AND NOT JUST YOUR VAPID OPINIONS.
and to the rich guy at 2:03, I get your point but it was a little rough going through all those typos. For a success-oriented person, you sure are illiterate. Only in america, kids, only in America.
2:09 is the best post. So many people forget this when looking at everyone else through their “Green Colored Glasses”.
I’m 2:17 and I’m asian.
I bought in Park Slope in 2006 and I make less than 100K.
Can be done.
One of the reasons I was able:
I think $14 for cheese is a tad too much.