Brooklynites Jumping Ship to Manhattan?
Could it be that many self-proclaimed Brooklyn loyalists are ready to trade it all in at the first sign of a recession? Was the borough’s surging popularity in recent years merely a function of Manhattan becoming unaffordable? Or is Brooklyn still a first choice for many? The Real Estate section cover story from yesterday’s New…
Could it be that many self-proclaimed Brooklyn loyalists are ready to trade it all in at the first sign of a recession? Was the borough’s surging popularity in recent years merely a function of Manhattan becoming unaffordable? Or is Brooklyn still a first choice for many? The Real Estate section cover story from yesterday’s New York Times certainly tries to create the impression that, given the chance, a number of folks who professed to like Brooklyn in recent years are finding the lure of affordable rents and proximity to work just too much to resists. Take Andrew Baisley, who describes himself as a “cheerleader for Brooklyn.” The Bushwick resident, though, just last month jumped at the chance to rent a $2,100-a-month one-bedroom in Chelsea. When you go to Manhattan, there’s an air of selling out, he says. I’ve accepted that. Let’s try to get a sense of how many fair-weather Brooklynites there really are out there:
Manhattan Calling [NY Times]
sparafucile: Hilarious (and true) response. But don’t forget that the UES lacks skinny jeans, chuck taylors, those stupid straw hats hipsters wear these days, or a false sense of toughness appropriated from people who have long since been pushed to other neighborhoods.
Northslope–yeah I hear you on all fronts. We rent our garden apt out in Clinton Hill for 1700. We share the back yard with the tenants, whom we like very much so it works. Its an 800 sq foot floor through and feels like a pretty fair price. Good luck with whatever you decide though. I can totally understand that a shorter commute means more time with kids.
“Faux-Snob”
Heh, heh..never heard that one before.
“I would think though that you have more of a chance of escaping apartment-dom in Brooklyn and having some outdoor space in Brooklyn.”
wasder — true — and if we found a nice rental with private access to the backyard, that could definitely tip the scales back toward Brooklyn. We looked at one in 2007 and almost took it — but it was $2900/mo for a place btwn 4th and 5th Ave that was probably 750 sq. ft. (not incl. backyard). Just wasn’t a good value ($2300/mo seemed about right to me).
And when the time comes to buy, I think it will be in Brooklyn. But we cannot afford to buy a home and pay for daycare (which apparently costs more than a 1 bedroom on the upper west side…), so I think we have to wait til the kid is ready for public school before buying. And we cannot risk buying a place in this economy when it is possible I or my wife could get laid off.
QUOTE: “but not the UES, never ever again…. no culture,”
Excellen point! Outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Frick Collection, the Guggenheim, Asia Society, the Whitney, the Kaye Playhouse, the Museum of the City of New York, the National Academy of Design, and maybe a few others, there’s really no culture there to speak of.
mopar & nsr: no doubt there are some good deals out there in manhattan, but they just seem harder to find and to require a *lot* of tradeoffs in terms of neighborhood and community and, yes, “charm,” for a marginal savings in commute times. the two areas you mentioned are good examples – not necessarily faster (or better) commutes for most people, not a lot of charm or quiet, not great access to central park/museums, etc. i agree that south slope is an insane price, though.
to each his own, of course.
“Why don’t you go and wash your clothes. Oh I’m sorry your roommate has them on.”
sprayed down the AA deep V with frebreeze this morning – does that count?
“Haha – I <3 The What”
Why don’t you go and wash your clothes. Oh I’m sorry your roommate has them on.
The What
Someday this war is gonna end…
Hell’s Kitchen is really cool – Love 9th Avenue – I just find the cheaper places to be really tiny and rundown. I don’t care how cheap manhattan gets – there is no price one can put on a rat/roach free apt.