Two Pittsburghers Moving Out of Their Element
to the chase: I’m a Union Boilermaker, shes a Resident Physician (both in our late 20’s). My girlfriend will be working at a hospital around Flatbush and has no time to look at apartments. Shes counting on me to sniff around and find the best course of action for housing needs (im off of work…
to the chase:
I’m a Union Boilermaker, shes a Resident Physician (both in our late 20’s). My girlfriend will be working at a hospital around Flatbush and has no time to look at apartments. Shes counting on me to sniff around and find the best course of action for housing needs (im off of work currently). We both like the sound of Prospect heights, Park Slope,Carroll Gardens, etc. I think we are looking at spending 2k/month on rent, which from what I researched gives you a fair space in most sects of Brooklyn…for Brooklyn standards anyway. I’m finding it a tad daunting pinpointing the best route. I have a four bedroom,2000k sq ft, Tutor style house in the suburbs of Pittsburgh…this is going to be a big adjustment.
Questions:
-How far in advance should I be looking at apartments?
-I hear about the broker route, but I have a slight mistrust for them. are they pertinent?
-Should I just stay a week, look through classifieds/craigslist, and view apartments?
– I need to possibly work in New Jersey…is getting out of Brooklyn in the morning horrendous?
– I have a car, am I screwed?
– she wants to be at work with a max commute of 20 minutes each way, where to live???
Any advice or pointers would be greatly appreciated…it nice to see the sense of community on this site…makes me feel better about the move 🙂
Wonder if there are any eyes in the area that can confirm any open/closed schedule. That would definitely be good to know. 🙂
“Bob, are you referring to exiting at 4th Ave, crossing under the expressway and onto the SI-bound BQE ramp?”
Yes Jeffrey. I only use it a few times a year. Maybe I’ve had the bad luck to only hit it on the mornings it’s closed.
And the whole point of going the route above is to avoid the city street gridlock you mention. There is exactly one block of city streets necessary between getting off the Prospect and getting on the SI-bound BQE/Gowanus.
vinca –
Yeah, I wasn’t referring to rush hour, just in general it takes 5 minutes to get across Parkside, and another 5 minutes on the Prospect Expressway to get to the 4th Ave exit / 3rd Ave entrance of the SI-bound BQE.
Mornings-wise, I do drive that Prospect Expressway route frequently (albeit not turning onto SI-bound BQE) and have yet to see a day when it has taken me more than even 20 minutes to get across Parkside and over to where the 3rd Ave BQE entrance is during rush hour. Usually considerably less.
But the OP here implies 12-hour workdays in addition to expectation of a long drive, which suggests leaving before rush hour and coming home later as well.
That being the case, these roads are pretty clear until 7:45am so discussion about peak rush hour traffic (mostly between 8am and 9:30am) may not apply for him.
In general though, if a person had to drive that route during peak rush hour traffic, 20 minutes from central Prospect Lefferts to the 3rd Ave BQE entrance is a reasonable estimate.
Jeffrey: I’m sure that’s not 5 minutes during morning or evening rush hours, and the Prospect from PLG or deeper Brooklyn will only put you on the BQE in the direction of Manhattan. The gridlock on some of those cross-Brooklyn streets leading to the Prospect can challenge a driver’s sanity. Not intended to deter OP’s move, just a heads-up about access.
The BQE is indeed snap via the Prospect from south of prospect park — (And Prospect-Lefferts). Gets to be much more of a pain from the Slope and Prospect Heights. I think somewhere in Flabush or Prospect-Lefferts is ideal for quick access to both the BQE and Kings Co.
Bob, are you referring to exiting at 4th Ave, crossing under the expressway and onto the SI-bound BQE ramp?
Wasn’t aware that’s ever closed. (though I may be mistaken)
“Brooklyn College (Midwood/Flatbush) and Prospect Lefferts actually *do* have great access to the BQE…
…via the Prospect Expressway”
True but isn’t the exit from the Prospect Expressway to the BQE closed during the morning rush hour?
I always dread driving to my Bay Ridge Honda dealer (near the Ver. Bridge) in the morning, when I need a repair my regular mechanic can’t do. It takes about an hour on the streets, although it would be 15 minutes by highway.
PLG would be great for the gf though–she could walk to Kings County in under 20 minutes.
Accepting above (I don’t drive) then Brooklyn Museum area would be good (2/5 subway) or even a little further north? Or Grand Army Plaza? Great location.