Brooklyn Heights OR Park Slope?
If houses cost the *SAME* in Brooklyn Heights and Park Slope, which neighborhood would you prefer to live in? (serious question!) Also, does anyone know why the retail offerings on Montague are so slim?
If houses cost the *SAME* in Brooklyn Heights and Park Slope, which neighborhood would you prefer to live in? (serious question!)
Also, does anyone know why the retail offerings on Montague are so slim?
We lived in PS for 4 years (Co-op) and moved to Cobble Hill in ’05 when we ought a t’house. We walk with the kids fairly regularly to the Promenade and when we do we always pop into the one of the playgrounds for the chums to play a little.
I love the streets of BH but no more than CH and while I agree the amenities on Montague aren’t great their blocks of Court St are even worse. If it has to be a choice between PS and BH I’d choose PS but nothing will get me moving to either after living in CH.
Certainly where BH has it over PS is if you work on Wall St, as one Subway stop to work is damn convenient. Although, given the current economic climate that’s important to a smaller number of people than it was even 6 months ago. Perhaps that might be the reason for parity in prices?
Unless you visit Manhattan on a daily basis I would choose Park Slope without a doubt.
cwbuecheler is right on target!
I think BH is a little sleepy for me — and I actually like sleepy. But I do really like the blocks off Henry and Clinton below Montague that have more of the Cobble Hill vibe (which I’d also prefer over either). Henry and State is very different from, say, Henry and Pineapple. 🙂
However if Cobble Hill didn’t exist I’d probably choose PS — proximity to the park is so key and it is a beautiful neighborhood with more “stuff” than BH.
I moved near GAP in 2007 after a few years on Pierrepont Street and the extra ~10 minutes commuting each way (and having to switch trains) is definitely a drag and there are a lot of great things about BH (promenade, pick-up distance from Grimaldi’s, etc.), but restaurants are much better in PS and the park is awfully nice. If you’re close to the B/Q and 2/3 in PS I’d be equally inclined toward either neighborhood, but the farther you get from those trains the better BH looks. Just my 2 cents.
A million years ago before I bought my first house, I considered both neighborhoods. At the time, it was an easy choice. Park Slope definitely suited my lifestyle better. I’ve always found the Heights to be a bit stuffy for my taste and that was back when PS was still a hippie liberal paradise. Plus, I had a dog and that park was just calling to us!
I’ve since moved on from the Slope. But if I had to make that decision today, I might give more consideration to the Heights because there is no longer a huge difference between the neighborhoods. Differences, absolutely…but not as much as there used to be.
Anyway: I’d go with the Heights if I had to commute and the Slope if I knew I was going to use the park.
Brooklyn Heights!
Gordy is right that there is growing price parity betwen the 2 neighborhoods (or rather, the spread between the two is noticeably shrinking), at least as to certain aprtments — 1 BR and 2 BR. Whether this narrowing of the traditional spread is merely perception of the nieghborhoods or a fundamental shift is hard to tell, but Denton is right that (at least in the size) the Heights is a good deal in comparison.
I don’t think the 3BR apt level had narrowed as much, nor the townhouse market — you really don’t see very much in townhouses in the Heights under $3.5 million, whereas I think you see a price points throughout Park Slope from $2M (or less once you get down by 5th Avenue adn beyond 9th Street) to $3M. I think that type of spread is traditional between the two neighborhoods, but you do now see more anomolous units at teh high end in Park Slope (or maybe the web just makes them more obvious than they used to be).
Lifestyle wise, the nieghborhoods are a decision about whether your social life focuses on Manhattan. The more it does, the value of the shorter train ride becomes more apparent. It’s more than 5 minutes to Park Slope –realistically it’s 10 to 20 minutes (depending if you are near Flatbush or near 9th St., near the park or near 4th Ave.).
If you don’t commute everyday, I’d think that Park Slope is definitely the better choice.
I think parking in both neighborhoods is very difficult (as evidenced by the outrageous fees people charge for garages).
Having lived in both, I agree with the comments made above. However if you are looking at this strictly from a financial pov, I agree with NSR. I think that for apts, BH is under-priced right now in comparison to PS. BH is getting this rap as an old people’s nabe in comparison to PS, which, imo, makes it a good deal.
But if you have a car make sure you have plans for it in BH. There’s hardly anyplace to park there anymore.
“Are you doing a poll or asking for advice?”
I am asking for advice, knowing that neighborhood preferences are subjective. I initially thought that Bklyn Heights was out of my price range, but I’ve started to notice more price parity among apartments and even a few townhouses in Park Slope and Bklyn Heights. I like both areas but I’m relatively new to Brooklyn, so I thought I’d ask around. Thanks for all the comments. Christopher–I am shocked at the retail rents on Montague!