Park Slope Versus The Burbs
New York has a reputation for being an expensive town, which of course it is. But the high housing prices and rents don’t tell the whole story. You see, New Yorkers don’t necessarily need cars. And our property taxes are pretty low. Which is why a Times story this weekend comparing the cost of living…
New York has a reputation for being an expensive town, which of course it is. But the high housing prices and rents don’t tell the whole story. You see, New Yorkers don’t necessarily need cars. And our property taxes are pretty low. Which is why a Times story this weekend comparing the cost of living in Park Slope versus Orange, NJ found that a family of four with a household income of $170,000 could actually live more inexpensively in Brooklyn than Jersey. In fact, monthly expenses were $1,285 cheaper in the County of Kings. “Specifically, each month, the suburban family needs to lay out about $5,668 to run their home and commute to work in Manhattan, compared with $3,852 for the urban family,” said The Times. “That includes most relatively static expenses — from the mortgage, property taxes and homeowner’s insurance, to transportation, utility bills and, for the house, landscaping. ” The major caveat: If you want to send your kids to private school, fuhgettaboutit. You’re better off moving to the burbs.
High-Rise, or House With Yard? [NY Times]
Photo by Betty Blade
“Pelham is 89% white.”
Thats ok, I’m prepared to put up with white people or people of any other color.
this thread has jumped the Snark.
I have an Aunt and Uncle in Pelham.
You think Park Slope is uber white (it’s actually 60% white) Pelham is 89% white. And 11,000 people.
But yes, it’s v. leafy.
> We’re currently scoping out different suburbs.
I have in-laws in Pelham. I’m definitely City Mouse, but as suburbs go, I think it’s pretty nice.
comedy gold, brokedeveloper.
Rewrite: reBUTTal
I like the comeback. See…no one in the burbs would have had that creative a rebuttal. :))
“By 11217 on July 6, 2010 3:04 PM
Do you have a stick up your a$$ brokedeveloper?”
Its actually a branch from a maple tree from a park in Montclair, placed there as a constant reminder to me that I need to stay in Brooklyn in order to have any hope of being relevant and/or interesting. Makes me irritable sometimes, and its hard to ride a bike.
fsrq – So there’s a psychic benefit from being in proximity to cultural offerings you never partake in, but not in being in proximity to nature you rarely experience?
I think a blanket city v. suburbs discussion is almost worthless because there’s so much variation in each. There are suburbs that have vibrant, walkable downtowns in close proximity to commuter rail, even if they don’t offer the breadth of offerings in many parts of the city. Others are very much car-oriented. Certain city neighborhoods are convenient to parks offering a reasonable facsimile of the great outdoors, even if those parks hardly measure up to Rockefeller Preserve or South Mountain. Other city neighborhoods are starved for outdoor recreation.
Most of us have to balance so many factors, like cost, access to multiple workplaces or schools for the various household members, and proximity to our extended family, that we should be thankful we can find a home that comes close to addressing them all. If the neighborhood offers even some of the lifestyle amenities we want, we’re way ahead of the game.