Choosing the Suburbs Over Brooklyn
Are would-be Brooklynites flocking to the suburbs? The cover story in yesterday’s real estate section of the Times looks at how relatively cheap home prices in the suburbs are luring New Yorkers who find they can get way more bang for their buck in parts of Westchester, Connecticut and Jersey than in the city. While…
Are would-be Brooklynites flocking to the suburbs? The cover story in yesterday’s real estate section of the Times looks at how relatively cheap home prices in the suburbs are luring New Yorkers who find they can get way more bang for their buck in parts of Westchester, Connecticut and Jersey than in the city. While the article mostly focuses on the widening price gap between Manhattan and suburban properties, it notes that some people who would’ve bought in Brooklyn are also finding the suburbs cheaper:
Ludovic and Fabienne Ledein, who live and work as jewelry designers in Dumbo, visited nearly a dozen lofts in Dumbo, Red Hook and Williamsburg looking for something to buy for less than $600,000. They needed enough space to work at home and to put up friends and relatives from Europe. But what they wanted cost more than twice what they could afford…They found their answer in Westchester County, in New Rochelle. For about $600,000, they bought 1,350 square feet in the newly renovated Knickerbocker Lofts, a converted factory downtown that was built 117 years ago.
Any readers contemplating a similar move?
Cashing Out of New York City [NY Times]
Photo by uicukie.
who would want to leave brooklyn now as it’s becoming one of the top urban destinations in the country.
it’s an incredibly exciting time to be living in a city right now…new york city and brooklyn in particular is experiences one of it’s greatest boom times in generations.
all the retail…all the new residents, the refurbishment of parks, of the historic homes, etc…you might not like all of it, but it in certainly an incredible time to be a part of such a thriving metropolis.
i’d feel like i was missing something if i left now.
i can’t wait to see the face of brooklyn and nyc in 10 years…in 20 years. this city will lead the country on green living, will be one of the best places on earth to shop local and to live in a vibrant and safe community.
I think you just got a urban Bitch-Slap from a surburbanite 4:08.
That’s because I still own property in Brooklyn, Thank you very much 4:08.
We’ve contemplated cashing out for the past two years, for the old argument of more space. As school approaches for a three year old, we’re thinking about it more seriously, but I just really can’t imagine not living here in Brooklyn. It’s easier living here than anywhere else.
3:34, I AM GLAD YOU USE THE TERM, “HAVING WORKED” IN THE SCHOOL AS IN “NO LONGER” WORKING IN THE SCHOOL BECAUSE YOU SOUND LIKE A COMPLETE IDIOT.
i love the fact that the dude with the 4200 sf mcmansion in the burbs is reading and POSTING on brownstoner.
thats says a lot.
i sure as heck aint reading monclair.com every day, that’s for darn sure.
This whole debate struck me as a sadly moot point: If we were starting out with what we had when we bought in Bklyn 21 years ago–adjusted, unadjusted, whatever–we would’ve been looking to move to the South or the Adirondacks or something–neither ‘burbs nor Bklyn would’ve been affordable. The Times, as usual, profiles folks with megabucks; in reality, one of the demographic problems bedeviling LI is the fact that young people can’t afford to buy into the communities they grew up in.
As for us, our retirement plan involves selling the house and living like kings in Mississippi or someplace. For culture, we will travel on the proceeds of the house sale and order lots of good books and DVDs.
3:34 I sure as hell hope that you no longer work in a school system, urban or otherwise. I also hope that you were not entrusted to teach children with your mindset of who is civilized and who is not. I get a strong sense that you may equate civil with color/culture but I do hope that I am wrong. Most city schools do okay despite the odds and underfunding, so though a problem clearly exists, most schools do not underperform. Also how can you blame the students for their lack of motivation but never once mention how the attitudes of staff can affect a learner. When my students don’t do well, I always ask myself what I could do differently to change the results – no matter the circumstances.
3:28, you are right. 3yrs. ago I moved out of NY and became a staunch advocate for getting out of the city. I would go on and on about the better life, clean air, the schools,how everybody was idiots etc. Finally at a party my family couldn’t take it anymore and they let me have it good. Shortly after my girlfriend brokeup with me, I had to sell my suburban condo, and now I am renting a brownstone apt. in Crown Hts. brooklyn. End of story.
(from the words of Brooklyn’s most famous bus driver, Ralph Kramden)
“Be kind to people on the way up,because its’ the same people you will meet on the way down”